Jérôme Fornerot
Appellation: Maranges, Saint-Aubin and Santenay
Proprietor: Jérôme Fornerot
Year Founded: 2004
Size: 17 hectares
On Dog Tooth Hill
Jérôme Fornerot shows why Saint-Aubin has a lot more going for it than proximity to fabulous neighbors.
Our boot treads were bristling with jagged white shards and calcareous clods as we followed Jérôme Fornerot to the high point of his holdings in the Côte de Beaune. Below and to the west, the hamlet of Gamay marked a tight curve in the skinny valley leading to the idyllic, tucked-away village of Saint-Aubin. But we still had farther to climb. It wasn’t until we’d ascended through 350 meters of elevation that a sign of relief appeared: the forest marking the boundary with Puligny-Montrachet.
On the far side of that wild, wooded strip—and a bit lower down—lay the celebrated Grand Crus of “Les Montrachets” and “Les Bâtards.” But Saint-Aubin has been the Fornerot family’s home turf since 1618. And though Jérôme started his own winemaking career a few clicks down the road in Santenay and Maranges, Saint-Aubin has been his center of gravity since 2018, when 9 hectares of family plots passed into his hands, bringing his estate to 16.5 hectares in all (including some fermage agreements with relatives).
When we first turned up at his doorstep, Jérôme was hobbling around after pulling a muscle in his back. We asked if we could return the next day or at a better time, but he insisted that we stay after having “come all this way” to Saint-Aubin. After all, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault have historically monopolized all the attention. Yet Saint-Aubin has been getting some richly deserved acclamation of late. Just under the Hautes Côtes but well above the middle hillside, more vineyards here are classified as Premier Cru than village-level.
The Fornerot family has played a big part. Their nursery expertise, centered on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay plants “made in Saint-Aubin,” has literally won royal recognition; it enabled Queen Elizabeth II’s former chief of protocol to create a respected vineyard in South England. Just the same, the family vineyards in and around Saint-Aubin are the true heart of the enterprise. None is more evocative than the Murgers des Dents de Chien Premier Cru, where Jérôme finally brought us to a resting point next to the forest. Named after a limestone rock formation resembling dog teeth that bite into the steep, south-facing slope, its Chardonnay vines yield a contoured and tensile bottling whose coiled energy reverberates from the mineral-laced entry to the spicy finish.
“Ici, on n’est jamais loin de la roche,” Jérôme mused, surveying the scene—Here, we’re never far from the rock.
Just down the slope—and even closer to Batard-Montrachet—the En Remilly Premier Cru vineyard is even more of a jewel. Lying a little lower but angled at an even steeper pitch, this hard and rocky hillside produces deeper, weightier fruit that can handle a higher percentage of new oak. Jérôme melds its floral aromatics and stone fruit with a fine bead of acidity that seems to skitter over salt-flecked stone. Length, weight, persistence, and high-toned energy come together in intriguing variations across Fornerot’s lineup of whites, whose textural richness Jérôme amplifies with gentle bâtonnage before malolactic conversion. From the other Premier Cru vineyards—Sur Gamay’s nervy citrus, the mineral charge of La Chatenière’s old vines—to the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Chardonnay, there’s a stark stylistic consistency here.
The reds, 100 percent destemmed, are crunchy and sleek, but also convey the diversity of terroirs at Jérôme’s disposal. His Santenay Premier Cru Beauregard, from a 60-year-old plot of Pinot Noir rooted in thin soil over shattered limestone on the side of the appellation adjacent to Chassagne-Montrachet, is always the biggest and most textural cuvée—and one that rewards patience. The pebbly white marls of Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Perrières, by contrast, produce a floral, cherried, and lithe bottling that’s a more immediate pleasure—as is the Maranges Le Chamery.
We were fortunate to meet Jérôme when we did—and luckier still that he powered through that bout of back pain to show us what he’s accomplishing here. Having spent his early years selling grapes to negociants, he’d slowly bottled more and more of each vintage under his own domaine label. It was a gradual process, adding barrel by barrel each season. By the time we came calling he happened to be building a new cellar just across the street, but he didn’t really need new customers at that particular moment. The 2021 vintage had been so short that there was barely any wine in the cellar, to the point that we were gingerly pouring our glasses back in each barrel after tasting. It only heightened our appreciation for what he’s making in this up-and-coming corner of the Côte de Beaune, where his knowledge runs so deep. And we couldn’t be prouder to be the first ones to bring his wine into the US. Hidden gems like this don’t stay under the radar for long in Burgundy.
Wines:
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: From a single plot on the outskirts of the village of Santenay that was planted in the 1980s
Soil: Marl-sand with limestone
Elevation: 225 meters
Vine Training Method: Guyot Poussard
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 10 months (10% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vat for a month and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: The vines were planted on high elevation plots in Saint-Aubin in the 1980s.
Soil: There are two soils types: One on white clay-limestone soil, and the other on a thin layer of red soil on lava, which gives all the complexity to this wine according to Fornerot.
Elevation: 400-425 meters
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 10 months, the wine is placed in vat for a month and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: Champ Tirant is situated on a steep hillside just behind the village of Saint-Aubin on the western side of the appellation. The vineyard was planted in the 2000s.
Soil: Clay-limestone with a white topsoil and rocky substrate
Elevation: 325 meters
Exposure: South-southeast
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 12 months (15% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vat for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: Sur Gamay is adjacent to Murgers des Dents de Chien and up the hill behind just behind the hamlet of Gamay.
Soil: Poor, limestone marl (very similar to neighboring Murgers des Dents de Chien and En Remilly) with hard limestone rock found about everywhere.
Elevation: 350 meters
Exposure: Southwest
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 12 months (15-20% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vat for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: This plot is located at the southern end of Saint-Aubin on the border of the Grand Cru Chevalier Montrachet. The south-facing plot was planted in 1988.
Soil: Very calcareous with hard and deformed stones that pierce the surface in some places and lay flush in others.
Elevation: 300 meters
Exposure: South
Vine Training Method: Guyot or Poussard depending on the age and vigor of the stocks.
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed and then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 15 months (15% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vat for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: From vines planted in 1988 totaling .75 hectare, the parcel is situated at the one of the highest points and at the limit of the Saint-Aubin appellation on border of the Grand Cru of Chevalier-Montrachet.
Soil: The soil is very calcareous, the distorted and deformed stones create an outcropping in the shape of dog teeth (hence, the name).
Elevation: 350 meters
Exposure: South
Vine Training Method: Guyot Poussard or simple Guyot.
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed and then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 12 months (20% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vats for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: One of the oldest plots from the estate, the vines were planted from the early 1920s through 1986 totaling .7 hectares. The hillside parcel is situated in the hamlet of Gamay.
Soil: The soil is made of limestone scree, mixed with fine red earth.
Elevation: 300 meters
Exposure: South-southwest
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed and then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 12 months (25% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vats for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay
Vineyard Area: Planted in the 2000s under the Trois Croix hill, and alongside the Saint-Jean-de-Narosses church (13th century), this lower to mid-slope plot is located on the western end of Santenay.
Soil: Stony clay-limestone
Elevation: 325-350 meters
Exposure: South-southwest
Vine Training Method: Guyot Poussard.
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is lightly crushed and then pressed in a pneumatic press. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 12 months (15% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vat for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: The plots are located on the outskirts of Santenay, one planted in the 1940s and the other in the 1970s.
Soil: Deep clay-limestone soils
Vine Training Method: Cordon de Royat
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is sorted and fully destemmed. It is then vatted for maceration and fermentation for approximately 15 to 20 days. The process of pressing is carried out by pneumatic presses that press the grapes slowly and gently. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels.
Maturation: After aging in barrels for 10 months, the wine is placed in vats for a month and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: This .35-hectare plot was planted around 1975. Le Chamery sits at at the border of Santenay just below Les Rousseaux.
Soil: Deep marl-clay soils
Elevation: 250 meters
Exposure: Southwest
Vine Training Method: Cordon de Royat
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is sorted and fully destemmed. It is then vatted for maceration and fermentation for approximately 15 to 20 days. The process of pressing is carried out by pneumatic presses that press the grapes slowly and gently. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels.
Maturation: After aging for 10 months, the wine is placed in vats for a month and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: This plot is situated between the hamlets of Gamay and Saint-Aubin and was planted between 1960 and 1970.
Soil: White marl with clay and lots of pebbles
Elevation: 250-275 meters
Exposure: Southeast
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is sorted and fully destemmed. It is then vatted for maceration and fermentation for approximately 15 to 20 days. The process of pressing is carried out by pneumatic presses that press the grapes slowly and gently. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrel (15% of new oak barrels).
Maturation: After aging for 12 months, the wine is placed in vats for 6 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: The grapes come from three parcels totaling .5 hectare that were planted from 1960 to 2000 on the southwest side of the village
Soil: Deep and well-draining red clay marls
Elevation: 275 meters
Exposure: Southeast
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is sorted and fully destemmed. It is then vatted for maceration and fermentation for approximately 15 to 20 days. The process of pressing is carried out by pneumatic presses that press the grapes slowly and gently. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels
Maturation: 12 months (15 to 20% of new oak barrels). After aging, the wine is placed in vats for 6 months and is bottled at the estate.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: From a 60-year-old mid-slope plot on the side of the appellation adjacent to Chassagne-Montrachet
Soil: Soils consisting of a thin layer that cover fractured/shattered limestone.
Elevation: 275 meters
Exposure: Southeast
Vinification: After being handpicked, the harvest is sorted and fully destemmed. It is then vatted for maceration and fermentation for approximately 15 to 20 days. The process of pressing is carried out by pneumatic presses that press the grapes slowly and gently. The juice is then allowed to settle and placed by gravity in French oak barrels
Maturation: 12 months (15% of new oak barrels). After aging, the wine is placed in vats for 6 months and is bottled at the estate.