Jean-Marie Fourrier
This post goes with the post of February 2, 2010 below, that describes a recent tasting at the excellent Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin. What follows is info garnered from the web and edited for guests as notes for the tasting. Edited again after the tasting – January 21, 2010.
History:
The Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier was once known as Pernot-Fourrier, then more recently as Domaine Jean-Claude Fourrier. It has a long history in Gevrey Chambertin, extending over several generations. One of the first domaines to actually export its wine, it is also one of the most well-endowed estates in the village, with great vineyard holdings. The domaine has been given new life by the arrival of Jean-Marie Fourrier. This is another young vigneron who has reinforced the fortunes of the family domaine. Jean-Marie gained experience not only at the family domaine, but also with Henri Jayer, and Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. He took over control of the winery from his Dad in 1994 – 95. Jean-Marie told us his grandfather died when his Dad was just 14yrs old. His Dad had been working the land and office since, so he was keen to take a smaller role as soon as J-M was old enough to take the reins.
Vines:
Domaine Fourrier owns 9 hectares of vineyards in the communes of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny. The holdings are scattered up and down the slopes and range from village to Grand Cru level. Included among the holdings are important parts of “Clos St. Jacques” and “Combes Aux Moines” as well as a small but valuable slice of Griottes-Chambertin.
Winemaking:
Intervening as little as possible in order to allow the vines, the terroir and the vintage to express themselves is the basis of Jean Marie’s winemaking philosophy. To capture the individual, unique expression of terroir in his wines, he vinifies each vineyard separately, from village to Grand cru. To control yield, he severely prunes his vines in the Winter and Spring, and does not believe in the practice of green harvesting. No more than 20% new oak is used. The aim is to preserve the purity of the fruit and the personality of each wine. Older barrels exchange gases much more slowly, thereby naturally protecting the wine against oxidation. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to proceed free of intervention. Jean-Marie believes that the longer the malolactic takes to finish, the greater the aging potential of the wine. He likes to leave the wines on the fine lees until bottling which usually occurs 20 to 24 months after harvest.
