Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesA fresh, cool and moderately restrained nose speaks of various red and dark berries along with plenty of iron-inflected earth, animale and pretty floral nuances. The lush, even opulent flavors certainly don't lack for size, weight and power as they coat the palate while buffering the notably firm tannic spine on the muscular, driving and wonderfully persistent finish. This too is impressively concentrated and built-to-age.
Barrel Sample: 93-95
The product of a dry spring and a rainy summer, the 2014 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley offers up an appealing bouquet of wild berries, dark chocolate, cedar, espresso roast and candied peel that's framed by a deft touch of creamy new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, with an ample, textural attack but a tight-knit, somewhat closed mid-palate that's structured around fine-grained but firm tannins. While the 2014 isn't as as broad-shouldered as the 2015, it's a powerful, structured wine that will demand some patience.
Founded in 1825, Bourgognes Faiveley has been handed down from father to son for over 175 years. As the sixth generation to take the reins, François Faiveley manages, with equal amounts passion and competence, the largest family domaine in Burgundy. Methodically reconstructing vineyards fractured by French inheritance laws, Bourgognes Faiveley today owns more appellations in their entirety (monopoles) than any other domaine in Burgundy.
"Faiveley’s wines are... supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot Noir... above all they have richness and breed, the thumbprint of a master winemaker."
-Clive Coates M.W.
Côte d’Or, A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy
A classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
