Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru ‘Combe aux Moines’

Translating as “valley of monks,” Combe aux Moines is one of Gevrey’s great historic hillsides. The vineyard has endured quietly for centuries, through revolutions, wars and everything in between, with vines said to have been grown on this hallowed site since the 7th century.

It sits in superb company too, continuing the same slope as the revered Clos Saint-Jacques and Cazetiers. That tells you exactly the sort of neighbourhood we are in: serious Gevrey, old bones, proper depth.

Fourrier’s vines were planted in 1928. Almost a century old, they now give very little fruit, but what they do give carries remarkable concentration. Tiny yields, old roots and that rare kind of depth that feels less like volume and more like gravity.

And every piece of that history seems to call through the wine. This is Combe aux Moines with power, but not heaviness. Planted on strong clay, it has a darker, more brooding edge than Cherbaudes, with vigorous red fruit, black cherry, redcurrant and pomegranate, all held together by the bright line of 2024 freshness.

There is real energy here. Tension, lift, bite and old-vine concentration. The fruit is juicy and vibrant, but the wine feels coiled, as though there is more waiting underneath the surface. It is not the most immediate of Fourrier’s Premier Crus, but that is part of the thrill.

One to cellar. One to watch. One that feels like it has been quietly gathering strength since 1928.