2011 Gevrey Chambertin Combe Aux Moines

The 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin Le Combe Aux Moines has a bit of everything. Light on its feet and aromatically expressive, the Combe Aux Moines also has plenty of fruit and underlying structure. In 2011, the Combe Aux Moines stands out for its saline vibrancy. There is a weightless intensity in the glass that is simply a marvel to behold.

The 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes Aux Moines has a tightly wound bouquet – cold stone, almost flinty on the nose. The palate is structured on the entry, showing some corpulence and puissance toward the finish, though at the expense of finesse that the Cherbaudes has in droves. Excellent. Drink 2014-2023. 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. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Darker fruited than the Cherbaudes and a little more spice. Tannins so fine they are already silky. Real intensity and line even though it is so refined. Great length. Delicious. (JH)