2017 Echézeaux Grand Cru

If you witnessed a car speeding down the RN74 around Thursday, November 22, that was yours truly, having realized that I should be at “Fourrier” and not “Fournier.” Fortunately, Jean-Marie was waiting for me, alongside a number of amphorae that have sprouted since I last visited.

“It was not the most complicated vintage,” Fourrier explained. “The yields were not excessive, as we have a lot of 80-plus-year-old vines. We had to be careful where the vineyard had been frosted in 2016. It was important to wait 100 days and obtain proper phenolic maturity: the pips were still green on September 2. So we started picking on September 7 and harvested over five days with a team of 60 pickers. The malolactic was slow and gentle and there is no chaptalisation. We matured all the crus in 20% new oak. Everything was de-stemmed apart from the Aux Réas and the Aux Echange, where we used 40% whole bunches.”

I had to ask Jean-Marie about the clay amphorae that I spotted. Is he going all “natural” on us? “We are exploring amphora at the moment. The cellar temperatures are much warmer these days and so the malolactic is quicker. I want to see if amphora preserves the mineral character. So in 2017 we are trialling around 30% of the production for the Combe Aux Moines and the Vieilles Vignes for Clos Saint-Jacques. But I am not religious about them. I just want to see, and as yet no decisions have been made as to whether we use them long-term. One advantage is that unlike barrels, you can leave them empty for a year.” I asked Fourrier for his overall impression of the 2017s. “There is an unexpected depth to the vintage,” he answered. “I can see a link in terms of style and personality with 2002.”

This is now quite a large tasting, almost equally split between Domaine Fourrier and Jean-Marie Fourrier, the latter his négociant arm that includes a number of prestigious vineyards. It never ceases to surprise me that Fourrier is not a household name in his own country, whereas overseas he is one of the most respected winemakers. Where does this domestic indifference come from? Certainly not the wines. The 2017s are splendid. There are often aromatically quite plush and extrovert, occasionally reminiscent of Christophe Perrot-Minot’s wines in Morey-Saint-Denis. Fourrier has a knack of accentuating the fruit, perhaps something he picked up when working as an intern for Henri Jayer. This year I have a slight preference for his Clos Saint-Jacques over his solitary domaine Grand Cru, the Griotte-Chambertin. There is plenty to seek out beyond these two, not least the excellent Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers and both Gevrey Les Champeaux and Charbaudes. One can argue that the négociant wines are a tad less consistent; for example, I expected more from his Les Amoureuses and Echézeaux, though the Mazoyères-Chambertin is well worth seeking out.