Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes VV 2023 750ml

The domaine traces to the 1930s, when Fernand Pernot began acquiring Gevrey-Chambertin vineyards; his nephew Jean-Claude Fourrier took over in the late 1960s and expanded into Chambolle, Morey, and Vougeot. But the real turning point: in 1994, Jean-Claude's son Jean-Marie Fourrier took over at just 23 — and he'd already made the legendary 1989 vintage working alongside Henri Jayer (widely considered the greatest Burgundy winemaker of all time) and Emmanuel Rouget, followed by a stint at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. He abandoned herbicides in the mid-90s, capped new oak at 20%, and rebuilt the domaine's reputation around letting 80-to-100-year-old vines and precise terroir speak for themselves. Now five generations deep, with sister Isabelle, wife Vicki, and son Louis all involved. Fourrier is considered one of the true benchmark addresses in Gevrey-Chambertin today.

This specific wine: The Vieilles Vignes is Fourrier's village-level Gevrey blend, but don't undersell it — it's sourced from roughly 15 old-vine parcels planted between the 1920s and 1950s, averaging 80 years of vine age, pulling from sites across the village: rocky limestone-driven Les Champerrier, clay-rich Jouise, and the supple Seuvrées near the Morey border. It's a genuine snapshot of everything Gevrey can do in one bottle. Partial whole-cluster depending on the vintage, aged mostly in used oak, native yeast, hand punch-downs only (no pump-overs).

Tasting notes (2023): Blackberry, black cherry, orange zest, peony, earth and spice, with polished tannins, fresh acidity and a mineral finish — medium-to-full bodied, layered, with a succulent fruit core and an expansive finish. Built to evolve well in bottle.

Food pairings: Duck, coq au vin, mushroom risotto, roasted lamb, aged Burgundian cheeses like Époisses.

Certifications: Not formally certified organic or biodynamic. Farmed without herbicides since the mid-90s, low yields through aggressive winter pruning, hand-sorted fruit — genuinely low-intervention in practice, but Jean-Marie has never pursued formal certification. I'd describe it as "farmed without herbicides, minimal intervention" rather than claiming organic or biodynamic status.