Bourgogne Rouge

Bright mid purple in colour, with a gentle, graceful pinot nose. This is supple and enjoyable, approachable now.

Jasper Morris MW – Wine Buyer

One of the brightest talents in the northern Côte de Nuits is Laurent Fournier who runs the estate which carries his father’s name, as well as being the man in charge of the dossier for defining some Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. We have been hugely impressed with his wines for several years and are now offering them En Primeur for the first time. There is a quality of fruit here which fully reflects the joys of the Côte de Nuits, yet at rather more affordable prices.

Virgile went through the vineyards 15 days before harvest, removing the leaves on the south side and taking away anything that was rotten. This kept his crop in good condition so he could afford to wait for full ripeness, not starting until 11th October. He then practised very gentle extraction to keep the tannins supple. He compares 2013 to 2008 but with greater richness of fruit. The crop is 15-to-20% up on 2012 but still well below normal.

Harvest began during the last week in September and finished just before the storm. There was less whole bunch vinification for the wines affected by hail, but Volnay Taillepieds, Pommard Rugiens, Corton Clos du Roi and the wines from the Côte de Nuits were all predominantly vinified with their stems.

The harvest began with whites on 26th September, before the rain, then the reds were brought in during less good weather, with sorting necessary. The stems were ripe enough to allow for whole bunch vinification, and Pierre has chosen the soft pedal in 2013: not much punching down, more an infusion approach, less new wood and perhaps a shorter time in barrel. Pierre can see some elements of 2008 but with more weight, more flattering wines overall.

The Sérafins (Christian, his daughter Karine and niece Frédérique) do not rack their wines before bottling, having separated out all but the fine lees after the fermentation. Such is the concentration of the fruit in these wines that they can easily handle the new barrels in which they are being matured. The Sérafins take particular care to apportion particular forests and coopers to different cuvées. Overall, their crop is down by 30% in 2012.

Christian Sérafin is very happy with how 2013 worked out in the end, though yields were once again 25% below normal, even if a touch more than in 2012. The team removed rot and unripe bunches in the vineyard, then waited to pick until after the wet weekend which helped both sugar and acidity.

Always a favourite of the Fine Wine team, with this year being no different, this is full of red berry fruit with a cool, pure finish that is the hallmark of the vintage. Outstanding for Bourgogne Rouge.
Matt Tipping, Fine Wine Sales Manager

Bottled as usual with a stelvin screwcap to retain freshness, this has rich, vibrant fruit and is quite dark in style. The middle is plump and is followed by a fine, long finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

Despite this being a very late season, Patrice compares 2013 to the fruit of early vintages such as 2007 and 2011, but with more stuffing. It also reminds him of 1980, a particularly successful vintage chez Rion. The 2013 crop is a small one though, a touch more than 2012 but less than 2011. They employed two sorting tables, and since the grapes which reached the vats were all healthy, they used less sulphur during vinification.