About 12 months ago, I put my hand up to feature Domaine Forey Père et Fils’ Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots as a theme for my 2026 Monday Table dinner. We are the Australian importer for these wines, and I contacted Quentin Forey and he kindly sold us some older vintages from the cellar, including some Magnums. Last night we looked at 11 vintages of Forey Gaudichots and I popped in an ’01 La Tâche to keep the group on their toes. Forey have been bottling Gaudichots separately since the 1983 vintage. Régis Forey makes deep and powerful Burgundy wines that slowly reveal their charms with bottle age. The Gaudichot wines were remarkably consistent, amply structured and possessing the perfumes and complexity that you would expect from this great Vosne site. Quentin joined his father in the cellar a few years ago and you feel a slightly lighter hand to the younger wines, but power and perfume are still the hallmarks. I broke the wines up into three brackets. The more elegant vintages, the powerhouse vintages and the last four releases.
Warmed up with a couple of ’08 Champagne.
2008 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut : Very fresh and pure Chardonnay nose. Exquisite white peach and lemon fruits. You can feel the dosage, but it is cut by fine, minerally acidity. Great class, finesse and balance.
2008 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut : This bottle was showing a touch of development. Notes of grilled nuts, red apple, preserved lemon and chalk. Deep, layered powerful and chewy. Quite dry and tangy with saline minerality a plenty. A gourmand wine that demands food. Too big as an aperitif.
A flight of Montys had an Aussie interloper.
2016 Jean-Claude Ramonet Montrachet, Grand Cru : Not advanced but ready to play. A rich and heady nose of custard apple, ripe peach, aniseed and spearmint. It is quite spicy and layered in the mouth. There’s almond butter through the mid and smoky mineral notes on the huge finish.
2016 Louis Jadot Montrachet, Grand Cru : Incredibly youthful under its DIAM30 closure. Sappy orchard fruits have good intensity and detail. Excellent volume in the mouth and great power and drive. There plenty of spice, fine acid cut and length to burn. Got better and better in the glass.
2019 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Montrachet, Grand Cru : Shy to begin, emitting a bare whiff of smoke but after some air it really got going. Explosive white peach fruit is joined by pineapple, mango and fig fruits. It is sappy and textural in the mouth and there’s a riot of flavours playing on a chalky base. Good volume and chew and imposing length of flavour.
2021 Giaconda Chardonnay Estate Vineyard: Got strong support from the table for wine of the bracket, and had the fruit weight and power to mix it with the Montys. Huge smoky and struck match reduction greets the nose. There’s exquisite peach and green melon fruits. It is laden with spice and has plenty of saline minerality. The back end is loaded with chalky dry extract and the finish powers on and on. Still a baby and may live forever under its screwcap.
Threw in a 2001 La Tâche as a smoky in the first bracket. It was delicious and the Gaudichots wines acquitted themselves admirably.
2001 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : From Magnum, this was still youthful, tight and direct. It has ample chalky structure and a gorgeous nose of red berry and rose petal. It is rich and powerful, deep, long and expansive.
2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, Grand Cru : Approaching maturity and showing plenty. Classic aged La Tâche nose of Hoisin and beef stock with some sandalwood spice too. There’s a core of rich and velvety red and black fruits. It has earthy development, nice mineral detail and a finish that is loaded with floral spice. It really fans out and persists.
2007 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : Got some votes for top wine of the bracket from a few at the table. From Magnum this was expressive, perfumed and engaging. The nose draws you in with the scent of rose petals, freshly grated ginger, truffles and cherries. It is mid-weight and balanced and silky against the gums. It has nice flesh and a relaxed structure. It finishes with minerally detail and finesse.
2011 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : This had a vivid purple colour and was unevolved. There was a veritable garden of florals on the nose. It had crisp cherry and pomegranate fruits and some sandalwood spice. The palate has a crunchy edge and chalky base. It finishes with cut and energy.
Four wines from rich and powerful vintages.
2005 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : From Magnum this was both strong and gorgeous. Build around a core of intense cherry fruit. It has some aniseed and ginger as well as sweet earth. It is complex and layered and the fruits have a real juicy quality. Massive structure is buried under the flesh for now and it has length and expansion.
2009 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : Rich dark cherry and berry fruits are tinged with spice. It has depth and flesh and ample structure. It still feels primary, showing just a hint of earthy development. Plenty of great material here upon which to age.
2015 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : A touch of VA punches light florals up into the nostrils. It has sweet cherry fruit at its heart and some Asian spice. There’s real chalky chew here.
2019 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : Gorgeous florals and sandalwood spice greet the nose. It has luscious black cherry fruit through the mid. It is rich and velvety, layered and long. It is powerful but light on its feet and really fans out.
The last four releases. Far too young but very enjoyable none the less.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : Perfectly ripe pomegranate, raspberry and cherry fruits. Light florals and aniseed spice. Very fine and lacy. Elegant but a wine of real latent power and expansion. Balanced, perfumed and delicious.
2022 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : This is a rich, deep and powerful wine without an ounce of excess weight. Luscious dark fruits lap around the gums. There’s so much spice and excellent underlying mineral definition. The finish is bright, expansive and extremely persistent.
2023 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : 100% de-stemmed and very much driven by its fruit. Generous cranberry and cherry notes. Luscious and layered. Perfectly ripe tannins. Spicy notes build and it finishes with authority.
2024 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots : There’s so many intriguing florals, you are drawn to the wine constantly by its alluring aromatics. Violets, rose petals and Arum lily. There’s ample fruit but it is a little redder than all of the other wines. There’s a fine, minerally frame and great cut and expansion. Fabulous perfume and energy in a balanced and beautifully proportioned package.
I love ’01 Yquem. It’s been a great drink for 20 years.
2001 Château d’Yquem, Sauternes: Sweet and luscious, complex and engaging. Notes of vanilla, apricot, peach, honey and lanolin. Rich and sweet but light on its feet. Such great power and presence and imposing length.
Nacional donated by the Aussie importer. Sourced from the winery and in splendid condition.
1964 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional: Of light appearance but still so vibrant and engaging. There’s a beautiful punchy spirit and it is very much red fruited. It has some truffle and earthy development and a suggestion of licorice. It is a mid-weight Nacional that is fully developed and delicious.
