Magnum Society 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin tasting

In 2007, on release in New Zealand, the Magnum Society wine club purchased three bottles of each of these seven wines. They were kept in refrigerated storage until the tasting, I led, in late November 2021.

The wines were decanted at least six hours before tasting, which, with hindsight, seemed appropriate. Of the 21 bottles, only one was corked (a Champeaux) and, at the tasting, none of the tasters reported faults or bottle variation in any of the other 20 bottles.

On the day, the wines were served in 60 mls pours (with limited opportunity for top ups) except the Champeaux (there was no replacement bottle). Initially the wines were served without food but later a Burgundian-inspired meal was provided to allow tasters to assess the wines with food. All wines were served single blind (that is, I determined the order).

Besides members of the Society we were joined by Wairarapa winemakers Helen (Ata Rangi), John (TK), Mike (Alexander) and Larry (Escarpment).

The tasting was over-subscribed and numbers needed to be limited. Tasters were very positive about the wines, unanimously voting the last three wines gold, which I cannot remember previously happening in the last 10 years of tastings. Everyone seemed to agree, this was a special tasting showing the heights Domaine Fourrier achieved in the great vintage of 2005. The comments below are mine alone as I was not able to note down taster comments in the tasting.

Below is also summary of some of my notes for the tasting.

Jean-Marie Fourrier is a fifth-generation winemaker. He took over the family 10 hectares property from his father, Jean-Claude, in 1994 at the age of 23 years old. His experience was gained not only at the family domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin, but while working at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon (in 1993) and with the legendary Henry Jayer in Vosne-Romanée. Jean-Marie was involved in making the classic 1988 vintage at chez Jayer, and his winemaking philosophy has followed Jayer’s practices ever since: making great wines begins in the vineyard. He is fastidious about maintaining healthy, well-nurtured vines, and about following strict, extremely natural winemaking techniques.

In the vineyard, Jean-Marie does not replace old or diseased vines with new clones – which he blames for what he sees as the excessive green harvest often undertaken in Burgundy – preferring sélection massale from his existing vines.

The fermentation room is equipped with the latest state of the art technology, but the use of these technologies is for the sole purpose of allowing the least intervention in the natural wine making process. Fourrier is a hygiene fanatic, and the winery was immaculately clean and ordered when we tasted there in 2014. The fruit of all vineyards is treated similarly, and everything is done by gravitation before the fermentation stainless steel tanks. The sorting table was raised above the floor to allow free fall of the sorted berries into the destemmer, which requires extra muscle power but saves the use of conveyor belt widely used by other domaines to lift the berries to the crusher. The fruit is destemmed to almost 100% (Jean-Marie experimented with 30-40% stems in 1995 but did not like the results), and is done at extremely low speed. This allows mainly undamaged grapes to get into the fermentation tank, to follow what Jean Marie calls “intra-cellular fermentation”, so that the majority of the fermentation process occurs inside the grape before the skin breaks completely. This was apparently the manner Henry Jayer used in his cellar, and Jean-Marie continues to follow this tradition. He uses only the grapes’ natural yeasts in the fermentation process.

Jean-Marie works reductively and makes minimal use of sulfur. Bottling is done by hand at the Domaine, and in order to avoid racking and adding sulfites before bottling, Jean-Marie prefers to preserve and use the carbon dioxide that naturally evolves in the wine during the malolactic fermentation to ward off oxygen and maintain the freshness of the wines. Fining or filtering is usually not done, since the wines are naturally clear after the 16-20 months aging process without racking. As the wines retain some dissolved carbon dioxide in the bottle, Jean-Marie recommends decanting the wines if drunk young.

He makes very limited use of new oak. Writers differ about new oak percentages for particular cuvées but it is understood that the maximum percentage of new barrique used is around 20%.

• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  The Fourrier Villages wine was sourced from three hectares of vines in the Champerrier du Dessus lieu-dit parcel in northern Gevrey-Chambertin on the border of Brochon. It was purchased by Jean-Marie’s grandfather Joseph Baudot in 1928. The vines were planted between 1928 and 1955, and, as is common for most if not all Fourrier vines, trained in Guyot. It is understood this cuvée only saw neutral barriques.
  
  Evolved garnet colour. A quintessentially Fourrier Gevrey nose. Red berries and cherries, chalk and warm earth. Also development on bouquet, some dried and preserved red fruits, dry brush and dried herbs. On palate, precision and vibrant acidity. Decent concentration and power. Relatively complex for the level and the most advanced of the wines. Still drinking well but perhaps at its best over the next five years. Fresh and dried raspberries, cherries and some plums. Integrated, fine tannins. Paired well with the food. I view the Gevrey Villages as Domaine Fourrier’s “calling card” – speaking to what Domaine Fourrier is all about – in the case of 2005 it’s a very good calling card.
  
  Bronze (B) 2 | Silver (S) 21 | Gold (G) 11 | WoTN 0

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Goulots Vieille Vigne 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Jasper Morris MW in Inside Burgundy says that the name Les Goulots comes from an old word for running water, as ‘gouléyant’, to, as he says, “describe a wine today would imply that it slips down the throat so easily as to be on the point of dilution.” As late as the 1800s there were quarries there, not just for the stone but also for the rich clay which was used to construct bread ovens. This 1.81 ha vineyard is a continuation northwards of Combe aux Moines on the Combe de Lavaut, on the slope above Les Champeaux. With this, it forms the last of the Premier Cru vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin before the vineyards of the commune of Brochon. Morris describes it as “a lighter, hillside, Premier Cru which is not often seen”. Fourrier’s 0.34 ha of vines were planted in 1940.
  
  A darker, more primary colour. A breezy, ‘cooler’ nose of raspberries, tart red cherries and hints of cranberry with chalky minerality, gentle florals and baking spices. On palate a clear step up from the Villages wine in detail and complexity. Initially a little tight and closed but it opened up with time in the glass. Pure, fine and elegant with chalky minerality. Leaner bodied. Succulent, crunchy red berry and cherry fruit. Initially precise, it fans out and expands on the mid and back palate. At its core, austere and a little brooding. Went well with food. I was with the group of tasters really impressed by quality of the Les Goulots, as a cooler red Burgundy expression.
  
  B 0 | S 14 | G 20 | WoTN 0

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cherbaudes Vieille Vigne 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Premier Cru Les Cherbaudes (2.98 ha) is adjacent to Grand Cru Chapelle-Chambertin and immediately below Grand Cru Mazis-Chambertin, Cherbaudes is apparently, according to Jasper Morris MW, the site of an ancient cemetery. Morris says Cherbaudes offers slightly the richest in style of the lower slope Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Crus along with some complexity. The red soil contains big plate-shaped stones which have broken away from the rock beneath. Fourrier has 0.67 ha of vines, planted in 1940.
  
  A ’warmer’ nose than the Les Goulots. Spices, tilled, warm soil, red and black cherries in liqueur, charry meat and minerals. In the mouth, more concentration and ripe fruit than the Goulots. Similar acidity but the impression of more flesh. In a richer style, not as elegant or fresh as the Goulots. Dark red and black cherries, cocoa powder, barbequed game meats, savoury nuances and white mushroom. It seemed to open up and improve over the tasting and showed well with the cuisine. Ultimately, in its somewhat different style, I concluded it reached the level of the Goulots. The consensus of the group was already there, in fact preferring the Cherbaudes over the Goulots.
  
  B 0 | S 5 | G 29 | WoTN 2

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux Vieille Vigne 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Les Champeaux is a 6.68 ha climat located mid-slope towards the north end of the Côte St. Jacques, where the easterly exposition begins to modify a fraction towards the north. Fourrier has only a tiny 0.21 ha. The vines were planted in 1919. The soil is quite mixed, a combination of red and brown earth with the mother rock, quite close to the surface, also showing purple veins. Morris says that Champeaux are "very fruity wines - 'like sucking on a really ripe cherry', suggests Jacky Rigaux - but perhaps without the precision and nobility of the finest".
  
  Back to a higher and cooler site and, therefore, expression. Deep, dark colour. Another classic Fourrier Gevrey bouquet, in this case more dark fruited. Black cherries, blackberries, slaty minerals, smoky barbequed venison, dry earth, mixed spices and dry herbs. Pure, sweet and clean fruit in the mouth but with flavour complexity and detail. Savoury and earthy nuances. Fine grained tannins, largely resolved. The fine, driven acidity is there but there’s also some rich fruit there too. Well balanced and proportioned. Mint on the relatively long, dry finish. Improved by the food.
  
  B 1 | S 14 | G 19 | WoTN 0

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines Vieille Vigne 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Continuing up the slope of Clos St. Jacques, past Cazetiers at the top of the hill, bordered by woods, is Combe aux Moines. There was formerly a small limestone quarry. Morris says that it may have been planted by Benedictine monks as long ago as the seventh century and belonged to the Cluny monks until the French Revolution. Visiting the site today you can easily envisage monks (“Moines”) of the middle ages carrying on their religious services. The aspect is east but the quarry walls of the climat form an amphitheatre providing additional heat in summer, so the grapes always ripen. The slope is steep and rocky with white marl at the top and redder more iron-rich soils further down. Fourrier’s 0.87 ha vineyard was largely planted in 1928. I understand that this wine sees about 20% new barriques. Of all of Domaine Fourrier’s 1er cuvées, I rate Combe aux Moines second, behind only their Clos St. Jacques. Other houses like Faiveley and Louis Jadot produce wines from this site but they do not, for me, usually rise to the level of Fourrier’s best examples.
  
  Another clear step up in (the already very good) quality with the Combe aux Moines. On bouquet masses of intense very dark berry and cherry fruit with wet limestone or chalky minerality. Also, dark spices and a touch of smoky bacon, with a top note of violets and other dark florals. On palate, a large scaled, concentrated, sappy expression, the biggest so far. Not far from Grand Cru scale. But refined, pure and tense. Mineral with sleek dark plums and other black fruit. Excellent structure and suave, silky tannins. A very complete wine, finishing with a flinty austerity I really liked. Very long.
  
  B 0 | S 0 | G 34 | WoTN 2

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Fourrier has a mere 0.26 ha of the total 2.73 ha vineyard in Griotte-Chambertin. He is, however, the fourth largest holder, after Ponsot, René Leclerc and Joseph Drouhin. Griotte-Chambertin, tucked in between Charmes and Chapelle, is the smallest of the Gevrey Grand Crus, typically giving only 1,000 cases per vintage for the whole climat. The vineyard is a low-lying amphitheatre, with two wings encompassing a flatter centre. The underlying rock is from the Bajocian era, but is less compact than in Charmes-Chambertin and is made up of blocks between which the roots can descend. The topsoil is notoriously shallow, which can be dangerous in a very dry year. The wines are among the lightest of the Gevrey Grand Crus but, according to Morris, “can be beautifully perfumed, exquisitely floral at their best, with peony aromas in among the cherries”. The Fourrier vines were planted in 1928.
  
  I expected the Clos St. Jacques to be the most robust, and least open, wine at the tasting, hence placing the Griotte before it. On the evening, this ordering worked very well … A savoury and attractively evolved nose of funky Gevrey feral elements (meant as a positive descriptor), dried herbs, cinnamon and mixed spices, warm tilled soil, a touch of old leather, red cherries and some preserved red fruit. On palate, complex and layered, savoury and earthy. Nuanced and detailed. Cherries and plums, bonfire, cooked game meats, dry brushwood and hints of blood orange citrus. Tannins, fruit and acids melded, resolved and beginning to move towards the secondary. Concentrated and powerful but elegant. Suave, refined tannins. Finishes long and savoury. Seeming more advanced than the Clos St. Jacques but years ahead of it of course.
  
  B 0 | S 0 | G 34 | WoTN 5

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• 2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Clos St. Jacques is named for a statue of St. Jacques, as the vineyard was once on the pilgrim’s route to Santiago de Compostela. It is a 1er Cru climat, but with the site perfectly situated on a steep slope with exposure to both the south and east, it clearly merits Grand Cru status. When we visited Sylvie Esmonin, one of the five Clos St. Jacques producers, in 2014, she said that if the five owners asked the authorities for Grand Cru status, it would be granted within the day. She said however that none of the five producers wants this, as they prefer the unique status of Clos St. Jacques as “first among the 1ers”. The five producers each have strips on the site running from the top to the bottom, important for producing wines of consistent quality. The soil of the vineyard changes from white marl at the top to browner clays at the bottom, with many small stones throughout. Morris says that the “combination of this triple soil type and the perfect exposure to both the south and east explains why Clos St-Jacques can be such a complete wine”. Fourrier has the smallest holding of 0.89 ha, next to that of Domaine Armand Rousseau. Fourrier’s vines were planted in 1910.
  
  Crimson red colour with some garnet at the rim. A powerful, fragrant bouquet of red and black cherries and plums, smoky barbequed game, black soil, liquorice, dried herbs, Asian spices and lifted violet florals. On palate, the most concentration, power and structure of the wines. It is a 40 year wine and only a, comparative, baby at 16 years of age. The tannic structure is huge but the tannins are also refined, silky and ultra-fine grained. There is serious, persistent, sparkling acidity but, in sum, the fruit, tannins and acids are in excellent proportion and balance. Serious mid palate weight and satiny mouthfeel. To me, more flavour complexity, layers, nuance and detail than the Griotte, even at this Grand Cru scale, that John described as a full peacock’s tail. Very long, finishing on mineral notes.
  
  B 0 | S 0 | G 34 | WoTN 25

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