2011 Griotte Chambertin

Bright, dark red. Very ripe aromas of redcurrant, raspberry and spices, complicated by soil-driven notes of porcini and truffle. At once silky and energetic, with youthfully imploded flavors of blackberry and cassis. Distinctly darker and tighter than the Clos Saint-Jacques and much more backward and less perfumed on the aftertaste. This will need longer in bottle to reveal itself.

The 2011 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru is blessed with a sublime bouquet of intense red currant, fresh strawberry and rose petal aromas that display exquisite delineation and positively blossoms in the glass. The palate has a satin-like entry underpinned by filigree tannins that render this Griotte feminine, elegant and graceful with fabulous focus. This is simply exquisite. Drink 2014-2030. 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

Bright, deep red. Reduced and stubbornly closed on the nose. Subdued but pure on the palate, showing impressive fat and sweetness to its flavors of red berries, crushed stone and blood orange. Less detailed and lower in pitch than the Clos Saint-Jacques, but the largest of these 2011s, and fine-grained and smooth on the palate. This will require another look in its finished form.