the decadence of fourrier’s 2003 clos st.jacques

8.5.2018billn

I bought the wines of this estate from about 1998-2005 – usually a mix of village Gevrey and Chambolle VVs plus the ubiquitous Clos St.Jacques and the Griotte – I think there may have been a couple of Morey Clos Solon purchases afterwards, but even that got to a price that I wasn’t prepared to pay. Not that I ever had bad wines – in fact even the 2004s were pleasers from here – a few corked bottles not withstanding. The biggest shame of the price appreciation of this producer is that these wines never seem to be opened/talked about these days.

Today I’m down to my last few – maybe 15+ bottles – and given that my weekend bottles were of a lighter style, I decided that it was time for a change of gear:

2003 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
I seem to remember that about the time that this was released, you could buy a whole case (of 12!) of this wine for £300 IB – winesearcher tells me that I can buy a case for £3,300 (IB) today! Before this vintage I had often mused that this CSJ was a more mineral and complex wine than the domaine’s Griotte-Chambertin – so intellectually a more interesting wine – that Griotte being all about accessible fruit and luxurious texture. I see 2003 as a bit of a crossover vintage – the domaine’s Griotte today is all that it should be and has put a gap between itself and the still admirable Clos St.Jacques.
Ooh – now that’s a deeper colour than the weekend’s 96 and 95! The nose has a padded volume of ripe, voluptuous fruit – both engaging and very inviting – becoming a blend of dried fruits, florals and blood! Ooh – and the palate’s a match too! Round, plush – such a decadent texture. Rich flavoured to match the texture but with a nice line – layers of flavour that are a little stony at the core but mouth-watering as it extends into the finish. It’s hard to pinpoint an age – there is so little maturity in the flavour, it’s timeless – almost and so-far – only the colour is telling me that it’s not a youngster. There are days that I could drink this bottle in one sitting, but I’ll hold firm and force myself to follow it over two days – the sacrifices!
Day 2; The floral aroma remains, today with a hint of meaty earth to add to the fruit. The palate seems a little shrill versus day 1 – Fourrier wines never seem as good on day 2 – so drink up on day 1 – it’s worth it!
Rebuy – Yes

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