2020 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. 

2020 was the kind of vintage that growers in Fixin long for. Defined by a very warm, early growing season, the weather helped the village wines’ sometimes-rustic tannins to melt into a velvety texture, while the palate gained kaleidoscopic complexity.

The second we poured a glass, we started thinking about how much room we could make in our cellars. Packed with classic aromas of red cherries, forest floor, leather, and fresh herbs, it’s the type of Fixin release we absolutely love to see. On the palate, there’s plenty of structure—this wine will thrive with some aging—but the quality is self-evident. Marion and Yvan Dufouleur told us in a recent call that it’s “a strong wine, for la chasse sanglier [the wild boar hunt].”