Faiveley – 2015

21.12.2016billn

Tasted in Nuits with Erwan Faiveley, 14 December 2016, left with virus but standing over his Musigny.

Domaine Faiveley
8 Rue du Tribourg
21700 Nuits-Saint-Georges
Tel: +33 3 80 61 04 55
www.domaine-faiveley.com

Erwan was in full ‘virus-mode’ – initially declining a hand-shake – though he forgot at the end!

Having completed the renovation and updating of the Faiveley winery in Mercurey, work is now well-advanced at the cuverie/cellar in Nuits St.Georges – and it is a massive cathedral of a cellar, equally massively constructed in the manner of a great work of Victorian engineering. In theory it will be ready in plenty of time to accept the 2017 harvest. Erwan (only half!) jokes – “When it’s done, that will be end of investments for a while!”

Erwan on 2015:
“I’m very happy with the picking date – rather too early than too late! I think Chambolle made great wines, but I also think that Gevrey was the greatest in 2015…”

The wines…

A free-style tasting, Erwan with pipette in hand – ‘just a few 1ers before attacking the grand-crus?’ Why not indeed.

There is greatness in this cellar, not least potentially the greatest Clos des Cortons that I ever tasted! A very good white cellar, but there are multiple great red wines here.

2015 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les St.Georges
A little point of reduction, fine complex, chopped herbs. Big, layered, waves of flavour, almost menthol, just a great unfolding finish…

2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cazetiers
Ooh, that’s deep – and no reduction either – just layered dark fruit, slowly adding flowers too. Fresh, muscular, layered, saline, super long. Great Cazetiers.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Les Issarts
Often forgotten despite the house in the vines – soon to be a sculptor’s atelier…
Ooh, deep, growing freshness, flowers, this is top! Lighter, but wider, mineral, precise, really a gorgeous wine, and perhaps an extra, length – even after the Cazetiers.
2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
This from bought grapes for the last 5 years.
Reductive, but not too much. A little more tannin, waves of flavour the palate always expanding. Big, but very fine mid-palate fruit, a hint oaked at the end, but still great!
2015 Echézeaux En Orveaux
“Starting with 2015 we’ll begin to follow the trend to emphasise the name of the plot. I think we have one of the best plots, touching Prieur’s Musigny.”
Very floral, really, really attractive. Layered, beautiful over the palate, ‘very stony here, a nightmare to replant, it doesn’t like dryness either.’ Great Echézeaux.

2015 Clos de Vougeot
Floral, fresh, clarity – a beauty. Big, some structure, but complexity and mouth-melting flavour. Big finishing before slowly fading. Theres a fat to these wines, but not for a second without exemplary balance.

2015 Charmes-Chambertin
From Dupont-Tisserandot, nearly 1 ha, at the border near where Latricières meets Chambertin – a great corner!
Big and fresh, complex and slightly spiced, a really wide aromatic palate. More mineral and structural, but the flavour really, really flows. Great Charmes!
2015 Latricières-Chambertin
‘I’m totally in love with this,’ says Erwan.
A big nose, almost iodine on the nose. Ooh, that is a concentrated beast! Fresh, layered, very wide, just a brilliant finish.

2015 Mazis-Chambertin
Ooh, wide floral, pure fresh pinot. Elegant! Big, full flavoured, but still pure pinot, more pinot than Mazis today – but simply delicious.

2015 Clos de Bèze Ouvrée Rodin
In 2015, 5 barrels
Starts with a little, reduction, a growing, beautiful floral centre. Super creamy vieilles-vignes style mid-palate, wide and length. Simply great wine!

2015 Musigny
This will be the Joseph Faiveley cuvée this year. Not blending the two in the first year to ‘see where the new lot’s muscles are’ – anyway this was bought fruit in 2015. So will have 2 cuvées this vintage.
I do plenty of swirling, but didn’t quite get rid of the reduction. More overt structure after the Rodin, but sleeker, more open and floral finishing. The last drops in the glass are beautiful.

2015 Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley
Three hectares of vines, planted at 12k per hectare. ‘Unique for us, only here was around half a crop in 2015 – its more concentrated than we usually see. I don’t know how it will age, but its huge.’
A big spicy nose, hints at cote de nuits. Massive, concentrated, essence of wine, still fresh, still pinot, reminds of a big Californian but with a balance of fresh fruit I’ve never experienced here.

Les Blancs…

2015 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne
A bright, sweet agrume here. Wide and fresh, pretty fruit, more mineral and gets better and better as it gets longer!

2015 Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet
A more composed, delicately citrus complexity. Really wide. Complex, fresh, bubbling away with interest and very fine balance – simply delicious, subtly phenolic.

2015 Bâtard-Montrachet
Planted at same time as last, long rows, one half is Bâtard the other half of the rows are Bienvenues
A bigger nose, fresh floral citrusé. A little more opulence, a little more minerality to balance too. Weight and complexity. Richer but absolutely balanced wine. Again phenolic finishing.

2015 Corton-Charlemagne
‘I think the best white wine in our vintage’ – certainly the best that I tasted!
A big, fresh citrus nose – really big. Absolutely fresh, intense, becoming even more intense, becoming bigger after swallowing, mouth-watering, lingering beautiful flavour. Very different to the others, but great!

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

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