{"title":"Didier Fornerol","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen Didier Fornerol left a great job as vineyard manager and then cellar master for the famed Domaine de l’Arlot to return to his family’s humble estate in Corgoloin his peers were likely a bit surprised. But 20 years later Didier’s wines have accumulated a cult-like following and are easily among the most sought after in the undervalued Cotes de Nuits appellation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Fornerol vineyards and cellar exist in a sort of “no-man's land” of the famed Cote d’Or, just below Premeaux-Prissy and Nuits-St-Georges and just north of the hill of Corton. There are no 1er or Grand crus here, indeed there is not even a village AOC. But within the humble Cotes de Nuits appellation Didier works his magic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike his mentor at l’Arlot, Jean-Pierre de Smet, Didier uses a high percentage of whole clusters and ferments and ages only in oak barrels. However he uses very small amounts of new barrique (usually around 10-20%) and is generally considered to have a very light touch in the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe farms the family plots without chemicals and is the vineyards basically all the time. Decades ago this area, above the sloping vineyards of the Cote d’Or, was considered too cold and without the proper exposure to fully ripen grapes in most years. But these days getting fruit ripe is no issue, and indeed these cooler vineyard sites with less sun exposure are perfectly positioned to produce wines of balance and finesse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIs there a possibility that some of Didier’s vineyards are eventually elevated to 1er crus? Who knows, but in the meantime we highly recommend trying some while you still can.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"didier-fornerol-cote-de-nuits-villages-rouge-2024-750ml","title":"Didier Fornerol, Cote de Nuits Villages Rouge, 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eReal Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir from one of the tiniest and most classical Burgundy vintages in years, at a decidedly un-Burgundian price. Côte de Nuits-Villages is the appellation covering the far ends of the Côte de Nuits, Corgoloin included, where Didier Fornerol farms six hectares on the same shallow brown limestone as the famous communes up the slope — the village just never got a name of its own. Fornerol spent sixteen years running the vineyards and cellar at Domaine de l'Arlot under Jean-Pierre de Smet before taking over the family estate in 1999, and he ferments with whole clusters, which adds aromatic lift and a touch of early accessibility, then ages the wine in used barrels. 2024 was punishing — April frost, more than fifty percent above-average rain, rampant mildew, and a crop so small that some growers picked in three days — but the wines that came through are ethereal and floral, with refined tannin and bright acidity, made for early to mid-term drinking. It also comes in magnum, which slows the aging curve and makes sense for a wine this small in production. Lovely now with an hour of air, and comfortable for the next four or five years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Grand Cru Selections [GCR]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46386526715961,"sku":"NYC-GCR-`GCRU9508-24`-082426-2","price":64.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0125\/1518\/0601\/files\/Didier-Fornerol-Cote-de-Nuits-Villages-Rouge-2024-Red-Wine-Flatiron-Wines-Spirits-New-York.jpg?v=1787841624"},{"product_id":"didier-fornerol-cote-de-nuits-villages-blanc-2024-750ml","title":"Didier Fornerol, Cote de Nuits Villages Blanc, 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhite wine from an appellation that is about ninety-five percent red — Côte de Nuits-Villages Blanc is a genuine rarity, and Fornerol has just 0.6 hectares of it. Didier Fornerol spent sixteen years as vineyard manager and cellar master at Domaine de l'Arlot under Jean-Pierre de Smet before taking over his family's six hectares in Corgoloin in 1999; de Smet has been helping out in the cellar since 2006. The vines sit on the shallow brown limestone soils at the southern end of the Côte de Nuits, and the wine is whole-cluster pressed, fermented cool over roughly three months, and raised largely in used barrels, with new oak capped at a fifth. 2024 was a punishing year in Burgundy — frost, relentless rain and mildew cut the crop to almost nothing — but the whites came through taut, high-acid and classical, among the freshest the region has made in years. If you want to know what Chardonnay does on Corgoloin limestone, there is not a lot of it about.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Grand Cru Selections [GCR]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46386528419897,"sku":"NYC-GCR-`GCRU9516-24`-082426-8","price":62.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0125\/1518\/0601\/files\/Didier-Fornerol-Cote-de-Nuits-Villages-Blanc-2024-White-Wine-Flatiron-Wines-Spirits-New-York.jpg?v=1787841632"},{"product_id":"didier-fornerol-bougogne-blanc-2024-750ml","title":"Didier Fornerol, Bougogne Blanc, 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eChardonnay made by a man who spent sixteen years running the vineyards and cellar at Domaine de l'Arlot, sold at a decidedly un-Burgundian price. Didier Fornerol left l'Arlot in 1998 after sixteen vintages under Jean-Pierre de Smet, took over his family's six hectares in Corgoloin at the southern end of the Côte de Nuits the following year, and has been quietly making some of the slope's best-value wine ever since — de Smet has come back to help in the cellar and at harvest since 2006. The whites are pressed in whole clusters, fermented slowly at low temperatures over about three months and raised mostly in used barrels, with new oak never above a fifth, which keeps the wine lean and lets the fruit speak for itself. 2024 was a brutal growing season in Burgundy — April frost, more than fifty percent above-average rain, rampant mildew and a tiny crop — but it produced the most classically fresh whites in a decade. Expect a taut, high-acid, mineral Bourgogne Blanc rather than a plush one, and drink it over the next several years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Grand Cru Selections [GCR]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46386528649273,"sku":"NYC-GCR-`GCRU9514-24`-082426-9","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0125\/1518\/0601\/files\/Didier-Fornerol-Bougogne-Blanc-2024-White-Wine-Flatiron-Wines-Spirits-New-York.jpg?v=1787841635"}],"url":"https:\/\/nyc.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/didier-fornerol.oembed","provider":"Flatiron Wines \u0026 Spirits NYC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}