Saint-Romain Combe Bazin Qvevris

Combe Bazin is the domaine's signature Saint-Romain climat: a steep Chardonnay vineyard high on the slope, on marl and limestone. This is its qvevri incarnation, made alongside the classic barrel version. Frédéric Cossard went to Georgia at the end of 2017, came back converted, and buried ten 10-12 hl qvevris - fired at 1200-1400 C, so less porous than common amphora - in the cellar where the earth keeps their temperature constant; the earliest Qvevris release of this cuvée is the 2018.

The juice is pressed directly (no skin maceration), ferments on indigenous yeasts and stays in the buried vessels for about a year. No fining, no filtration, no added sulfur - and the 2020 kept its AOC Saint-Romain status. Bottled at the domaine.

2020 in Burgundy brought one of the earliest harvests on record - hot, dry, tiny berries - yet the whites held their acidity and are widely counted among the vintage's winners. Cossard's own spring-2021 read: low Chardonnay yields, "an awesome vintage" reminiscent of 2017. 13.5%.