Famous Burgundian to feature at HAWA Pinot Noir Celebration 2018
· 2 min read
Jean-Marie Fourrier from Domaine Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy will be headlining the Hemel and Aarde Winegrowers Association’s Pinot Noir Celebration in 2018.
As a fourth-generation vintner, he took over from his father in 1994 after stints with the great Henry Jayer and at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. The history that comes with his lineage is masterfully integrated with his own ideas of what a fine Burgundy should bring to the proverbial table.
Utmost respect for terroir, old vines and minimal intervention in the cellar make it one of the Côte d’Or’s greatest sources of wines that purely express site, aromatic complexity and intensity. “Until a vineyard develops a root system, it doesn’t develop flavour,” says Jean-Marie. As keeper of 60 to 100 year old vines in some of Gevrey-Chambertin’s most fabled sites, he is obsessive about fruit quality, regularly selling off all the fruit from vines younger than 30 years of age. Rather than green-harvesting in the summer, he prunes severely in the winter to limit yield. And all grapes are sorted in the vineyard to avoid contact with any unhealthy fruit. New oak is limited to only 20% to favour transparency.
Domaine Fourrier’s wines are gloriously expressive. His reds share the golden thread of superb balance, captivating elegance and finesse, haunting aromatic complexity and fine structure. But each wine also displays fully the unique character of its cru, reflecting such differences as slope, exposure and the amount of topsoil overlying Gevrey’s ancient limestone base.
You can explore some of Burgundy’s finest at the Hemel and Aarde Pinot Noir Celebration 2018 with tutored tastings and small, thematic events held over the course of the weekend. For bookings and further information contact:
Tanja Fourie | General Manager
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