Winemaker Notes
The nose reveals oaky, fruity and floral notes. The palate is concentrated and well-balanced with excellent aromatic persistence. The rich aromas make this Grand Cru enjoyable in its youth although it only develops its full character after a few years of bottle age. An exceptional wine with depth and minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A hard-to-beat Corton-Charlemagne in 2017, this comes from cool, east-facing vineyards that ripen very slowly, even in a warm year. Focussed, pithy and fizzing with energy, it's a rich, dense wine with 40% new oak, creamy lees and a tangy, mouthwatering finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Faiveley's 2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has realized all the potential it showed from barrel last year, wafting from the glass with aromas of Meyer lemon, mandarin oil, green apple, white flowers and pear that are framed by a discrete application of classy new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, racy and beautifully balanced, with a deep and concentrated core, mouthwatering acids and a long, penetrating finish. This is a supremely elegant rendition of the appellation, and it's well worth seeking out. As I recounted last year, two out of the fifteen barrels of wine that were produced derive, for the first time, from white vines planted at the top of Faiveley's famous Clos des Cortons.
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
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Prevailing over the charming village of Aloxe, the hill of Corton actually commands the entire appellation. Corton is the only Grand Cru for Pinot Noir in the entire Côte de Beaune. Its Grand Crus red wines can be described simply as “Corton” or Corton hyphenated with other names. These vineyards cover the southeast face of the hill of Corton where soils are rich in red chalk, clay and marl.
Dense and austere when young, the best Corton Pinot Noir will peak in complexity and flavor after about a decade, offering some of the best rewards in cellaring among Côte de Beaune reds. Pommard and Volnay offer similar potential.
The great whites of the village are made within Corton-Charlemagne, a cooler, narrow band of vineyards at the top of the hill that descends west towards the village of Pernand-Vergelesses. Here the thin and white stony soils produce Chardonnay of exceptional character, power and finesse. A minimum of five years in bottle is suggested but some can be amazing long after. Fully half of Aloxe-Corton is considered Grand Cru.