We’d always struggled to find a good Montagny. There were plenty of good, solid examples being crafted in the area but, as always, it was a question of discovering something with a bit of ‘X’ factor, rather than settling for something that was run-of-the-mill. And then along came Laurent, delivering ‘X’ in spades.

Up until 2004, the estate did what countless others did in Burgundy – all the production was sold off, either to a négociant, or sometimes the local co-operative. The Cognard family did the latter, especially since the Cave de Buxy, still responsible for about 2/3 of all Montagny that comes to market, is one of the best co-ops in all of Burgundy. Nevertheless, when Laurent returned to take charge, he decided to take everything ‘in-house’, and his first vintage was 2006. He quickly moved through the gears, quality improving year-on-year, and by the time we tasted his 2009, we came firmly on board, and haven’t yet missed a vintage.