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When I was younger, I studied under a talented history professor that used to open up Ancient Civilizations 101 by closing the door and announcing, “Today is a good day.” I never really paid attention to what verbal voodoo he was naming and claiming until I had left his class behind. I mean, what a ostentatiously vain thing to denote. African children working eighteen-hour days in Elon Musk’s cobalt mines are not having a good day. Clearly this was some sort of futile exercise in Law of Attraction gimmicks.
As it were, I had never considered using this phrase until today, because today I get to write about my favorite commune in the wide world of wine: Fixin. Let’s be realistic, I’m cheap. I don’t like paying Burgundy prices for bad Burgundy - though often I do. And I have had a lot of bad Burgundy from fancy communes: lookin’ at you, Pommard. With Premier Cru prices inching up ever closer to the one-hundred dollars mark, the grandiose terroirs of the Côte de Nuits look a lot less appealing, and it seems I will be buying a lot more of the forty-dollar Fixin Premier Cru’s instead.
Nestled south of Dijon and north of the illustrious limestone soils of Gevrey-Chambertin, Fixin’s terrain looks eerily similar to that of its southerly neighbor. Its limestone valley’s and Haut-Côtes span the scale of roughly nine communes from Fixin proper, all the way to Fixey, about a five minute bike ride away. Fixey is home to Saint-Antoine, a tenth century church, and popular tourist attraction in the area. There is also a bronze statue of Napoléon just offset the vineyards of Clos Napoléon, commissioned by the emperor’s surgeon, a resident of the town, and sculpted by the artist responsible for L’Arc de Triophe in Paris. There are is also communal laundry in the town as well as an old slate bread oven. The vintners in this area are particularly welcoming of guests, and plenty of cellars offer tastings, there’s a ton to see and do.
Grapes have had a home in this area for thousands of years, and there are multiple names for the lieu-dit here, as some of the areas go by different names due to buildings built over time, and properties changing hands through the history of the commune. The eight labels you may see on a Premier-Cru Fixin are: Les Meix Bas, typically labeled as Les Herveletes, Les Herveletes, Clos du Chapitre, En Suchot, Les Arveletes, also labeled as Les Herveletes, Clos Napoléon, monopole of Dom. Pierre Gelin, Clos de la Perrière, monopole of Dom. De La Perrière, and Queue De Hareng. A monopole is the French term for single-estate vineyard, for those unfamiliar.
There is a bit of an abundance of monopoles in this area, as estates have managed to hold on to their land for the most part, thus passing the value onto consumers of the wine. Another reason for the lower prices is of course, Fixin wasn't well regarded in the past; It was thought of as the, "drink it now," run-off from Gevrey-Chambertin. There have been some acquisitions of late such
as the purchase of Clos du Chapitre, by Antonin Rodet, major French estate producer. The soils are in the premier cry vineyards are homogenous clay-limestone, and top out at about 380m above sea level.
While known mostly for Pinot Noir, Fixin also produces Chardonnay, and has about five percent of its vineyards dedicated to the Chardonnay vine. The other ninety-five hectares are Pinot Noir vines. Producers here can choose to label their wines, “Fixin,” or Cote de Nuits Village label.
The commune borders Gevrey-Chambertin, and the neighboring commune, Brochon, labels its wines, Gevrey-Chambertin, though the lieu-dit Queue De Hareng, located totally in Brochon, is a Fixin Premier Cru. Fixin is excellent value in Burgundy, and I would recommend seeking them out on the shelves, as even the village wines tend to be higher quality than village wines from other communes in the Côte de Nuits. This may have something to do with vineyards seldom changing hands and Fixin’s popularity and demand remaining relatively low.
My biggest issue with Burgundy overall is the general lack of consistency between vintages,
vintners, and vineyards. Even bottle to bottle in the same case there is variation. It’s insanity how finicky pinot is. Despite my issues with some of the other communes, Fixin seems to retain some consistency, and continues year over year to be consistently better. It may not always be the best from Burgundy, but I know when I pick up a bottle, I’m paying thirty dollars below premium for Burgundy, and at its worst it will be comparable to a decent Pinot from the Willamette Valley, and at its best it will sing like Echézèaux, which I also feel is a relatively more consistent commune.
If you’re seeking a Premier Cru, it is urgent that you reference a vintage guide. I wouldn’t buy anything older than 2009, as it’s probably dying. Seek out 2014, 2015, 2017, or 2018. Especially seek out 2015, and 2018. These are what we call, Hot Years in wine. This means that the sun was bright, and the rainy season was mild. This can make good Burgundy in all of its complexity, more balanced, so you get racy, animalistic barnyard flavors you’d expect, with fresh red fruit, and Bordeaux-like sustain, and mouthfeel. I’ll recommend a Premier Cru and a village wine.
The first wine is Albert Bichot Clos De La Perrière Monopole Fixin 1er Cru 2018, if you can come by it. Again this is a monopole, house-owned historic vineyard, and they’re one of a case. The wine is dramatic, and rich. It opens with mushroom, truffle, nettles, and hay, then sings of strawberries, raspberries, crème-brûlée and soft red fruit, and finishes with bloody venison. The acidity is perfectly refreshing without being tart, and the mouthfeel is decadent and buttery.
Comparable to a Grand Cru wine, and a quarter the price. This wine can be had for only eighty dollars in some areas.
The village wine I’d spring for is Domaine Bart Fixin 2015, it’s a little more common. You can also grab the 2018, as previously mentioned. 2018 is regarded as possibly the greatest and most consistent year for Burgundy in history, though most have a ways to go in the bottle before they’re ready.
This wine, while not as dramatic as the Premier Cru mentioned above, is extremely out of the ordinary, and I just needed to take the time to write about it. It opens with dark fruit, actually, blackberry and some stewed strawberry, and blueberry, then it shifts into a clove, and beef flavor with overtones of hay, cedar, and leather. It’s very different for burgundy, but the flavors are so lovely, and the wine is dense, and rich, though a bit reduced and could use a decant. For forty dollars, it’s a steal, and great for get togethers with friends.
That’s All,
~K