1998 Gevrey-Chambertin Cherbaudes 1er Cru

"Yes, yields were high in 1999," admitted Jean-Marie Fourrier, "but Nature gave noble tannins and great pinot fruit; the wines are a bouquet of flowers and pure fruits." Besides, he added, pinot can be outstanding at a production level of 40 hectoliters per hectare. "Above that it up to Nature." Fourrier does not believe in saignee or other methods of concentrating the must: "I'd rather understand the wine than try to control it." Fourrier aged his '98s on their lees until the bottling in April of 2000. I was struck on this visit by the pure, complex aromatics of the Fourrier wines, and by the way the wines accurately reflect their various sites.

During the '98 harvest, Jean-Marie Fourrier relied on his pickers to eliminate the 15% to 20% of the grapes affected by rot before bringing the fruit into the cuverie. He describes the vintage as a bit more structured than '97, with a lower pH, but notes that the earlier year produced very rich wines. Following three or four days of cold maceration (Fourrier chills rather than sulfurs his musts), the temperature and length of fermentation varied by cru, as the temperature rose in some tanks but not in others (as a rule, though, temperatures are kept on the cool side here). Fourrier relies on carbonic gas-and the wines' lees-rather than sulfur to protect against oxidation, and the malos typically are protracted. The basic objective, Fourrier explains, is to do most of the levage prior to the end of the secondary fermentation. "My father always got very aromatic wines," says Fourrier. "I'm trying to preserve the fresh aromas of pinot noir while getting more depth of flavor and nobler tannins." The Fourrier '97s have delivered on their early promise; they offer a combination of richness and freshness rare for the vintage.