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Domaine Fourrier

2011 Domaine Fourrier, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru, Vieille Vigne

France Pinot Noir Burgundy Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 750ML

Wine Advocate

95

Vinous

94
/
2011 Domaine Fourrier, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru, Vieille Vigne
Domaine Fourrier

2011 Domaine Fourrier, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru, Vieille Vigne

France Pinot Noir Burgundy Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 750ML

Wine Advocate

95

Vinous

94
/
3 In Stock

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One of the shining stars today in Gevrey-Chambertin, Fourrier became hotly collectible following the ascension of Jean-Marie in 1994. His vision matched his experiences of working with Domaine Drouhin (Oregon) and with the legendary Henri Jayer, transforming the once-rustic wines of the estate into bottles of unparalleled elegance.

Domaine Fourrier

With his ascension to winemaker of the important Domaine Fourrier after stints with Domaine Drouhin in Oregon and tutelage from one Henri Jayer, one wouldn't blame Jean-Marie Fourrier for carrying himself with an air of superiority. But that just wouldn't befit a man who works so tirelessly and selflessly, caring for the ancient vines of his father's winery with such passion that he has elevated its name to the top echelon of Burgundy Domaines.

Founded in the 1930s by Fernand Pernot, the estate came to be known as Pernot-Fourrier after Fernand's nephew Jean-Claude Fourrier came into the fold, fully taking control in 1969. The foresight of adding a wealth of vineyard land early on has become the backbone of what exists today, as Fourrier owns vineyards in Gevrey, Chambolle, Morey-Saint-Denis and Vougeot, 10 hectares all told. One of the very first Burgundy Domaines to export to the US, Fourrier had faced a small decline in the 1980s, but Jean-Marie's emergence provided the spark to elevate Fourrier to what we know today.

The 10 hectares owned by the Domaine are finally entirely vinified at the Domaine as of 2007, no longer needing to sell grapes with the new cuverie. From the holdings come 15 different wines sourced from 70 parcels in total.

Viticulture & Vinification

The Domaine Fourrier owns almost exclusively old-vine plots; Jean-Marie's focus is not only vine health, but vine age - any vine short of 30 years of age does not get its fruit added to the Domaine wines, and the overall age averages between 50 and 70 years across all vineyards. These naturally-developed vines are only pruned back in the winter time, allowing them to do their own work without any removal of clusters through the growing season. The yearly quest is simple: he wants the full expression of his vineyards in each bottle.

As with his mentor Jayer, Fourrier performs a 4-5 day cold-soak and de-stems (almost all of) his grapes. He's dogmatic about preserving freshness and flavor in his wines, so no more than 20% new oak is used across all cuvées, and when transporting the grapes, the utmost caution is used to keep the grapes' skins intact. This also allows minimal use of sulfur. The only method of extraction is pigeage, a maximum of 2-4 times per day. Pressing cycles are very gentle, and the juice sent to tank for a 24-hour settling period to remove the heaviest sediment, before being moved via gravity to barrel where it will stay for 12 months on the lees. In the same vein, there is no racking; as Fourrier explains, "We like to keep high levels of carbonic gas which allows minimal use of sulfur - the CO2 acts as a natural protectant which would need to be replaced by sulfur if racked. Also, one of the micro proteins of the dead yeast is glycerol which during the malo-lactic fermentation is suspended into the wine and fixes, giving a lovely fatness and roundness in mouth." The best cuvées are often bottled right from the cask; the remainder will be blended from the multiple barrels into cask for a few months prior to a February bottling, which is done without fining or filtering.

The array of vineyards is impressive, highlighted by perhaps the finest Griotte-Chambertin made today, as well as the famous Clos-St.-Jacques. Jean-Marie has created a micro-negoce label under his own name, where through long-term leases of stellar vineyards he follows the same practices with vineyards outside of his family holdings. The wines are of essentially the very same, high quality.

We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have a vintage such as 2022 to kick off our partnership with Jean-Marie; he considers 2022 to be similar in some ways to 2019 and 2020 in its balance and ripeness, but unlike the earlier vintages 2022 blessed the vineyards with early rains to give the vines ample nutrients to survive the warm summer months. The harvest was done in early September, and the old vines produced low yields of incredible quality. Early returns are showing wines enjoyable in their youth but with extreme potential.

See More at Thatcher's Imports

Meet the Producer

Domaine Fourrier

One of the shining stars today in Gevrey-Chambertin, Fourrier became hotly collectible following the ascension of Jean-Marie in 1994. His vision matched his experiences of working with Domaine Drouhin (Oregon) and with the legendary Henri Jayer, transforming the once-rustic wines of the estate into bottles of unparalleled elegance.

With his ascension to winemaker of the important Domaine Fourrier after stints with Domaine Drouhin in Oregon and tutelage from one Henri Jayer, one wouldn't blame Jean-Marie Fourrier for carrying himself with an air of superiority. But that just wouldn't befit a man who works so tirelessly and selflessly, caring for the ancient vines of his father's winery with such passion that he has elevated its name to the top echelon of Burgundy Domaines.

Founded in the 1930s by Fernand Pernot, the estate came to be known as Pernot-Fourrier after Fernand's nephew Jean-Claude Fourrier came into the fold, fully taking control in 1969. The foresight of adding a wealth of vineyard land early on has become the backbone of what exists today, as Fourrier owns vineyards in Gevrey, Chambolle, Morey-Saint-Denis and Vougeot, 10 hectares all told. One of the very first Burgundy Domaines to export to the US, Fourrier had faced a small decline in the 1980s, but Jean-Marie's emergence provided the spark to elevate Fourrier to what we know today.

The 10 hectares owned by the Domaine are finally entirely vinified at the Domaine as of 2007, no longer needing to sell grapes with the new cuverie. From the holdings come 15 different wines sourced from 70 parcels in total.

Viticulture & Vinification

The Domaine Fourrier owns almost exclusively old-vine plots; Jean-Marie's focus is not only vine health, but vine age - any vine short of 30 years of age does not get its fruit added to the Domaine wines, and the overall age averages between 50 and 70 years across all vineyards. These naturally-developed vines are only pruned back in the winter time, allowing them to do their own work without any removal of clusters through the growing season. The yearly quest is simple: he wants the full expression of his vineyards in each bottle.

As with his mentor Jayer, Fourrier performs a 4-5 day cold-soak and de-stems (almost all of) his grapes. He's dogmatic about preserving freshness and flavor in his wines, so no more than 20% new oak is used across all cuvées, and when transporting the grapes, the utmost caution is used to keep the grapes' skins intact. This also allows minimal use of sulfur. The only method of extraction is pigeage, a maximum of 2-4 times per day. Pressing cycles are very gentle, and the juice sent to tank for a 24-hour settling period to remove the heaviest sediment, before being moved via gravity to barrel where it will stay for 12 months on the lees. In the same vein, there is no racking; as Fourrier explains, "We like to keep high levels of carbonic gas which allows minimal use of sulfur - the CO2 acts as a natural protectant which would need to be replaced by sulfur if racked. Also, one of the micro proteins of the dead yeast is glycerol which during the malo-lactic fermentation is suspended into the wine and fixes, giving a lovely fatness and roundness in mouth." The best cuvées are often bottled right from the cask; the remainder will be blended from the multiple barrels into cask for a few months prior to a February bottling, which is done without fining or filtering.

The array of vineyards is impressive, highlighted by perhaps the finest Griotte-Chambertin made today, as well as the famous Clos-St.-Jacques. Jean-Marie has created a micro-negoce label under his own name, where through long-term leases of stellar vineyards he follows the same practices with vineyards outside of his family holdings. The wines are of essentially the very same, high quality.

We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have a vintage such as 2022 to kick off our partnership with Jean-Marie; he considers 2022 to be similar in some ways to 2019 and 2020 in its balance and ripeness, but unlike the earlier vintages 2022 blessed the vineyards with early rains to give the vines ample nutrients to survive the warm summer months. The harvest was done in early September, and the old vines produced low yields of incredible quality. Early returns are showing wines enjoyable in their youth but with extreme potential.

See More at Thatcher's Imports

The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

95

The 2011 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru is blessed with a sublime bouquet of intense red currant, fresh strawberry and rose petal aromas that display exquisite delineation and positively blossoms in the glass. The palate has a satin-like entry underpinned by filigree tannins that render this Griotte feminine, elegant and graceful with fabulous focus. This is simply exquisite. Drink 2014-2030. I remember first meeting Jean-Marie Fourrier in London back at a time when he was establishing a presence in the UK market. Back then, his wines enjoyed more cultish popularity, that being at a time when Burgundy was the preserve of aficionados. Things have changed. Fourrier is now one of the most respected names in Gevrey, even if, perversely, he remains relatively unknown in his homeland. And Jean-Marie has not changed in all the years that I have known him. He is passionate, candid, principled, witty and born with a convenient knack of creating elegant Pinot Noirs that in 2011 have been augmented by two negociant offerings. Jean-Marie was at pains to explain that this expansion is simply because it is too expensive to buy vineyard nowadays and it does not represent a change in direction. His wines bear a whiff of semblance of Henri Jayer for whom Jean-Marie did a stage back in 1988, the fruit almost entirely de-stemmed and aged prudently in a modest percentage of new oak. With respect to the 2011s, I questioned him about the ripeness level and whether he felt there were incidences of greenness. He explained that there was the constant pressure of mildew, but that those with adequate, healthy green foliage were able to exploit the final three weeks of warm weather at the end of what had been a cool summer, offering the step to phenolic maturity. As previously mentioned, there are two negociant wines to finish off. Jean-Marie’s team goes into the vineyard to undertake the picking and he emphasized: “I buy grapes, not wine” and only from those who bottle themselves and want to reduce their quantity.

Vinous

Vinous

94

Bright, dark red. Very ripe aromas of redcurrant, raspberry and spices, complicated by soil-driven notes of porcini and truffle. At once silky and energetic, with youthfully imploded flavors of blackberry and cassis. Distinctly darker and tighter than the Clos Saint-Jacques and much more backward and less perfumed on the aftertaste. This will need longer in bottle to reveal itself.

What the Critics are Saying

The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

95

The 2011 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru is blessed with a sublime bouquet of intense red currant, fresh strawberry and rose petal aromas that display exquisite delineation and positively blossoms in the glass. The palate has a satin-like entry underpinned by filigree tannins that render this Griotte feminine, elegant and graceful with fabulous focus. This is simply exquisite. Drink 2014-2030. I remember first meeting Jean-Marie Fourrier in London back at a time when he was establishing a presence in the UK market. Back then, his wines enjoyed more cultish popularity, that being at a time when Burgundy was the preserve of aficionados. Things have changed. Fourrier is now one of the most respected names in Gevrey, even if, perversely, he remains relatively unknown in his homeland. And Jean-Marie has not changed in all the years that I have known him. He is passionate, candid, principled, witty and born with a convenient knack of creating elegant Pinot Noirs that in 2011 have been augmented by two negociant offerings. Jean-Marie was at pains to explain that this expansion is simply because it is too expensive to buy vineyard nowadays and it does not represent a change in direction. His wines bear a whiff of semblance of Henri Jayer for whom Jean-Marie did a stage back in 1988, the fruit almost entirely de-stemmed and aged prudently in a modest percentage of new oak. With respect to the 2011s, I questioned him about the ripeness level and whether he felt there were incidences of greenness. He explained that there was the constant pressure of mildew, but that those with adequate, healthy green foliage were able to exploit the final three weeks of warm weather at the end of what had been a cool summer, offering the step to phenolic maturity. As previously mentioned, there are two negociant wines to finish off. Jean-Marie’s team goes into the vineyard to undertake the picking and he emphasized: “I buy grapes, not wine” and only from those who bottle themselves and want to reduce their quantity.

Vinous

Vinous

94

Bright, dark red. Very ripe aromas of redcurrant, raspberry and spices, complicated by soil-driven notes of porcini and truffle. At once silky and energetic, with youthfully imploded flavors of blackberry and cassis. Distinctly darker and tighter than the Clos Saint-Jacques and much more backward and less perfumed on the aftertaste. This will need longer in bottle to reveal itself.