2005 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vignes Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
Good deep red. More reticent on the nose than the Clos Saint-Jacques, as with the same wines in 2006: blueberry, black raspberry and musky animal nuances. Silky in texture but currently showing much less sweetness than the Clos Saint-Jacques. In fact, this is downright inscrutable today. Amazingly, my recorked bottle was still full of life eight days later, showing sweet tannins and a redder quality to its fruit. This one will need a good decade in the cellar.
Critic scores
David Schildknecht, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Each of the Clos St.-Jacques’s five owners, Fourrier observes, owns a strip from top to bottom, and the resultant diversity of microclimate and soil structure he thinks in part accounts for the complexity and balance of the wines. If there is additional virtue to be discovered in official grand cru terroir, Fourrier opines, then in the case of his 2005 Griottes Chambertin, that consists not in weight or structure but in elegance and refinement. Subtly chalky (and chalk shards, not cherries, are the real origin of the name “Griotte”) yet juicily refreshing and with striking fresh black raspberry fruit purity, this beauty boasts a silky texture and a polished finish mingling licorice, cinnamon and clear, sweet fresh raspberry fruit. Its harmony and refinement make it almost irresistible even now, but no doubt a decade or more in the cellar will be rewarded, too. The articulate and opinionated Jean-Marie Fourrier staunchly believes in the inclusion of uncrushed fruit (to among other things prolong fermentation and, he claims, diminish the efficiency of alcoholic conversion); leaving the young wines on their lees (with high CO2 retention) eighteen months before bottling; employing a mere 20% of new barrels for all wines; and applying only minimal doses of sulfur. That the property from which he sources is all owned outright, and is largely in vines of over fifty years age planted by his father or grandfather before the days of clones certainly helps explain the consistently excellent quality at this address. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990
Bright red-ruby. Complex but reticent nose offers raspberry, minerals, red licorice, flowers and a meaty nuance. Lush, pliant and sweet, but with superb definition and cut to the flavors. This is wonderfully precise but a bit less open to inspection than the Clos Saint-Jacques. Perhaps a bit more Chambolle-like in its elegance and lacy texture, while the CSJ shows more obvious structure. It will be fascinating to follow these two wines over the next 10 to 15 years.
Each of the Clos St.-Jacques’s five owners, Fourrier observes, owns a strip from top to bottom, and the resultant diversity of microclimate and soil structure he thinks in part accounts for the complexity and balance of the wines. If there is additional virtue to be discovered in official grand cru terroir, Fourrier opines, then in the case of his 2005 Griottes Chambertin, that consists not in weight or structure but in elegance and refinement. Subtly chalky (and chalk shards, not cherries, are the real origin of the name “Griotte”) yet juicily refreshing and with striking fresh black raspberry fruit purity, this beauty boasts a silky texture and a polished finish mingling licorice, cinnamon and clear, sweet fresh raspberry fruit. Its harmony and refinement make it almost irresistible even now, but no doubt a decade or more in the cellar will be rewarded, too. Apr 2007, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
Domaine Fourrier is located in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. The estate has been run by Jean-Marie Fourrier since 1994, and has rapidly become one of the village’s most fashionable names, known for producing pure and transparent Pinot Noir.