2022 Marsannay Rouge, Le Chapitre, Domaine Jean Fournier, Burgundy

The 2022 Marsannay Le Chapitre has a scent of shucked oyster shells on the nose. The palate is a bit gassy at the moment with some CO2, but the tannins are fine, and there’s an edgy, spicy finish that gets the mouth tingling on the aftertaste. Give this a couple of years in bottle.

The final visit during my six-week marathon was to see Laurent Fournier. I have praised his wines for quite a few years now, and he’s always a fun person to taste with, chatty and animated. “We were not impacted by the storm at the end of June,” he tells me at his winery in Marsannay. “The vintage respected the terroirs. I started picking on 31 August. I decided to pick the Aligoté one week earlier than planned, as it was ripening so quickly.

There was only a little problem finishing the end of the fermentation, but otherwise, it was straightforward.” These excellent wines lean more towards the black side of the fruit spectrum, and Fournier is a skilled winemaker who exploits the full potential of his modest holdings. They represent some of the best values in this report, and I cannot recommend them enough.

Drink 2026 - 2035

Here the nose displays that peculiar kind of reduction called bourgeon de cassis, or cassis bud, that crowds out more interesting notes. On the palate there is much better freshness and verve to the detailed and stony middleweight flavours that deliver good depth and persistence on the youthfully austere finale.

Drink 2029

Glowing mid-purple. A touch of clean reduction. A pleasing racy red fruit, then the peppers from the whole bunches. Completely clean on the palate, with a fine long finish. Very lovely at the back, just the little reduction on the nose, which needs to clean up, as it will.

Drink 2027 - 2031