2021 Domaine Jerome Fornerot Les Perrieres Saint-Aubin Premier Cru 750 ml

Saint-Aubin is the source for some of the finest value in Burgundy, and that might be doubly true from the reds from the village, which fly far under the radar of many collectors. But the Pinot Noir from the area’s top sites is fantastic, offering pinpoint precision and gorgeous aromatics.

Jérôme Fornerot’s bottling from the Les Perrières Premier Cru thrilled us when we tasted it not long ago. Perrières takes its name from the French word for “quarry” and it hints at the stony nature of the soils in its hillside. Plenty of limestone stresses the vines while providing excellent drainage. 

He gets to work with old vines planted in the 1960s and 70s, and in the throwback 2021 vintage, they created a bottle that highlights the red-fruited side of Burgundy, with beautiful red cherry, strawberry, and pomegranate fruit all accented by the underbrushy savoriness that only Burgundy provides.

Fornerot is a superstar in the wings in Saint-Aubin, cherished by restaurants like Eleven Madison Park and Café Boulud. His family is as established as they come in Saint-Aubin, having made wine there for 500 years, but his own domaine is new for Burgundy, however, founded in 2004.

This may explain why his pricing hasn’t caught up with his neighbors—there simply hasn’t been time for word to get out. Fornerot is a meticulous one-man show, doing all farming and winemaking himself—and like his neighbor Monsieur Lamy, it’s near-impossible to pull him out of the rows to do any self-promotion.