Four Years of Fourrier (and some other Gevrey)

WINE TALK
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We got together for a casual dinner to end the year, worked out to a small vertical of Fourrier and some other 06 Gevrey from notable producers. It’s really interesting to see JM’s growth over the years (minus the 88 which he didn’t make)

  • 1988 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (12/30/2016)
    past its prime. Missing fruit but drinkable.
  • 1996 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (12/30/2016)
    good not great. Acid in check, built up a bit of depth as the night went on but nothing special.
  • 2006 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (12/30/2016)
    brooding deep dark wine. Tannic and structured, fruit still a bit shy but nose is extra pretty.
  • 2008 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (12/30/2016)
    as primary and piercing as it was 3 years ago. A little of that co2 spritz but it actually gave it great lift in the palate. Really delicious wine right now.
  • 2006 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru (12/30/2016)
    Big structured wine, a little tannic on the get go but started to release small waves of bright red fruit. Never really opened up but has nice potential. Not nearly as primary and put together as the 08/09 though
  • 2006 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru (12/30/2016)
    burly dense wine, a ton of dark textured fruit, while open and drinkable, it has the ability to age for some time (as do all bachy charmes)
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The 08 Fourrier sounds my speed, as the cooler vintage would counter the typical riper Fourrier style. Kind of surprised to read the 06 descriptors, though it sounds very promising.

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I’ve been dabbling in '06s recently and, for the most part, am finding them in need of a couple more years.

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Interesting–I plan on opening 96 and 02 Fourrier Griotte tomorrow. 95 was Jean-Marie’s first vintage in charge, was hard and charmless years ago when I bought a couple for $35 per. Hope 96 and 02 are better.

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Good one Charlie. Nice to see some Fourrier notes here. Maybe it’s time to open another of my '08 CSJs? (the last one a few years ago was totally closed on its acids).

Brian, interesting, the '06 Fourriers I’ve opened in the last year or so have been about there for drinking.

Cheers, Howard

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I’ve had very few Fourriers but I believe what I’ve been told which is that there is no point in buying any before the 2002 vintage. Your notes support this.

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96 Griotte was outstanding a couple of years ago.

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I disagree strongly. I loved them from 1998 on, though those wines are pretty well shut down at the moment

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Indeed, the 99 and 01 CSJs are outstanding.

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Excellent! I picked up some '01 CSJ on the cheap few years ago. [cheers.gif]

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2017 is off to an auspicious start. Fu and I actually agree on the wines.

Posted from CellarTracker

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  1. The greatest year in existence.
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and outstanding last night also!

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The '89 Griotte, tasted a year ago, was one one of the greatest bottles I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink.

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Think I may be the previous owner of the '08 Fourrier CSJ if JW brought it. Regardless, glad to hear it showed well…was concerned it would need a lot more time.

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Robert, I bought one 08 from you which I believed I opened 3 years ago. It was great then and also great now. How did you know that I attended dinner with Charlie and friends? Asians don’t drink together ALL the time. . . come on now. jk [wink.gif]

I really enjoyed the 2006 as well. Quite a pretty wine, but more dense and tannic than the 2008 now. Strawberries and raspberries laced with some meaty notes. The 2008 was just incredibly aromatic - which is one of the reasons why I really like Fourrier. It started out kinda tight, but as the night went on, it was just so floral, a bouquet of flowers and red fruit. A pure expression of pinot - really lovely. With all the talk of 2008 red burgundy being early drinkers, I’m hoping this will age just fine. The 1996 was nice early on, didn’t get that much better in the end. While not as pretty as the 06 and 08, it had more texture and weight. The 2006 Rousseau was shy that evening, never really opened up much. I also thought it was a bit linear for Rousseau. Hopefully, the potential is there. The Bachelet Charmes was a whole different beast than the Rousseau and Fourrier. Dark, dense wine with good texture and fine acidity. Lots of dark red fruit and spices; a big wine. On this night, I prefer the style of Fourrier and Rousseau over Bachelet.