Jean Fournier, whose domaine resides in the Marsannay appellation in the northernmost part of the Cote de Nuit of Burgundy, is well respected for demonstrating his fortitude in bringing out the beauty in the otherwise largely unrepresented area. Although the area had been forgotten and left out by the INAO which regulates the official appellations for various produce in France, Fournier was early in sensing the quality of the terroir that his family's estate has been at since as far back as the early 17th century in the time of King Louis XIII. It wasn't until the 1980's that the region finally received its appellation recognition!

Jean Fournier.

Fournier would change the course of his family's vineyards in the 1960's by turning away from selling their wines to other producers. Instead he would carry on the laborious effort to create an awareness of the Fournier estate - the oldest in Marsannay - by first offering up barrels of his wines to restaurants, which eventually became Domaine Jean Fournier-labelled bottles. He was steadfast in his conviction that the Marsannay region held great value - it was already long known for its Rose de Marsannay - and would eventually become the first appellation to recognise the region's reds, whites and roses. This is possible because of Marsannay's terroir which is characterised by rocky limestone and marl.

Yet, Fournier had bigger plans - he had also spotted the potential of the also unknown Chenôve terroirs of Clos du Roy and Chapitre, and would quickly settle there as well. Subsequently he would further grow into the Es Chezots area as well - the Domaine Jean Fournier would become 22.5 hectares in size and stretch from the Cote de Nuits to the Cote de Beaune.

Laurent Fournier.

Yet, as an elderly gentleman Jean Fournier would hand over the baton in 2001 to his son Laurent Fournier, who would himself bring about enhancements to the family's Domaine. Laurent would oversee the vineyards adopting organic practices, with a major focus on taking on a non-intervention approach to allowing both the vines and the soil come through in his wines.

To that end, the Domaine's vines range from 20 to 90 years old, with the older vines coming from a small plot of Aligote vines that are rare and have become the calling card for Laurent, who has formed a group of young and talented winemakers known as the Les Aligoteurs, whose goal is to revive and showcase the Aligote fruit in its full potential. In keeping with the most natural methods, the Domaine's vineyards are ploughed by horse and fertilised with horse manure, with the vines grown in high density, subject to green harvesting and therefore used in low yield. Harvesting is of course done by hand.

Once the fruit is harvested and sorted, they are fermented in a foundational layer of whole bunches and then a top layer of destemmed fruit. The grapes ferment with natural yeasts in barrel for up to three weeks, which is longer than average, maceration is done in concrete vats with an initial 6 days of cold maceration, and is then aged for up to three years in large barrels made of Austrian oak (not more than 20% new oak. No mechanical pressing is allowed, and gravity is used instead to prevent off notes.

With all that said, it is time to try Domaine Jean Fournier's Marsannay Cuvee Saint Urbain from the 2021 vintage. Let's go!

Jean Fournier, Marsannay Cuvee Saint Urbain 2021 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Medium Ruby

Aroma: Bright red fruits, vibrant in fact, a medium sweetness but with such a silkiness to its bouquet. It's lush with rich notes of raspberry and cherry jams. 

Taste: Velvet silkiness with this medium to heavy body that's cohesive with sweet notes of blackberry jams. It gradually showcases a more earthy aspect of mushrooms and soil, as well as some tobacco leaves. There's a firm tannin structure but the fruit surpasses it.

Finish: Light acidity, clean with a dry finish.

My Thoughts

I found the Fournier Marsannay very complex and rustic with equal parts fruit and earth - in that sense it really conveys a sense of place where you find yourself almost in the middle of vineyards shin deep in soil and flanked by ripe fruit. I particularly loved how vibrant and lush the bouquet was - really plush but bold jammy fruits, and then on the palate you're getting all these umaminess and earthiness that keeps the more high saturation notes grounded but in a manner that still feels lush (it feels like freshly toiled well moisturised soil as opposed to dried earth). This purity and distinctiveness, its ability to teleport you to the vineyards in a bottle - spectacular. 

If it had more richness and depth on the palate - well it would be the Marsannay Clos du Roy that is also from Jean Fournier. I should caveat that I could nevertheless see how the earthiness on the palate can be divisive for some - it's quite abit umami and has a certain gritty earthiness that might not be for everyone as it just almost edges out the sweeter fruits. That said, I enjoyed it very much.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot