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Faiveley Dinner at Marea 11/10/2011
Marea
Tasted November 10, 2011 by Matt Neel with 610 views
Introduction
Main takeaway impression of the night is that Faiveley's reputation of making powerful wines for long-keeping is spot on. Many of these wines didn't really show at all, and the best ones took 3+ hours to open. I sat at the table for another 90 minutes after everyone else had left just tapping away with my rockhammer at the big Mazis and Bezes. Consequently, these notes are out of order, because I wrote them when the wines started to speak to me, not in their order of service (which I can't remember at this point, anyway).
Another takeaway: 1993 was an absolutely GREAT year chez Faiveley -- the wines were all classy and very fine. 1988, not so much (tough year generally in Burgundy, it would seem).
Flight 1 (17 notes)
White - Sparkling
1998 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame
Faiveley dinner at Marea. Pale straw, edge of copper. Precise nose of yeasty, brioche-y goodness. Lovely and classic. Palate balanced to crisp, nice sweetness, moderate length. Good, not great. B/B+
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Red
1988 Faiveley Charmes-Chambertin
Clear, deep ruby. Nose big time iron, a little rosemary, some leather. Palate has good texture, almost velvety (surprising for an '88, to me). Medium weight. Some oyster shell and mineral on the short-ish finish. B
Red
1988 Faiveley Clos Vougeot
Ruby, bricking. Nose full of tobacco and iron; rusty garden-gate hinge. Oyster shells, saline, almost a little seaweed. Palate thin, rustic, and tannic. Nose is a solid A-, the palate a not so solid B-.
Red
1988 Faiveley Clos de la Roche
Ruby, blood center, bricking. Nose is, again, very '88: iron, touch of fertilizer (chemical), leather, and a pinch of spice, later some herbs showed up. Very deep and satisfying nose. Palate lean, tannic, again v. '88. Good. B/B+
Red
1988 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
Bricking ruby. Nose is pure '88: strict, sour cherry, horse sweat, interesting. Brambles. Palate surprisingly soft, but also tannic and masculine (paradoxically, though this being Burgundy, all things are possible…). Medium length. Later on, nose full of herbaceousness. Weightless palate. Nose now evolving to lacquer. Angular palate and finish. B+, but really striving for that A-.
Red
1991 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
Deep ruby, blood core. Nose of minerally cherry, quite penetrating and pure. Big, tight palate, but with good fruit. Young yet. Closed and hard to evaluate -- good wine, but closed for business tonight. Come back in 10+ years! Massively tannic. B+
Red
1993 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
Blood ruby. V rich, deep nose for a Corton. A v v deep and elusive note of red fruit, cranberry, then, with some air, spice and some herbaceousness. Lovely. Wonderful. Another wow! '93 tonight. Killer nose. Palate all there but young, medium to full body. Massively tannic. A little short on the finish holds the score back a bit. A-
Red
1978 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
flawed
Bricked ruby. Flawed: oxidized, but not awful. Still some character here: lots of leather, some interest. No judgment, but an enjoyable wine that was hard to dislike.
Red
1971 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
Bricked ruby. Nose full of sweet caramel, leather dice-cup, a rather haunting back note of nutmeg, almost some fish sauce, and definitely plenty more leather. Palate delicate, just holding onto to its fruit. A delicious, delicate old lady. A
Red
1971 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
flawed
Bricked. Nose very funky, somewhat corked, but the palate has real breed and presence. Texture very good, considering. Too bad, because this probably would be right up there with the delicious Latricieres. Judgment reserved.
Red
1978 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Bricking ruby. Minerally, leather, and correct, but uninteresting, rather foursquare. Sweet on palate, though, with decent length. It might need some more time, I guess, but I just don't think this wine is what one hopes for in a good year. B+/A-
Red
1991 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
Deep ruby. Lots of interest on the nose: soap, leather, minerals, a touch of caramel. Palate round and a bit sweetly cheerful, tea, rose, a little lychee. Excellent balance, great fruit, and good length. A spectacular, first-rate vin de garde. Later: simply a spectacular wine. Glorious. Still very tannic, even brutally so, but they are very, very fine grained and there is more than enough fruit to last. Wow! Along with the '71 Mazis, WOTN. A/A+
Red
1985 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
V bricking ruby. At first, a rosy, sweet nose. Very '85. Then leather. I waited too long to get to this glass (bewitched with '93s and the '91 Latricieres). The beauty has disappeared and become a wallflower. For a while: A, at the end: B.
Red
1971 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
Bricked blood. Definitely some funky mushrooms on the nose at first, but still on this side of unpleasant. Leather and undergrowth. Palate sweet, round, very well balanced. Resolved tannins with splendid fruit in big, bountiful baskets. Now later, not funky nose, rather: completely open with animale, fur, hot stones, brown sugar. In a word, wondrous. Palate resolved and harmonious. Long and just glorious. Made for food. This wine took FOREVER to open and blow off the funk of many long years in the bottle. Tied for WOTN with the '91 Latricieres. A/A+
Red
1985 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
Bricking ruby. Nose full of tobacco, cherry cough syrup. Palate of dried cherry, good weight, tannic. Dried fruits, Pretty good length. Delicious, but certainly more Faiveley than 1985. A step past its best. B+
Red
1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
Blood ruby. Spectacular herbaceous nose that just bursts from the glass, lots of tobacco, creamy raspberries, and general rosy lusciousness and perfume. Palate nicely balanced, great rosy fruit on a big, tannic frame. Wait. Good length. Needs time and might be too green/herbaceous for some palates -- but not for mine! Wonderful, and a contenda for WOTN. A/A+
Red
1993 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Blood. Another glorious '93 nose! As a group, these '93s are the wines of the night. Here, nose deep, sappy rose, rosewater, tea, herbals, with a deeper, gutty note of musk, crotch. Splendid. Palate generous, but v v powerful, totally there, not closed, but a big, burly lumberjack of a wine. Wow! This took a very long time to open completely. Seamless. First class. Again, might be too green for some palates, especially long term. A/A+