2022 Gevrey-Chambertin Cherbaudes 1er Cru

“No probs”. That’s a very English, dare I say almost Essex slang that you won’t hear from a French Bourguignon. But Louis Fourrier is actually half-Essex since his mother hails from the Grand Cru of English counties (official). Hearing it as I departed the Domaine made me smile. It was great to see his father, Jean-Marie, again. By our calculation, we had not met since before COVID, and it was good to have a natter. He has irons in a couple of fires, including making wine at Bass Philip in Australia. I didn’t realize that he has some relatives Down Under that make it logical, and I half-joked that he would do a “Philippe Colin” in Chassagne and move down there once he takes retirement. That won’t be for a number of years yet; after all, Louis himself is only 18 years old. Despite his tender years, he conducted my tasting more professionally than some winemakers who’ve been doing it for years. “We had an 8% loss of fruit because of hail around Gevrey,” he tells me. “But this was compensated by berries containing more juice. We started the picking in the Côte de Beaune on September 5 and Côte de Nuits on September 10 and the wines are around 13.5% alcohol.”

Jean-Marie is a very talented winemaker. Always has been. This was a consistent set of Domaine wines with a sorbet-like freshness, one of their signature features. Oddly, alternating between them, I preferred the regular Clos Saint-Jacques over the Cuvée Centenaire, though there’s a whisker between them. I was also deeply impressed by the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Goulots, which was blessed with a showstopping mineral-driven finish.