Domaine Fourrier

have long been an admirer of the Fourrier wines and particularly so for their purity of expression and overall quality. As the scores and commentaries will confirm, 2017 will do nothing to change my point of view. BURGHOUND

I asked Fourrier for his overall impression of the 2017s. “There is an unexpected depth to the vintage,” he answered. “I can see a link in terms of style and personality with 2002.”

This is now quite a large tasting, almost equally split between Domaine Fourrier and Jean-Marie Fourrier, the latter his négociant arm that includes a number of prestigious vineyards. It never ceases to surprise me that Fourrier is not a household name in his own country, whereas overseas he is one of the most respected winemakers. Where does this domestic indifference come from? Certainly not the wines. The 2017s are splendid. There are often aromatically quite plush and extrovert, occasionally reminiscent of Christophe Perrot-Minot’s wines in Morey-Saint-Denis. Fourrier has a knack of accentuating the fruit, perhaps something he picked up when working as an intern for Henri Jayer. This year I have a slight preference for his Clos Saint-Jacques over his solitary domaine Grand Cru, the Griotte-Chambertin. There is plenty to seek out beyond these two, not least the excellent Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers and both Gevrey Les Champeaux and Charbaudes. NEAL MARTIN, Vinous

In 1994, having previously done six month internships with Henry Jayer and Domaine Drouhin, Oregon, either side of military service, Jean-Marie Fourrier took over the domaine from his father Jean-Claude who had been working since the age of fourteen, on the death of his own father in 1961. Jean-Marie had his own views on how best to run the vineyards and make the wine, and his own markets to create. He is assisted by his sister Isabelle, in the vineyards, and by his English wife Vicki.

In general though he is lucky enough to be working with very old vines, mostly planted between the two World Wars, and thus only with local genetic material and not modern clones.

Fourrier does not fit into any specific camp of vignerons. He is not biodynamic though his approach shares much with the more sensitive protagonists of that philosophy. You have to get it right in the vineyard, which means being there all the time, and understanding equilibrium. Yields are restricted through pruning, debudding and careful management of vigour – he is not a fan of green harvesting, nor for that matter of leaf-plucking in July.

All the wines, whether village or grand cru, are matured in 20% new oak, the idea being to keep renewing the barrel cellar rather than to influence the fruit with any barrel flavours. The wines are not racked at all until transferred to tank about two months before bottling in the spring, eighteen months after harvest.

The results of all this meticulous work are very appealing wines, each of which shows the character of its provenance quite clearly. The wines are bright in colour but not exceptionally deep, with very pure red fruit flavours on the nose. The shape of the wine thereafter depends on the vineyard. Tannins are typically fine-boned except where the cru (Clos Solon, Combe aux Moines) dictates otherwise. JASPER MORRIS MW