2015 Domaine Fournier, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieille Vigne, Côte de Nuits, Red Burgundy, France.
This richly flavored, dark hued and silky 2015 Fournier Virile Vigne Gevrey-Chambertin is absolutely soaring right now with a beautiful medium/full palate of black cherry, red raspberry, mulberry and tangy plum fruits leading the way, along with a sultry mix of earthiness and pretty florals, plus black tea, baking spices, mineral tones and lingering strawberries. One of the nicest and complex village level Burgundies you’ll find and while not cheap, it is a joyous and rewarding wine of charm and purity. This outstanding Gevrey-Chambertin, coming from vines averaging 80+ years old, this includes parcels across the village, with some from the rocky, limestone-driven soils, like Les Champerrier, to the clay-rich soils of Jouise and Seuvrées near the Morey border, which give a deeper fruit impact. Winemaker Jean-Marie Fournier, usually vinifies with his minimal intervention style, with partial whole-cluster fermentation, that adds lift and dimension here. After which, as per normal with Fournier’s wines, it was aged in mostly used oak to promote transparency and allow for each vintage’s nuances to show through, with 2015 being a notable ripe and opulent year that shines in the bottle. This wine was a late addition to a friend gathering and meal, and only saw a quick decant, but still managed to impress and opened up nicely, especially the second glass.
Domaine Fourrier’s somewhat iconic Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne bottling is an old-vine village Burgundy that is made, as much noted, in the domaine’s famously transparent, low-intervention style. This wine is sourced from an average of 15 parcels of old vines, many planted between the 1920s and 1950s, with Fourrier’s Vieille Vignes capturing the best of the appellation’s terroir, with a profound sense of place showing in each bottle. The Domaine Fournier has become a celebrated Burgundy in the last few decades and Jean-Marie’s philosophy has always been simple but, as he notes uncompromising, he wants the old vines and individual terroirs to speak for themselves. He is working with environmental concerns in mind and grows everything with harmony for the nature, he notes that herbicides were abandoned in the mid-90s and he is focused on organics and sustainable farming here. Fournier’s fermentations rely on native yeasts, and new oak has never exceeded 20%, with this bottling under that. Every parcel he usesl is vinified separately, punching down by hand and avoiding pump-overs, being as gentle as possible with his Pinot Noirs, with a passion for toward purity and drinkability. These Fournier wines are enthusiast go to artisan Burgundies and are extremely hard to find, so again I’m grateful to my friend Alex Lallos of No Limits Wine Wines, who graciously shared this old vine Gevrey with me!
($200-300 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive