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Tasting at Domaine Faiveley
Tasted June 27, 2014 - June 28, 2014 by HowardNZ with 707 views
Introduction
After our visit to Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Mark, Thierry, Andrew and I visited the nearby Domaine Faiveley in Nuits-Saint-Georges.
These notes were written with Andrew.
We were received by Eve Faiveley, who took us on a tour of the cuverie and cellars of the domaine before installing us in the tasting room. We are all big fans of Faiveley and it was a great privilege to have our visit hosted by a member of this great Burgundian family.
We began with a flight of whites in bottle. This flight supported our impression that the 2012 vintage has produced some very good white Burgundies. They were all showing well now, but of course the last three would benefit from more time in bottle.
We have been greatly impressed by the 2012 red Burgundies that we have tasted to date. With the Faiveley red wine flight (again in bottle) there was great power in the fruit and the structural framework looked similar to the excellent 2010s we have tasted.
Flight 1 (12 notes)
White
2012 Faiveley Bourgogne Blanc
Six months in bottle. Colour light yellow. Tropical and stone fruit and lemon on the nose, well balanced acidity and good length. Fresh with good persistence and body. The wine sees no oak. A good, basic food wine.
White
2012 Faiveley Mercurey Clos Rochette Blanc
From a 5 ha monopole in the Côte Chalonnaise, this wine sees 20% new oak. Colour light lemon. Nutty notes on the nose, with some oak. Rich with peach and spice flavours on entry, good structure and balance. Good precision and length. Finishes on some spicy oak. A nice, straightforward wine.
White
2012 Faiveley Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
A wine not from Domaine fruit. Light, clear colour. Greengages inflected with seashell and mineral notes on bouquet. A lovely Chablis with racy acidity, well structured with a chalky and viscous mid palate. Quite rich with a herbal tea character. Good length.
White
2012 Faiveley Meursault 1er Cru Blagny
A negoce wine. Pale yellow colour. A rich but fresh nose with spicy, biscuit notes and white peach overlying a typical Meursault signature on bouquet. Also, Meursault signature on palate. There is power in the mid palate driven by stone fruit flavours, with richness, viscosity and persistence. Very good.
White
2012 Faiveley Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain
Another very good negoc wine. Deeper colour than the Meursault. A fresh, fruit-driven nose with chalk and floral aromas. On the palate, pip fruit, peaches and tropical elements. Great length and fine balance. Quite approachable.
White
2012 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne
Pale yellow. White pear and greengages on the mineral-inflected nose with chalk, white floral and perfume notes. While there is power on the palate, the flavours are subtle rather than aggressive, with overly fine acidity and layers of complex flavours. Grand Cru fruit weight, rich but with precision and freshness. Only 13% alcohol. This is very fine.
Red
2012 Faiveley Pinot Noir Bourgogne
Light red colour. Spicy red cherry, raspberry and boysenberry on the nose. Fresh, fruit-driven flavours in the mouth – not complex, perhaps a little ‘candied’. Framed around soft tannins with good balance. Drinking well now.
Red
2012 Faiveley Mercurey 1er Cru Clos du Roy
Light red colour. Red berries and red plums on bouquet, with spice and some herbs. A step up in palate weight from the Bourgogne. Good energy and tension. Grippy with raspberry and red plum flavours. Drinking well now.
Red
2012 Faiveley Beaune 1er Cru Clos de l'Ecu
Darker red colour. Peppery spices and earth notes on the nose. Savoury notes on the palate with powdery, refined tannins. No coarseness, but not especially complex either. Drinking well now, but good potential for the future.
Red
2012 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Porêts Saint-Georges
Deep red colour. Complex, plummy, fruit and spice on the nose, with some (dark) florals. On palate, this wine needs time. Rich savoury sous-bois flavours on entry. Lots of power with spicy, floral, earthy, savoury flavours on the palate. Great depth and fine grained tannins. Large scaled, structured, tense and long on the finish. Very primary – this wine should be stunning in 15 years or so.
Red
2012 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
Colour deep red. Initially a shy nose, then red berries, especially red plum, with aromas of warm earth and spices. Plenty of matière on the palate, with flavours of rich, small red berries - red currants, raspberries and loganberries - red, spicy plums and warm soil, leading to a complex, spicy, long finish. Excellent structure and suave, fine grained tannins. This wine needs 15+ years.
Red
2012 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
The nose is a bit reticent but there are red cherries, spices, notes of warm earth and an iodine-like medicinal aroma (and flavour) that adds interest rather than detracting. On palate, a large scaled, powerful wine with great fruit weight and volume. A huge dry extract here. The flavours are red fruits, warm earth, Corton iron and spices, with a touch of black pepper. The tannins are quite intense but not at all coarse, being sleek and fine grained. This is very primary and will probably need 20+ years to show its potential. Not far behind top vintages like the 2010, with gorgeous, ripe fruit.