2014 Gevrey-Chambertin Combe Aux Moines 1er Cru

The combination of sweet fruit and sound acidity in 2014 reminds Jean-Marie Fourrier of the 1999s He believes that the ‘14s are unlikely “to really close down in bottle” Still, he added, there’s a range of styles in 2014, including a lot of wines vinified with whole clusters, which he feels was often a bad idea “We had nicely phenolic maturity in 2014 but not like in 2015,” he explained “With the use of stems, it was too easy to lose the red fruit element of the vintage and increase the tannins Two thousand fourteen is essentially a vintage of easy drinkability” Incidentally, Fourrier told me that he loves his red Burgundy between seven and ten years of age, “between the secondary and tertiary aromas”

The combination of sweet fruit and sound acidity in 2014 reminds Jean-Marie Fourrier of the 1999s. He believes that the ‘14s are unlikely “to really close down in bottle.” Still, he added, there’s a range of styles in 2014, including a lot of wines vinified with whole clusters, which he feels was often a bad idea. “We had nicely phenolic maturity in 2014 but not like in 2015,” he explained. “With the use of stems, it was too easy to lose the red fruit element of the vintage and increase the tannins. Two thousand fourteen is essentially a vintage of easy drinkability.” Incidentally, Fourrier told me that he loves his red Burgundy between seven and ten years of age, “between the secondary and tertiary aromas.”

Jean-Marie Fourrier was a relatively early harvester in Gevrey-Chambertin, starting on September 12 and bringing in fruit with an average of 12. 5% potential alcohol. He chaptalized lightly (the wines are now 12. 9% or 13%), mostly in order to extend the fermentations, which he said went very quickly. Crop levels here were 35 to 37 hectoliters per hectare for the premier crus and about 40 for the village wines. The malos finished by spring and the wines had been moved into tank about ten days before my November visit, although Fourrier did not plan to bottle until February.

He describes 2014 as “a sexy vintage; it reminds me of 1999 in its generosity of fruit. ”He went on:“The berries were smaller in 2013 and gave blacker flavors. In 2014, in order to get black fruits, it would have been more through the winemaking” [e. g. , extended cold maceration using SO2, heavy extraction, use of enzymes, etc. ]. Fourrier uses 20% new oak for all of his wines, all from Tonnellerie Cadus; he also buys three-year-old Cadus barrels from Jadot and uses them for another two years.