Domaine Fourrier

The domaine was called Domaine Fernand Pernot in the 1950s. Fernand Pernot was the great-uncle of Jean-Claude Fourrier, who joined the domaine in 1961, and the two worked together for 20 years. The estate then became Domaine Jean-Claude Fourrier, and in 1992, when Jean-Claude's son Jean-Marie and daughter Isabelle joined him, it was renamed simply Domaine Fourrier. Jean-Marie is the fifth generation of the family to run the domaine, which is based at 7 Route de Dijon in Gevrey-Chambertin.

• Domaine Fernand Pernot in the 1950s
• Jean-Claude Fourrier joined in 1961 and worked alongside his great-uncle Fernand Pernot for 20 years
• Domaine Jean-Claude Fourrier, then Domaine Fourrier from 1992
• Jean-Marie Fourrier is the fifth generation of the family to run the domaine

Jean-Marie Fourrier gained experience at the family domaine, with Henri Jayer in Vosne-Romanée, and during a stint at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. He took over the family's 10-hectare property from his father in the mid-1990s at the age of 23. The changeover came in 1994, but because of the taxation due on the succession the whole 1994 vintage was sold to the large négociants to raise the money, and he officially took over the winemaking with the 1995 vintage. As of July 2023 he ran the Gevrey-Chambertin domaine with his wife, Vicki. He also owned an estate in Faugères, in Languedoc-Roussillon, which was sold in 2005.

• Experience with Henri Jayer in Vosne-Romanée and at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon
• Took over from his father in the mid-1990s at the age of 23
• The 1994 crop was sold to the large négociants to pay succession taxes; first official vintage 1995
• As of July 2023, ran the domaine with his wife, Vicki

The domaine's own wines come from Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Vougeot. In Griotte-Chambertin, the smallest of the Chambertin satellite grands crus at 2.69 hectares, the domaine owns about a quarter of a hectare of very old vines: a corner parcel at the bottom right of the vineyard as usually mapped, below Clos de Bèze and above the Route Nationale 74, planted in 1928. In the premier crus of Gevrey, the vines in Clos Saint-Jacques were planted in 1910, Champeaux in 1919, Combe aux Moines in 1928 and Cherbaudes in 1940, and the Vougeot premier cru Les Petits Vougeots was planted between 1950 and 1956. The village Clos Solon in Morey-Saint-Denis takes its name from Solon, the vineyard's original owner. The village Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Echézeaux abuts Mazoyères, and Jean-Marie chose to bottle it apart from his other village parcel so that buyers of village wine could also see a difference of terroir. In 2020 the Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes drew on three main parcels and was the domaine's largest cuvée, accounting for one-third of its production.

• Griotte-Chambertin: about a quarter of a hectare, planted in 1928, in the corner below Clos de Bèze
• Gevrey premier crus: Clos Saint-Jacques (planted 1910), Champeaux (1919), Combe aux Moines (1928), Cherbaudes (1940), Les Goulots
• Vougeot premier cru Les Petits Vougeots, planted between 1950 and 1956
• Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes: three main parcels and one-third of production in 2020

In 2003 the domaine put a strong emphasis on de-budding to avoid green harvesting, used no herbicides, kept spraying to the absolute minimum, and preferred to select fruit at the vine rather than on a sorting table. Only fruit from vines older than 30 years was kept for the domaine's wines. That year the fruit was destemmed and cold-macerated for around six days in mainly concrete tanks, with around four automatic punch-downs a day and no pumping over. In 2007 Jean-Marie built a large extension to the cuverie on the garden of a former neighbour, and stainless-steel tanks replaced the old rows of concrete ones. The wines were not racked, which kept their protective carbon dioxide so that no sulphur was needed until bottling, and they were bottled without fining or filtration after 16 to 20 months. New oak has been held at around 20 percent: in 2013 virtually the whole range received a maximum of 20 percent, and in 2015 every wine but one special cuvée saw 20 percent. In 2015, as usual, no stems were used. Bottles have been sealed with wax since the 2005 vintage, and after a 2013 trial of DIAM closures on some village wines, all wines returned to cork from the 2014s onward.

• 2003: de-budding instead of green harvesting, no herbicides, minimal spraying, selection at the vine
• Only fruit from vines older than 30 years kept for the domaine (2003)
• No racking, no sulphur until bottling, no fining or filtration (2003)
• A maximum of 20 percent new oak across virtually the whole range (2013); 20 percent on all but one cuvée (2015); no stems used (2015)
• Cuverie extension with stainless-steel tanks built in 2007; wax-sealed bottles since the 2005 vintage

Alongside the domaine wines, Jean-Marie makes a range from bought grapes under the Jean-Marie Fourrier label. In 2014 he set its limit plainly: "Bought grapes will never exceed 30% of my total production." He buys only from neighbouring villages and only from growers who also make wine from the same grapes, and about half of the purchased grapes are picked by his own team. The 2013 range included a Bourgogne from Fixin, Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas, the Vosne-Romanée premier cru Aux Chaumes, the Chambolle-Musigny premier crus Aux Echanges and Les Amoureuses, Echézeaux, Clos de Vougeot, Latricières-Chambertin, Clos de Bèze and Chambertin. In 2020 the Bourgogne Rouge, blended from grapes from Fixin to Nuits, and the Latricières-Chambertin and Chambertin carried the Jean-Marie Fourrier label.

• Bought grapes capped at 30 percent of total production
• Purchases only from neighbouring villages and from growers who also make wine
• 2013 range included Echézeaux, Clos de Vougeot, Latricières-Chambertin, Clos de Bèze and Chambertin

The 2015 domaine range comprised Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Solon, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes, Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Echézeaux, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, the Chambolle-Musigny premier cru Gruenchers, the Morey-Saint-Denis premier cru Clos Sorbe, the Vougeot premier cru Les Petits Vougeots, the Gevrey-Chambertin premier crus Cherbaudes, Goulots, Champeaux, Combe aux Moines and Clos Saint-Jacques, a Clos Saint-Jacques Cuvée Centenaire, and Griotte-Chambertin. The Cuvée Centenaire is made only from vines over 100 years old, is sold almost entirely in Asia, where it was first made to establish the domaine's name, and receives 50 percent new oak, the highest share at the domaine. In 2020 the domaine also made a Bourgogne Blanc from 100 percent Chardonnay grown in Chambolle on 40-year-old vines, with no new oak.

• Village wines from Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin
• Premier crus in Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis and Vougeot
• Clos Saint-Jacques Cuvée Centenaire: vines over 100 years old, 50 percent new oak
• Grand cru: Griotte-Chambertin

Jean-Marie Fourrier did consulting work in 2002 for Bass Phillip, the Pinot Noir estate in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, founded by Phillip Jones. After Jones's last vintage, 2019, Fourrier took over the estate in April 2020 with two Singaporean investors and became its chief winemaker. The 2021 vintage was the first made fully under his ownership.

• Consulted for Bass Phillip in 2002
• Took over Bass Phillip in April 2020 with two Singaporean investors
• Chief winemaker at Bass Phillip

In 2003 the domaine stated its aim as "to put into the bottle, all the integrality and complexity of Pinot Noir", and Jean-Marie recommended decanting the wines when young, since the dissolved carbon dioxide left them in a reduced state. In its 2021 report on the 2020s, Burgundy Report called "the ability to keep the concentration of the fruit without losing focus, purity, or the comforting texture" the hallmark of the domaine. Writing in Decanter in 2022, Charles Curtis MW counted the old vines of the Griotte-Chambertin holding as a compelling example of that grand cru, with the best showing "marvellously sweet fruit which the French call sucrosité". In 2003 Burgundy Report found the wines usually quite reasonably priced, adding that this mattered to Jean-Marie, who hoped a wide cross-section of people could enjoy a good bottle from time to time.

• Stated aim (2003): "to put into the bottle, all the integrality and complexity of Pinot Noir"
• Decanting recommended when the wines are young
• Burgundy Report (2021): concentration kept without losing focus, purity or texture

Secondary sources:https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/10-2003/profile-domaine-fourrier-gevrey-chambertin/, https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/11-2014/fourrier-2013/, https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/11-2015/fourrier-2014/, https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/11-2016/fourrier-2015/, https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/09-2021/fourrier-2020/, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2020/05/bass-phillip-announces-new-burgundian-chief-winemaker/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/bass-phillip-burgundys-fourrier-down-under-505909/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/exploring-the-grands-crus-of-gevrey-chambertin-474611/. Last verified 2026-10-19