To the surprise of none, last night’s Fornerol seminar made for Fall’s most memorable After-Hours. Vertical tastings, when you can manage them, are the truest of truth serums. Producing really good wine - even great wine - is one thing. Consistency is the real test. Warm or wet, heat or hail, none of it seems to matter much with Didier’s wines.
When you visit the domaine you realize how off the main track his vineyards are sited. Driving to see him in 2021 we passed a soccer field behind which was the most nondescript vineyard you could imagine. As we'd been discussing how little traditional vineyard categories help us to understand these wines, Daniel guessed Didier might produce something beautiful - even here.
An hour later we’re all tasting a few vintages of the Côtes de Nuits Villages Rouge together. Daniel grabs a map and asks Didier exactly where the four parcels responsible for the wine are located. ‘So, there’s this soccer field…’
Cheers,
Jason
