Domaine Fourrier

The estate's modern history begins in the 1930s when Fernand Pernot, a childless bachelor, began acquiring vineyards in Gevrey-Chambertin under the name Domaine Fernand Pernot. His younger relative Jean-Claude Fourrier joined him in the 1960s, working alongside him for years before taking over the running of the estate in 1969 and renaming it Pernot-Fourrier; after Pernot's death in 1982 it became Domaine Jean-Claude Fourrier, and finally simply Domaine Fourrier in 1992 when Jean-Claude's children Jean-Marie and Isabelle came into the business. The Fourrier family had grown vines in Gevrey for generations before this, but the domaine as a single continuous estate dates to Pernot's holdings of the 1930s rather than to any deeper unbroken lineage.

• Fernand Pernot assembled Gevrey-Chambertin vineyards in the 1930s as Domaine Fernand Pernot
• Jean-Claude Fourrier joined in the 1960s and took over the running in 1969, renaming it Pernot-Fourrier
• Pernot died in 1982; the estate became Domaine Fourrier in 1992 when Jean-Marie and Isabelle joined
• The domaine as a single estate dates to the 1930s, not to a deeper unbroken multi-generation lineage

Jean-Marie Fourrier, born in 1971, took over from his father in 1994 at just twenty-three years old; the 1994 crop was sold off to help cover succession costs, and his first full estate vintage was 1995. He had trained in formidable company, working with the legendary Henri Jayer in Vosne-Romanée, where he made the 1989 vintage alongside Emmanuel Rouget, and interning at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. He took over a domaine that had drifted from prominence and, without chasing high scores or fashionable techniques, rebuilt it into one of Burgundy's most sought-after addresses through a philosophy of minimal intervention and faithfulness to site.

• Born 1971; took over in 1994 at age 23, with his first full estate vintage in 1995
• Trained with Henri Jayer in Vosne-Romanée, making the 1989 vintage alongside Emmanuel Rouget
• Interned at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon
• Rebuilt a drifting domaine into a sought-after address through minimal intervention

Domaine Fourrier farms about 10 hectares across four communes: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, and Vougeot. In Gevrey the Premier Cru holdings include Clos Saint-Jacques, Combe aux Moines, Champeaux, Les Goulots, and Cherbaudes, most of them in the northwest of the appellation under the cooling influence of the Combe de Lavaux. The sole Grand Cru is a 0.26-hectare parcel of Griotte-Chambertin, planted in 1928. Outside Gevrey the estate holds a Premier Cru in Chambolle-Musigny and the village Clos Solon in Morey-Saint-Denis. Vosne-Romanée appears in the Fourrier range only through Jean-Marie's separate micro-négoce label, not as an estate holding. Most domaine vines were planted between the World Wars and are maintained through massale selection.

• About 10 hectares across Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, and Vougeot
• Clos Saint-Jacques: 0.89 hectares, vines planted 1910, at the mouth of the Combe de Lavaux
• Sole Grand Cru: Griotte-Chambertin, 0.26 hectares planted 1928, one of the smallest Grand Crus in Gevrey
• Vosne-Romanée appears only via the micro-négoce label, not as an estate holding

Jean-Marie abandoned herbicides in the mid-1990s and replaces missing vines only by massale selection, rejecting commercial clones. Yields are controlled by winter pruning and de-budding rather than green harvesting. In the cellar the fruit is almost entirely destemmed after sorting, given a short cold soak of several days, and fermented with native yeasts, with extraction by gentle pigeage two to four times a day and no pumpovers. The wines are raised in a maximum of around 20 percent new oak across every level from village to Grand Cru, with very little new wood at the bottom of the range, and Jean-Marie relies on dissolved carbon dioxide rather than heavy sulfur additions for protection. Bottling is done without fining or filtration. The guiding idea, sometimes described as a philosophy of doing as little as possible, is to let old vines and site speak for themselves.

• No herbicides since the mid-1990s; vine replacement only by massale selection; yields cut by pruning and de-budding
• Near-complete destemming, a short cold soak, and native-yeast fermentation with pigeage and no pumpovers
• Around 20 percent new oak at most across all levels, with very little at the entry tier
• Minimal added sulfur, relying on dissolved CO2; bottled without fining or filtration

The Vieilles Vignes signature runs through the range: domaine cuvées are made only from older vines, and fruit from vines under roughly thirty years is declassified. The two most celebrated wines are the Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos Saint-Jacques, from vines dating to 1910 and widely treated as a hidden Grand Cru, and the tiny Griotte-Chambertin, considered one of the finest expressions of that small appellation. The wines are prized for transparency, finesse, and bright red fruit over power, and they develop gracefully with age. By Burgundy Grand Cru standards prices have stayed comparatively accessible, in line with Jean-Marie's long-stated wish that a wide audience be able to drink them, though tiny production keeps secondary-market demand strong.

• Vieilles Vignes signature: only older vines used; young-vine fruit declassified
• Clos Saint-Jacques (1910 vines) is widely regarded as a hidden Grand Cru
• Griotte-Chambertin is considered a benchmark for the small Grand Cru
• Transparent, finessed, red-fruited style that ages gracefully; tiny production drives demand