Burgundy 2012 Day 4: Visit to Faiveley

This was by some distance the worse visit of the trip and, if I were to be harsh, rather a waste of time. Having bought regularly from the house for many years, I was very much looking forward to a good tasting through Faiveley's range of 2010s, but boy was I to be disappointed.

Something must have gone wrong in the communications, because here was a group of Burgundy lovers all, with an importer and a smattering of Confrerie chevaliers in tow, and yet Faiveley somehow saddled us with a guide on his first week on the job who could not answer any questions beyond what was typed on a cheat-sheet that he had with him. Poor guy gave the group the regular tourist treatment, with pre-printed brochures and tasting notes, and ended up with glum, unhappy faces staring back at him.

The worse part, however, was the tasting. After bringing us through row after row of barrels containing Faiveley's top wines, from the Musigny and Corton, to the Gevrey trio of Clos de Beze, Mazis and Latricieres, we ended up tasting two Bourgognes, two Mercureys, a Puligny village and a sole NSG 1er Cru. Someone commented that it was like a pretty girl flirting with you, loosening the top button on her blouse, putting her had on your knee, and then leaving with a handshake.

This was a world of a difference from previous visits to other big houses, like Bouchard or Jadot, where we were led by knowledgeable, passionate representatives and where we tasted through a goof range of wines from both bottle and (in Jadot in particular) barrel. What a let down this was.

• 2010 Faiveley Pinot Noir Bourgogne Joseph Faiveley 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  A really basic wine, but pretty acceptable standard for what it is. A bit of reduction on the nose blew off to show rather candied notes of sweet berries and violets with a touch of meatiness on the side. Not quite to my liking. Palate was better - very brightly balanced, it had clean acidity lifting simple, but pleasant flavours of sour cherries. Not much tannins to speak of. Nothing much going on here in fact, but it was plesant enough for a regional.

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• 2010 Faiveley Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Myglands 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey 1er Cru

  A decent wine. I liked the nose, with its perfumed notes of violets and dark cherries, meat and earth. The mid-weighted palate was pretty elegant for a Mercurey, with dark-fruited flavours of sour plums and black cherries lined with some spice and mineral notes. While not the most compelling, this had an easy, early-drinking charm to it, with a clear, bright feel lent by a good amount of citrus acidity weaving its way through the fruit. The grip came in at the finish, where a nice brush of sweet cherries and violet flowers floated above a bed of firm meatiness. Pretty pleasant, and it should improve over the short to medium-term as well.

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• 2010 Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Porêts Saint-Georges 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Here, I thought, we finally had a really good wine on our hands. This was very dark fruited, with deep aromas of blackberries and cherries on nose, along with notes of damp earth and meat, and shades of warm spice and mineral. A very generous, expressive nose. The palate, was a bit more withdrawn than that, showing a chewy, muscular structure, very fine tannins notwithstanding, and lovely bright acidity underpinning really pure flavours of damson plums and blackberries, with spicy motes and a wet slate, mineral note at the sides. The finish was long and very firm, with touches of bramble and spice laid over a solid substrata of fine tannins and juicy acidity. Very nice, if just a little on the hard, drying side right at its very tail. I really did like the quality and build of this wine - a classic Nuits St Georges 1er Cru, it will need at least a decade in the bottle.

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• 2010 Faiveley Chardonnay Bourgogne Joseph Faiveley 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  A pretty okay Bourgogne Blanc - in fact, a bit better than the red I thought. It had a very fruity nose, with sweet notes of pineapples, ripe pears and some flowery aromas. Very simple on the palate, again with pear flavours , some flowers, and sweet pineapple candy notes on the side. There was a touch of lemony acidity at the back-end that balanced the wine out nicely though. A decent Bourgogne for party-type occasions.

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• 2010 Faiveley Mercurey Clos Rochette Blanc 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey

  A well-made Mercurey blanc. I like the nose here, with its exuberant expressive notes of green apples and limes touched by a nice minerally lilt. Really decent on the palate too. Creamily textued in a Meursault-like fashion, it showed fresh flavours of green apples and sweet lemons leading into a solid finish lined with more lime and mineral notes and a little flowery hint hovering around the egdes. A bit on the simple side, but very pleasant.

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• 2010 Faiveley Puligny-Montrachet 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  A good Puligny village. Rather tighter on nose than the two whites that preceded it, this showed restrained notes of sweet apples and flowers, some citrus lime aromas, and a slight nutty accent. I liked the palate here. Rather richly textured, almost creamy, with really good depth for a village wine, it showed good flavours of citrus limes and lemons with riper red apple notes lingering away in a rather sweet, but nicely fresh finish where that nutty note picked up on the nose asserted itself again. This should drink pretty well young, but really does deserve a year or two more in the bottle to grow. A nice little Puligny.

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