Vins Cognard
Situated up on the Bourgueil slopes, directly north of the town of Bourgueil itself, are some of the region’s most interesting domaines, Domaine de la Butte and Yannick Amirault among their number. The little settlement of Chevrette, which sits at the point where the very gentle slope of the gravel terraces transition into the modestly steeper slopes of limestone and clay, is home to some of them, including Joël Taluau & Thierry Foltzenlogel and the subject of this profile, Vins Cognard. The last two are neighbours, which is not surprising in view of their shared origins and heritage.
Today Vins Cognard is run by a brother-and-sister team Estelle Cognard (pictured below). When under the direction of her parents this domaine turned out some of the finest examples of St Nicolas de Bourgueil, from the highly regarded lieu-dit of Les Malgagnes, that I have ever tasted. Since then the domaine has expanded, and there are now several other cuvées from equally prestigious terroirs made here. Before coming to the current generation and wines though, we should first look back at the origins and history of this domaine. It does not have a lengthy tale to tell, as it was only during the 1970s that Estelle’s parents suddenly found themselves in possession of a few rows of vines in the St Nicolas de Bourgueil appellation.
History
The story of this domaine begins with a small slice of a family domaine, cleaved from its origin in 1974. This family domaine, located high up on the slopes above St Nicolas de Bourgueil, belonged to the Taluau family, and it had been in their hands for several generations. During the mid-20th century it was Albert Taluau who was in charge, but with the passing of time the domaine was handed down to the next generation, Albert’s son Joël Taluau (1946 – 2013). Although Joël passed away in 2013, this domaine still goes by the name of Joël Taluau & Thierry Foltzenlogel, Thierry being Joël’s son-in-law.
