Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair
Meeting with Patrice & Laurence Ollivier, a family winery of Bourgogne
Domaine Fougeray Beauclair is a family property in Burgundy, located in Marsannay-La-Côte. Currently the property covers 17 hectares and produces wines in the appellations of Marsannay, Gevrey-Chambertin, Puligny-Montrachet, Fixin, Savigny-Les-Beaune, Vosne-Romanée …
The estate was created in 1970 thanks to the ¼ hectare bought by the grandmother of Laurence Olivier during her marriage. Little by little the property has grown and diversified its palette of terroirs acquiring plots on different climates. The last expansion was made in 2013 by the purchase of one hectare in Puligny-Montrachet
Today Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair is held by Laurence Olivier and Patrice, her husband. They produce each year between 80,000 and 100,000 bottles distributed in about twenty different vintages.
Meeting with Patrice and Laurence Olivier: Tell us about yourself …
“Laurence: Initially I did not want to be a winemaker. I wanted to join the Air Force but at the time women were discouraged from being fighter pilots. I ended up returning to the school of viticulture which very quickly made me return to the property.
Olivier: I fell into it when I was little. I come from a family of vine growers, my grandfather and my father were already winemakers. Even though he died when I was only 9 years old I was already walking in the vineyards by his side. I have videos where we are together in the cellar, working the press, me in his arms. My family has a few hectares of vines in Provence. I came to Burgundy to study and that’s where I met Laurence. Initially I had to go down to work in the South but finally I settled here.
What I like in Burgundy is the principle of mono-varietal, plots and climates. I could not be a simple viticulturist. I need to work the product on the whole chain, to be winemaker. In this business we do not just work for ourselves, we work mainly for future generations. ”
Where does the name of Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair come from?
“Originally the Domaine was called Domaine Fougeray Jean Louis. The current name comes from the association of the old name and the name of my father (Fougeray), my mother (Beau) and Bernard Clair who was one of the former owners of the vineyard. ”
If you had to describe what wine represents in a few adjectives?
«Laurence: Tradition, innovation, openness, pleasure, family. I would also say that Fougeray de Beauclair is my fifth child. It’s a passion and a style of wine.
Patrice: I would say passion, pleasure, tradition and historical / cultural product »
What is the signature of Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair wines ?
“Laurence: I would say that we make wines of tradition but fruit forward. There is a pretty substance. What stands out above all is the fruit, it must come out before the barrel / wood.
Olivier: I will repeat what customers tell me. They find that there is a beautiful substance for the palate, that there is femininity, a good structure and flexibility in our wines. The tannins are sweet.
Our white wines are very aromatic and offer a good maturity as well as a small acidity. ”
Do you have plans for the Domaine ?
“Yes, this year we will redo the vat room to better adapt our work tools to what we want but also to open ourselves to wine tourism. We need a way where tourism can be done without hindering production. Normally the work must be completed before the 2018 harvest.
Also currently we manage our vineyard in reasoned agriculture and we would like to move on to Organic Farming as soon as our son returns to the property. ”
Laurence, please can you tell us about the wine “Cœur de Femme”?
“It’s a red Burgundy, 100% natural, produced on Fixin. This wine is the story of a group of friends / women winemakers who met on a Saturday, during the harvest, to cut grapes. We make this wine entirely by ourselves, our men have a formal prohibition to touching it. Every year we have a different label, a little off and a different wine. The idea is to surprise our customers each year. This year we produced a red wine and made a test batch of a white. ”
Do you have an anecdote about the property?
“Yes, for example, my father was the first to plant Pinot Blanc in the Marsannay. ”
Thanks to Patrice and Laurence Olivier for their hospitality
Choukroun Chicheportiche Jonathan
Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair
44 Rue de Mazy
21160 Marsannay-la-Côte
+33 (0)3 80 51 25 75
