A lovely fine and elegant nose of quite some complexity – red fruits and earth. The palate is long, faintly mineral and very wide in the mid-palate and into the finish. Perhaps a little unruly – let’s say over-exuberant as it finishes but much complexity here too. An impressive and characterful wine.

Medium ruby-red colour straight to the rim. The nose starts deep and rather oakier than I normally associate with Fourrier, above the oak the vista slowly opens with higher tones and an impression of sweet vanilla. Slowly a core of red fruit starts to develop, but if anything it becomes a little more diffuse. You really need 24 hours to see the oaky veil lifted a little and some weighty depth with floral hints and deeper savoury notes- this should be the final transformation of the oak. The palate is fatter, smoother and sweeter than the Jadot, less direct but equally intense from the mid-palate into the finish. The finish is also a little vanilla influenced and also very slightly bitter – though less-so than the Jadot. In its first hour and despite the extra plushness of the palate I’m leaning toward the more athletic, focused and precise pose of the Jadot. With time the intensity and depth are more apparent than the vanilla.