domaine didier Fornerol
Corgoloin, France
Didier Fornerol
Didier Fornerol was the vineyard manager and cellar master at Domaine de L’Arlot from 1982 until 1998, working under Jean-Pierre de Smet for most of those years. In 1999, Didier left L'Arlot to take over his family's domaine.
Today, Didier works 6 hectares in the village of Corgoloin and produces Côtes de Nuits-Villages red and white along with small amounts of Passetoutgrain, Aligoté, and Bourgogne. Jean-Pierre de Smet, now retired from Domaine de l’Arlot but unable to step away from wine entirely, works closely with Didier in the cellar and during harvest.
The magic and soul that Didier is able to tease out of his humble appellations are a testament to a career spent learning from one of the legends of Burgundy.
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Didier is an avid believer and gifted artisan in the production of whole cluster wines, making prime examples of old school Burgundy. He learned his winemaking skills from his father and took over the family’s domaine in 1999. And Jean-Pierre de Smet has been helping since 2006.
Today, he works 6 hectares in the village of Corgoloin around his family's historic estate. A majority of his vines fall under Côtes de Nuits-Villages (3.70 of Côtes de Nuits-Villages red and about 0.6 hectares of Côtes de Nuits-Villages white) plus small amounts of Passetoutgrain, Aligoté, and Bourgogne.
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More than half of Didier’s 6 owned hectares fall under Côtes de Nuits-Villages, most of which is planted to Pinot Noir He has roughly 1 ha of Chardonnay vines in total across Côtes de Nuits and some Bourgogne Blanc, 40 acres of Aligoté, 25 acres dedicated to Passetoutgrain and just under a hectare of vines in Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. The Côtes de Nuits boasts shallow, brown limestone soils notorious for deeply reaching vines, which draw character soils formed by the weathering of the bedrock and brown limestone soils.
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Didier is immensely passionate about the care of his vineyards, personally carrying out all vineyard tasks with his small team from pruning, to treatments, to trellising, to hand harvesting. All 6 hectares are farmed lutte raisonnée (with minimal amounts of synthetic treatments, if any at all) and the young vines are strictly pruned to limit their yields.
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An avid believer of whole cluster fermentation, Didier employs this technique religiously. Fermentations are done at low temperatures for whites over a 3 month period, and most are racked once and lightly filtered. Reds are manually punched down with the occasional pump over, then fermented at a slightly higher temperature. Aging is done in barrel and the percentage of new oak varies depending on the wine, but never exceeds 20% in whites and 10% in reds.
Wines
Aligote
The vineyard sits on 0.40 hectares around the village of Corgoloin on the east side of D974. Harvest is done manually with 12-48 hours of settling. Fermentation is carried out at a low temperature for 3 months, then aged in used barrels.
Bourgogne Blanc
Produced from 0.20 hectares around the village of Corgoloin, this wine is made following the same process as the Aligote, then aged for 12 months in barrel of which 20% is new oak.
Bourgogne Rouge
Just south of the village of Corgoloin lies this 1 hectare plot where the average vine age is 20 years. After harvest grapes are not de-stemmed. Manual punch downs and the occasional pump over are performed, then vatting for 15-20 days. The wine is aged for 14-16 months entirely in barrel with 10% new wood and a maximum of 2 rackings. If necessary, the wine is fined with egg whites.
Hautes Côtes de Nuits Rouge
0.80 hectares lying west of the village of Corgoloin hold Didier’s highest elevation vines just across the appellation border from his Côtes de Nuits Villages. The soil is particularly stony here which gives the wine a potent minerality. It’s aged for 14-16 months in barrel (10% new).
Côte de Nuits Village Blanc
0.45 hectares in the lieu-dit of “les Petures”The vines at this site average 15 years in age, comprising 0.80 hectares west of the village of Corgoloin. The wines are aged for 12 months entirely in barrel (20% new).
Côte de Nuits Village Rouge
3.70 hectares across three different parcels west of the village of Corgoloin, one near the town cemetery and two more at a higher elevation along the Route de Villiers. The average vine age is 40 years, and the winemaking follows suit with Didier’s other wines: the wine is aged 14-16 months entirely in barrel (10% new).
Côte de Nuits Village Rouge “La Rue des Foins”
Two parcels go into the wine, a total of .50 hectares between Corgoloin and Comblanchien. The parcels were singled out by Didier and Jean-Pierre de Set for their consistency in producing higher quality fruit and thus are vinified and bottled separately. The average vine age is 40 years, and aging is 14-16 months in barrel (10% new).