Jean-Marie Fourrier Bourgogne 2018

Domaine Fourrier is one of the most celebrated and quietly cult-status estates in Gevrey-Chambertin — and its Bourgogne Rouge has long been considered one of Burgundy's great entry-level secrets. Jean-Marie Fourrier has led the 10-hectare domaine since the mid-1990s, inheriting it from his father at just 23, with his skill nurtured both on family turf in Gevrey-Chambertin and through international experience at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon and under the legendary Henri Jayer in Vosne-Romanée. Domaine Fourrier owns parcels in some of Gevrey-Chambertin's most iconic vineyards, including vines planted between 1902 and 1910 in Griotte-Chambertin and Clos Saint-Jacques — the same meticulous, terroir-faithful approach extending right down to the Bourgogne. The grapes undergo a gentle maceration before spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, the wine then aged for 12 months in French oak with 20% new wood.

The result is a Bourgogne that regularly punches well above its station — close to the Gevrey Vieilles Vignes in weaker vintages, and in the words of more than one taster, could be mistaken for a Gevrey-Chambertin. Aromas of ripe cherries, citrus rind and rose petal preface a medium-bodied, supple and succulent wine that's charming and fruit-driven, offering considerable early appeal. Really sappy, dense red fruits that are definitely weightier than your average Bourgogne, with a touch of violet and mouth-coating tannins, staying quite fresh with spice notes emerging after some air. Cherry, earth and minerality, becoming explosively aromatic after an hour of air, with medium acid and medium-minus tannin.