Faiveley

Burgundy En-primeur 2023 – The Grand Cru Clos de Beze Taste-off – Domaine Faiveley versus Domaine Drouhin…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

After spending a lot of time in Burgundy tasting the 2023 wines in-situ, I took the opportunity to taste, compare and contrast two very big name Burgundy producers in London that many keen collectors MIGHT just be able to source and buy in this tightly allocated environment.

Clos-de-Bèze is certainly one of the most revered Grand Cru appellations in Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits sub-region, exclusively dedicated to Pinot Noir of course. Its exceptional terroir, featuring limestone and marl soils, yields Pinot Noir wines with a delicate fruitiness, refined acidity, and elegant tannins. The wines almost always exhibit captivating aromas of red berries, cherries, violets, and earthy nuances, making them ideal companions for roasted game birds, mushroom based dishes, and savoury herby stews.

Always as sought after as many of the great Grand Crus of Vosne Romanee, the Clos-de-Bèze reds have got to be amongst the most desirable Grand Cru wines of Gevrey-Chambertin along side Gevrey’s famed Clos Saint Jacques Premier Cru vineyard of course. While no producer’s Clos-de-Bèze allocation is easy to secure, the slightly more commercial offerings from Domaine Faiveley and Domaine Drouhin are certainly two wines some consumers might be more likely to encounter on fine wine lists. So, as always, read my reviews before you buy!

Domaine Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru 2023, Burgundy

A pretty wine showing seductively accessible sweet fruited aromatics of ripe red cherry, crystallised strawberry and earthy red currant notes. There is a fine palate concentration, a pithy liquid mineral mouthfeel and a soft, fine grained tannin texture. The wine finishes slightly abruptly but the flavours are thoroughly attractive. This will be an early to medium term drinker, with a label and appellation to impress dinner guests but perhaps not quite a wine for connoisseurs or collectors who will surely expect better for the price. Drink on release until 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru 2023, Burgundy

Like the Drouhin, the aromatics on this impressive Faiveley red are seductive, pure and pristine, even exotic, fruit forward and opulent with an underlying lick of new oak which is actually quite attractive. The palate is a little more punchy, delicately saline, and beautifully intense with a maritime sea breeze note, pithy black cherry, oak spice, and a cool veneer dusted with graphite and limestone minerality. Simply put, this is a very attractive wine. Drink from 2026 to 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasted at the Howard Ripley Burgundy En-primeur 2023 tasting. Please contact: Adrian Burns adrian.burns@howardripley.com for a full private client offer.

The Growing Grandeur of Nuits Saint Georges – Tasting Domaine Faiveley’s Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Porets Saint Georges 2011…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

We all know that Nuits Saint Georges in the Cotes de Nuits possesses no Grand Crus vineyards. But with changing weather patterns and the influence of global warming, certain areas in Burgundy like Nuits Saint Georges as well as other “lesser” areas further south in the Chalonais, have seen massive advances in wine quality in the past 10 to 15 years. Today I had another encounter with Domaine Faiveley’s Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Porets Saint Georges 2011, one of the top 1er Crus in the village.


With Erwan Faiveley taking over the reigns at Domaine Faiveley from his father Francois in 2007, a new direction was set by the family with Bernard Hervé and winemaker Jérôme Flous helping to chart the route to future success. The 2011 harvest began on the 31st August and picking lasted for 9 days. By the time the “juice” was in the bottle, Domaine Faiveley were looking at one of their finest, most elegantly crafted vintages for many years.


Tasting Note: This Nuits 1er Cru has a very richly fruited, lifted, perfumed nose of dried flowers, rose petals, white blossoms, and pretty red cherry and cranberry coulis notes. The palate is supple and streamline, showing complex hints of sweet stalk spice, forest fruits, moderate mid-palate concentration and a very polished tannin profile. This is a very attractive wine with earthy bramble fruits, red plums, bright fresh acids and the most pronounced liquid minerality. A very classy wine that’s drinking superbly well at the moment but with plenty of life still ahead of it. Drink now to 2035+

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

 

En-primeur Burgundy 2015 ~ Domaine Faiveley’s Mercury La Framboisiere 2015 stealing the show…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

This week I attended the annual Faiveley En-Primeur Burgundy 2015 tasting hosted by their UK shipper, Maison Marques et Domaines. The reputation of the 2015 Red Burgundy vintage precedes it, so this was a tastings I attended with great expectations. 


Clearly, 2015 is not a “classic” vintage for Burgundy connoisseurs. It is certainly very opulent, ripe, concentrated and plush with good balancing acidities on the reds, but less so on the slightly mushy whites. If you’re a lover of Burgundy reds from 2001, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013… then this is probably not a vintage for you. 


If on the other hand, you loved buying and drinking 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010… then 2015 should be just right for your palate. (Though 2010 is perhaps the anomaly vintage that transcends classic and modernist type casting.)

One wine I have decided to single out is the Mercury La Framboisiere red that I found so captivating. This Côte Chalonnaise village gets its name from the God Mercury (God of Merchants). The story goes that a temple was erected here in honour of this deity. This climat La Framboisière produces wines with real crunchy bright character and are always for me, one of the highlights of Faiveley’s  tastings.

This Vineyard has a total surface area of 11 hectares with vines grown on clay / limestone soils. Vines were planted in 1949, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1990 and produce approximately 65,000 bottles, though this number is very much vintage dependent. 


Tasting Note: The 2015 La Framboisiere has a really powerful, fruity, perfumed nose of cherry blossom, violets, wild strawberries, cranberries, salty cassis and hints of sappy brambly forest fruits. But it is on the palate that this wine shows its full potential, with its power, perfume, concentration and crunchy, tart, linear acidity, soft fleshy texture, with flavours of raspberry and other very ripe red berry fruits. The structure too is direct and powerful, with chalky velvety tannins and a very long, intense, focused, vibrant finish. A real pleasure to drink. (Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW).

It’s when you drink a glass of this lovely wine that you realise all is not lost in Burgundy with regards to “modest pricing.” It’s perhaps more the generational, inbuilt stigma of the Mercury appellation that holds some people back from embracing this wine and enjoying its brightness and brilliance even more. For me, it’s one of my favourites in the Faiveley portfolio!