Gilbert & Gaillard - 92 Points
"Beautiful ruby-red. Ripe, raspberry-dominant nose that reveals itself more after swirling. The palate is well-structured and firm yet lively. Lovely fruit expression with lots of refinement and freshness. An adolescent wine that needs lengthy cellaring"
Producer: Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair
Wine: 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrees
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Food: Wild boar stew, leg of lamb
Cellaring: Drink now or cellar until 2026
Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair
Marsannay, Burgundy
Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair was founded in 1979 when Jean-Louis Fougeray, the father of the current owners made his very first Marsannay cuvee. If Jean-Louis took the first steps to commercialization, his father (the grandfather of Laurence and her sister Evelyne) was the one who started the current operation (18 hectares): he had worked with the Clair family of the renowned Clair-Daü estate and there was a strong bond of friendship. That bond continued into the next generation with Bernard Clair and Jean Louis Fougeray.
In 1986 Bernard Clair was retiring and decided that he would lease some vines to his friend Jean-Louis Fougeray who was by then already exploiting 27 acres, rather than as expected pass them to the next generation of the Clairs. Those were not just any old vines, they included a special parcel of Bonnes-Mares, some Chambolle-Musigny and more Marsannay. In so doing, they grounded the re-named Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair - ‘Beauclair’ coming from a blend of Jean-Louis’ wife’s name and Clair.
Today, Jean-Louis’ daughter Laurence and her husband Patrice Olliver run the estate.
The Premiers Crus occupy the upper portion of the Côte at altitudes between 280 and 380 meters with rather shallow brown limestone soil. Below are the appellation Village vines on brown calcic or limey soils. The vines also reap the benefit of marls covered with screes and red silt washed down from the plateau. These stony mixtures confer elegance and delicacy on the wine while the clay-like marls, which contain rich deposits of fossil shell-fish, add body and firmness. Exposures vary from east to south-east.
