When it comes to French labels, there’s nothing I enjoy more than uncovering the specific details behind a “Bourgogne” with a stated vineyard. Many of these hidden gems are kings in pedestrian clothes, as they lie in prestigious appellations of world renown but suffer a slight technicality that prohibits “name-dropping” their respective village on the front label. Today’s is in the form of a single road: the fabled Route des Grands Crus. If it weren’t for that 40-foot stretch of asphalt, we would be paying far more than $32 for Vieux Collège’s standout Bourgogne Rouge.
If you recall the story from last year’s 2017 offering (every bottle was eagerly snatched up), I confidently “blinded” it as a village-level Gevrey-Chambertin from a big-time producer because it spilled out evocative dark fruits alongside a fiercely mineral, iron-flecked backbone. Although I was wrong, I couldn’t have been more thrilled after learning the specifics: It was Certified Organic Pinot Noir from “Les Champs Foreys,” a distinguished lieu-dit in Marsannay, just one door down from Gevrey-Chambertin, and an important Côte de Nuits village in its own right! Now, apply all that to today’s newest 2018 release, a vintage receiving “all-time great” whispers, and that’s what I call a sensational value. To call this quality/price ratio “rare” is putting it mildly, especially when considering that we snagged this very batch directly from the domaine. Better provenance you cannot find!
Burgundy’s 37-mile road, the Route des Grand Crus, begins in the village of Dijon, the figurative gateway to Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, which is further divided into the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Connecting the dots from north to south, the road spans more than 35 villages, taking snapshots of the world’s best Pinot Noir vines. One of those dots is Marsannay-La-Côte, the second stop after Dijon on the Route des Grand Crus. Wines from the Marsannay appellation have continued to grow in esteem and popularity, so much so that they don’t really need their “next-door” status to Gevrey-Chambertin to gain traction in the market—Marsannay has become a destination village unto itself, and Pinot Noir from this northern neck of the woods delivers powerful red and black fruits supported by lots of underbrush-y savor.
Since 2006, Eric Guyard has managed his family’s Domaine du Vieux Collège, whose vineyards now span 25 hectares through Marsannay, Fixin, and Gevrey-Chambertin. In his tenure, Eric has focused on showcasing tiny, special sites like “Les Champs Foreys,” and propelled the estate towards its organic certification (via Ecocert) in 2014. “Les Champs Foreys,” translating to “The Foreys Fields,” is a lieu-dit in the village of Marsannay-La-Côte that brushes up against a more famous site called “Les Récilles.” By law, “Les Récilles” is a classified site for the Marsannay appellation, while “Les Champs Foreys” is not, meaning it attaches its name to the catch-all “Bourgogne” designation. So, what’s the invisible logic? It is the Route des Grand Crus, which cuts through the mid-slope of the village to form a great dividing line—sites west of the road are village-level wines, sites below the road fall to regional wines.
But their “fall,” so to speak, is our catch. The 1.7-hectare “Les Champs Foreys” has plenty of positives to make seriously delicious Pinot Noir. The vine age is 30 years, above average in comparison to other Bourgogne wines, and at 268 meters elevation, soils contain more alluvial gravel. A thick coat of excellent-draining pebbles is underlined by iron-rich clays, producing Pinot Noir of an aromatic generosity that we typically expect out of village-level, even Premier Cru bottlings, and the tannin structure is softer and less austere than its cousins across the road.
Guyard’s winemaking process is straightforward and classic. The Pinot Noir is hand-harvested, de-stemmed, and sorted at the winery. It is then fermented in upright wooden vessels and subsequently racked into mostly neutral barrels for 12 months. Today’s wine is essential, back-pocket red Burgundy—a category that is dwindling, so stockpile wisely! I suggest enjoying several to finish out 2020, so select a Burgundy stem, or the most bulbous glass you have, and serve the wine around 60 degrees. In the glass, the generosity of ‘18 is on full display: Bing cherry, black raspberry, wild strawberry, juicy plum, iron, crushed stone, violets, and a touch of sweet spice. It possesses a firm foundation of minerals and raw earth, but the voluptuousness of the vintage keeps this immensely pleasurable from start to finish. It glides across the palate with ease, but that shouldn’t be confused as a “simple” wine: there is serious, multi-textural pedigree and polish to be had here! Enjoy now and over the next five years. Cheers!
