Faiveley
The historic Domaine Faiveley is one of Burgundy's leading domaines. There is no doubt that in the last decade, under the guidance of Erwan Faiveley and winemaker Jérôme Flous, they have undergone a renaissance of style, shedding their old-school, austere reds for elegant, beautifully finessed wines.
Domaine Faiveley owns holdings in many of Burgundy’s most revered vineyards in the Côte de Nuits (Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, etc.) and in the Côte de Beaune (Corton-Charlemagne, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Volnay, Pommard, etc.) with some of these being monopoles under single ownership.
Although armed with an incredible variety of vineyards, Faiveley also have their extraordinary heritage and experience as an advantage over their local rivals. No less than seven generations of Faiveleys have succeeded each other in running the domaine since it was founded in 1825.
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Vinous (91+)
Very deep red, by far the darkest in the tasting; showing no amber yet. Bordeaux-like nose combines redcurrant, black raspberry, graphite, mocha, cedar, licorice, mint and bouquet garni; it's hard to recognize Burgundy here (Jérôme Flous noted that we feared that 2018 would be like 2003 but we were saved by having a lot of moisture in the soil). A medicinal, mouthfilling monster with its black fruit and menthol flavors conveying a distinctly southern dried-fruit and Provençal herb character. Today the finish is cut off by palate-shattering tannins. Erwan Faiveley describes this as one of the biggest Burgundies I've ever tasted, noting that its IPT (indice de polyphénols totaux) is 130, which is off the charts. And I recall that when François Faiveley first showed me this wine from barrel in late 2004 (he bottled it early, in December of that year), he predicted that it would need at least 15 years of bottle aging; that has turned out to be an understatement. In fact, I wonder if this bulletproof wine will ever truly be easy to drink. I'm not sure if I would have pegged it blind as Pinot Noir. (This wine weighs in at 14.4% alcohol, while the rest of the vintages in this tasting are typically between 13.2% and 13.7%; 3.57 pH; 3.5 g/l acidity; from a harvest that began on August 25; just 18 hectoliters per hectare produced)HK$23,730.00 -
Vinous (89-92)
Saturated red-ruby. Aromas of cassis, black cherry, mineral and flowers. Quite primary and a bit youthfully tough and angular, with little early sweetness. A distinctly muscular wine, best today on the long finish, where the black fruit flavors outlast the serious tannins. I may be underestimating this.HK$9,595.00
