Giannikos Winery - Domaine Fourrier

Domaine Fourrier has a long history in Gevrey-Chambertin. The domain used to be called Pernot-Fourrier and was founded by Fernand Pernot. It was one of the first wineries in Burgundy to also export its wines to the United States. The current owner Jean-Marie Fourrier has owned the family estate since 1994, when he took over from his father Jean-Claude Fourrier at the age of just 23. Jean-Marie previously worked for Domaine Drouhin in Oregon and completed various internships with Henri Jayer.

He is assisted by his English wife Vicki. Fourrier owns ten hectares, the vast majority of which lies within the municipality of Gevrey-Chambertin. He also owns some plots in Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Vougeot. A large part of this is planted with old sticks. The vineyards are worked with the utmost care and, partly due to the old sticks and strict pruning, the yields are remarkably low.

Only the Pinot Noir grapes from vines that are more than 30 years old are used to make the wines on the estate. The grapes are carefully selected in the vineyards, destemmed and not crushed at all for the fermentation process. The wines are aged for approximately 16 - 20 months, using only a small percentage of new oak (approximately 20%). All wines are bottled unclarified and unfiltered and it is advisable to decant the wines when they are less than 5 years old. For several years now, Fourrier's wines have been particularly in demand, he enjoys absolute star status and his wines are among the most sought-after red Burgundies.