DOMAINE FOURRIER

Gevrey-Chambertin

Some fifteen years ago, when I was composing my book Côte d'Or, I commented on the Fourrier domaine. Jean-Marie Fourrier had recently taken over from his father Jean-Claude. Changes for the better were in progress. I said, in effect, that this was a domaine to watch. A decade further on, in The Wines of Burgundy, I gave the domaine two stars: 'There are brilliant wines here'. Recent visits, culminating with a vertical tasting of his premier cru Champeaux, and a comparative tasting of the five Clos Saint-Jacques, has clearly shown that this accolade is truly merited. The Fourrier estate is one of the very best in Burgundy.

The history begins in the 1930s and 1940s with Fernand Pernot, a celebataire whose sister had married a Fourrier. Vineyard plots came from both sides, including a 26 ares parcel of Griotte-Chambertin, and, in 1955, 89 ares of Clos Saint-Jacques, following the death of the Comte de Moucheron. The wines were sold as Pernot-Fourrier, and I have some fond memories of the wines of the period. Pernot, it would seem, almost forced his nephew, Jean-Claude Fourrier, to take over responsability for the estate as he grew older, and it was the latter who ran the domaine from 1969, Pernot passing away in 1981. Additions to the property arrived from Fourrier's wife's side. She is the daughter of Georges Bryczek of Morey-Saint-Denis.

Under Jean-Claude, it has to be said, the wines were not brilliant. I first arrived to taste in the autumn of 1986. Fourrier's cellar was 'damp and dirty and contained little evidence of new wood'. He'd bought a couple of new casks recently, but these were the first since 1977. He believed in 'long fermentations, to extract plenty of matière', and bottled after 22 months or more. Some good wines, I commented. A year later I was distinctly underwhelmed by his 1986s, and I put the domaine aside to give me the time to go and see others.

I returned in 1994, having perhaps heard through the grape-vine that Jean-Marie was taking over. I saw signs which encouraged me to continue to visit. I have been tasting there ever since.

Jean-Claude, it would seem, was not a happy vigneron. His own father had died young, affixated in a cuve at vintage time. He had been forced into the rôle by his uncle, and then been the subject of bad notes from Robert Parker, which resulted in his being abandoned by his US importer. He was only too happy to hand over the responsability to his son Jean-Marie as soon as he could.

Jean-Marie was born in 1971. On either side of his military service, having qualified as a pilot on his 17th birthday – his parents forbade him to drive a car – he completed an internship with Henri Jayer and then with Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. He obviously – as do so many of his contemporaries - reveres the name of Jayer. 'What did you learn from the great man?' I asked. Only to be told that one of his first tasks was to go out and apply herbicides to the vineyards, and another was to scrub down the vats with bleach – but then to wash off the bleach with tartaric acid. Moreover, he told me, Jayer criticised him for cleaning the press in the middle of the harvest. There was no need to do this until all the pressings had been completed. And this was in the early 1990s!

Jean-Marie had started to work with his father in 1989 and took over completely in 1994. One of the first things he did was to bottle at 18 months or so, rather than after two years as his father had done. Another was to reduce the yields. A third was to isolate the Gevrey premiers crus and bottle them separately. There are four of them, as well as the Clos Saint-Jacques. More fine-tuning followed. The vineyards are ploughed. There is a vibrating sorting table. A new vinification cellar with stainless steel vats which cerrespond to the volumes of the parcels and is air conditioned so that there is a constant temperature of 15° C both inside and outside the vats, followed in 2007. 'This preserves the aromas in the wine.' And much else besides.

Let him speak for himself: 'I find that my way of doing things – not forcing the extraction, not raising the temperature at the end of the fermentation, retaining the carbon dioxide, not over-oaking – results in nobler tannins and fresher and more sophisticated fruit.' There is total destemming – he tried using some of the stems in 1995 but was dissatisfied with the results. 'It may work for Vosne-Romanée but it doesn't work with Gevrey-Chambertin: the tannins can be a bit too hard.' The temperatures are allowed to rise to 33°C after a short, natural period of cold-soaking. ' One should leave the wine to start its fermentation naturally. If one forces the cold soaking one has to add too much sulphur dioxide.' There are two pigeages but no pumping over. ' Why pump the wine if one doesn't have to? One should respect the solid matter as much as the liquid.' And overall a minimal use of sulphur and 20 percent new oak. Since the 2005 vintage he has waxed the necks of the bottles and ceased the use of corks treated with peroxide, to reduce the risk of premature oxidation.

In the vineyard Fourrier can profit from the largely venerable age of his vines (the Clos Saint-Jacques dates from 1910) and he uses his the best of own plants for his massale selection, convinced that these are far superior than clones. The date of the harvest is dependant on the phenolic ripeness rather than the sugar levels.

The result is precision. And since 2004 even greater quality than before, as the notes below will amply demonstrate. There are very lovely wines at the Fourrier domaine today.

Jean-Marie Fourrier, now rising 40, is quietly composed individual, clearly a thinker as well as a doer. There is no bombast. Just a gentle confidence. He is married to a charming and very attractive English lady, Vicki, and they have two children, Louis and Lucie.

The Fourrier domaine occupies 9 hectares, and this is made up as follows:

I sampled the following vintages of Jean-Marie Fourrier's Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Champeaux in January 2011.

2009From 2020 plus

Bottled 8 days previously. Despite this the wine shows very well indeed. Good colour. Full, ample nose. Rich, quite structured. Fat and classy. Full bodied. Some tannin. And the tannins are very rich and ripe. Very good grip. Lots of depth and energy. Lovely long finish. This is fine.

2008From 2018

Good colour. Really quite rich and succulent on the nose. An excellent result. Full and fresh and classy. Not quite as rich and opulent as the 2009. The acidity is more apparent. But medium-full bodied, with good tannins, and a lovely, long finish. This will get more and more generous as it develops.

2007From 2014

Medium-full colour. Soft cedary-oaky nose. Medium weight. Balanced. But quite forward, without a great deal of tannin. But fresh enough, juicy, and nice and ripe. Finishes positively. Will come forward quite soon. Lots of charm here.

2006From 2016

A little more colour than the 2007. Good nose. Plenty of class and depth. Not too adolescent, but an absence of real richness. Balanced though, and no lack of finesse. Fullish body. Good tannins. Richer on the palate than the nose would suggest. Ripe, harmonious and even complex at the end. Very good finish. Fine for the vintage.

2005From 2017

Full colour. Lovely fragrant nose. Not a blockbuster but very stylish, very harmonious and very intense. On the palate more backbone and more tannin than the nose suggested. Very lovely succulent fruit. Ripe tannins. Lots of energy and class. Very fine.

2004Now-2020

Good colour. A slight touch of reduction at first, but this blew off. Medium body. Attractive ripe fruit if not the finesse of recent vintages. Now just about ready. More substance than the 2007. Good positive, ample, ripe follow-through. Generous for a 2004, and a fine result.

2003Now-2018

Good but not monstrous colour. Ripe, spicy, somewhat caramelised nose, but reasonable freshness and style. Medium-full body. The tannins are now soft. The wine is very ripe, wih somewhat burnt and cooked flavours. No real class but reasonably fresh. Very good plus for the vintage. But I much prefer the 2004.

2002Now-2020 plus

Fullish colour. Fragrant nose. Softer and not quite as rich or as intense as the 2005. Not quite as classy either. Medium-full body. This is now getting soft. Only a little unresolved tannin. Balanced. Good energy and depth. Fine but not as sophisticated or as profound as the wines of today.

2000Now-2015

Light, mature colour. Very soft nose. Not a great deal of wine here. Reasonably fresh, but rather one-dimensional. Easy to drink and charming nonetheless.

1999Now-2020

Medium-full mature colour. Attractive nose. Ripe and succulent. Just about ready. Medium to medium-full body. Fresh. Not the greatest depth or vigour, but balanced and most enjoyable. Very good indeed for the vintage.

1998Now-2016

Medium colour. Open, charming nose. No great concentration but fruity and attractive. Medium weight. No real backbone. Fully ready. Decent attack but then it tails off just a bit. Very good for the vintage.