By Florian Rossignol, 9 November 2021

We’ve added my family’s winery to our portfolio, Domaine Rossignol-Cornu. Many of you know me from our events or seeing me in our shop. I am from Volnay, and our family’s domaine is located on the upper hill in Volnay right next to Domaine Marquis d’Angerville.

The domaine dates back to 1840. It became Domaine Rossignol-Cornu in 1973 with the union of Bernard Rossignol (my grandfather) from Volnay and Claude Cornu (my grandmother) originally from Pernand-Vergelesses. They both had vineyards in their families for four generations. Today, Julien, my older brother, under the leadership of our father, Didier, oversees the 5.5 hectares that make up our domaine and are spread across the Côte de Beaune. My father took over the domaine in 1989, and my brother, Julien, joined him in 2018. When it comes to winemaking, they are more traditional in their practices; the grapes are 100% destemmed to offer a purity in the wine (my dad uses around 20% new oak for the village wines and up to 30-35% new oak for the 1er Crus).

From our domaine, we’ve added three wines to The Fine Wine Experience portfolio: two whites – Pernand-Vergelesses and Meursault ‘La Barre’ and one red - Volnay 1er cru ‘Les Robardelles’. Whites from Pernand-Vergelesses (located on the hill facing Corton-Charlemagne) offer minerally wines with vibrant acidity. This wine is made from three different plots on the same steep slope (I really don’t miss working in those vineyards). My father uses a small amount of new oak (no more than 15%) for the wine as he wants the terroir to shine through.

For the other white, Meursault ‘La Barre’, the production is really low. We only produce two barrels, and we age in 50% new oak. Because of the frost in 2016, we didn’t produce any wine from Meursault (only 600 bottles of the 2016 vintage was produced of both white and red wine for the entire domaine). Our 2017 Meursault ‘La Barre’ shows floral aromas with flavours of peaches and other stone fruits as well as bits of tropical fruit mixed in; the wine is distinct from the typical aromas of hazelnut and other rich flavours with its rounded texture that I associate with Meursault. We picked later in 2017, so I believe the ripeness in the wine and intense fruit character comes from that decision. I enjoy the wine even if it is a little atypical for Meursault.