2019 Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur Clos du Chapitre Monopole Fixin Premier Cru 750 ml

The Pinot Noirs of Fixin [FEE-zan] are some of the best deals in Burgundy, and whenever we see one on a wine list, we know two things: First, the sommelier knows what they’re doing and has dug deep in search of quality. Second—we’ll soon be drinking some.

Yvan Dufouleur’s Premier Cru Clos du Chapitre vineyard in Fixin sits next to Gevrey-Chambertin’s famous slopes, and in great vintages it can be hard to tell the wines apart—except for the prices. Perhaps this is why the legendary house of Méo-Camuzet purchases these grapes, as do new luminaries like Felettig. The vineyard is that special.

Good Premiers Crus from Gevrey start in the low triple-digits, which makes Dufouleur’s monopole bottling—from vines that top 70 years of age—a stunning value.

Yvan Dufouleur’s family has been making wine in Burgundy since the 16th century. Clos du Chapitre is their monopole, meaning that the family owns the entire vineyard. 

2019 was one of those double-edged-sword vintages that have become a recurring challenge in Burgundy these days: historic in quality, but tiny in quantity. 

The warm, dry, truly great year had one vigneron comparing it to the likes of the legendary 1865. Another, Philippe Pacalet, reached for the great string of vintages from 1945 to 1949 as a comparison. Despite the season’s abundance of sunshine, the wines are fresh and brisk with impressive concentration, a sublime feat that left Stuart Piggott, writing for James Suckling, declaring that the vintage “has hit the bullseye,” with its “rare combination of excellence and great consistency.”