Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Domaine FAIVELEY/Joseph FAIVELEY -- 2013 Côte de Nuits Wines from Cask

Domaine FAIVELEY/Joseph FAIVELEY* (Nuits-Saint-Georges)

2013s  from Cask and Bottle

As I stated in the review of the Côte de Beaune wines from Faiveley, the reds began to be harvested on October 7. Yields overall on the Côte de Nuits are about 35-40 hl/ha for Faiveley. Grapes were entirely destemmed except for the Amoureuses and Musigny.

Domaine Faiveley is the name used for wines from vineyards Faiveley owns or leases, and Jospeh Faiveley is the name used for negociant wines. Wines marked with an asterisk (*) are Joseph Faiveley, the rest are Domaine Faiveley.

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Aux Chaignots
The Chaignots shows some reduction (not a problem at this stage) along with spice in the nose. The mouth displays some oak and is medium-weight with some tannins. The wine is still unformed, though, and may ultimately prove to be better than I have evaluated it here. (86-90)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Damodes
Damodes lies just above Boudots on the border with Vosne-Romanée at an altitude of 280 to 340 meters. Until recently, the vineyard was too high up to regularly make topflight wine, but global warming is having its effect. Additionally, Faiveley has recently been making changes in the vineyard and the vines (planted in 1983 and 1989) are achieving mature status. The nose here is deep with dark fruit and floral aromas. The wine is round in the mouth with sensual black cherry fruit, good depth, and good length. (91-94)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Porêts-Saint-Georges
The nose was reduced when I tasted the wine (not a problem at this stage). The mouth is smooth, round, and long with dark fruit and quite a bit of finesse for this sector of Nuits. (90-94)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Saint-Georges
Here, too, reduction in the nose. The mouth is rich and sensual with dark fruit that spreads throughout the mouth. This is a very faithful expression of Les Saint-Georges. (91-95)

2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – Les Beaux Bruns*
This is a negociant wine where Faiveley does the harvesting and then makes the wine itself. The wine is dense, smooth, and long with dark fruit and lightness. It’s note terribly expressive today, but still shows quite decently. (89-92)

2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – Les Charmes*
As with the previous wine, Faiveley harvests the grapes and then makes the wine itself. The vines are located by the cross in Charmes, across the road from Les Amoureuses. This wine is complex with some leather in the nose. The mouth is smooth, round, light and very fine. (91-94)

2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – La Combe d’Orveau
The wine has reduction in the nose and mouth, but good concentration, a velvet texture, length, and great finesse. It should be superb. (91-95)

2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – Les Fuées
The Fuées has dark fruit with a silky texture, good firmness and overall structure, yet also the finesse of the vintage. (91-94)

2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – Les Amoureuses*
The Amoureuses comes from very old vines with very small berries, and only two barrels (600 bottles) were made. The fruit is dark, but the wine is still unformed, although it is long, light, ethereal, and haunting. There is a little bit of whole cluster fruit in this wine. It should be outstanding. (93-96)

2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru – La Combe aux Moînes
 The Combe aux Moînes shows dark berry fruit and is round with power, depth, complexity, roundness, and the finesse of the vintage. It is a fine example of the terroir of Combe aux Moînes. (91-94)

2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru – Clos des Issarts
The vineyard here, a monopole of Faiveley, is just across the road from Rousseau’s Ruchottes-Chambertin “Clos des Ruchottes,” and the similarity is always on display with this wine. The nose is stony. The mouth has dark fruit and is fairly rich for a Clos des Issarts. It shows stoniness and minerality plus good length. (92-95)

2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru – Les Cazetiers
Faiveley owns 2 ha of Cazetiers; the youngest vines date to 2005, the oldest to 1945-47. The nose has dark fruits and a bit of animality – it is very typical of a Cazetiers nose. The mouth has structure and length to the dark fruits, especially blackberries, but the sensuality of Cazetiers comes through, too. It is a good example of the terroir of Cazetiers. (92-95)

2013 Echézeaux
Faiveley’s Echézeaux comes from the Combe d’Orveaux climat, and above it are the Vosne premier cru En Orveaux (probably Vosne’s most delicate premier cru) and the village portion of the Combe d’Orveau climat in Chambolle-Musigny. Jérôme Flous says that because of the finesse of wines that come from its location, the wine is practically a Chambolle-Musigny, and that it is best to regard it as such. It’s an interesting thought, and one that I’ve not heard before. The nose is spiced and dark. The mouth has finesse and is light and pure in its dark fruit with a little spice and excellent length. (92-96)

2013 Clos-de-Vougeot
This wine is a mixture from three parcels – two low in the vineyard, one at the top. As with Clos-Vougeots elsewhere, the finesse of the vintage trumps what is often the rusticity of Clos-Vougeot. This wine does have structure and has black raspberry fruit typical of Clos-Vougeot with good purity, nice acidic support, and good length. (92-95)

2013 Latricières-Chambertin
The Latricières is very energetic in both nose and mouth – a classic Latricières characteristic. The wine has dark fruit and minerality – one can taste the effect of the limestone here. This is a potentially great wine. (94-98)

2013 Mazis-Chambertin
This wine is dense with exotic dark fruit typical of Mazis-Chambertin but the finesse of the vintage overpowers the inherent wildness of Mazis. The vines here date partly to 1988 and partly to the 1940s. (93-96)

2013 Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze
The “regular” Clos-de-Bèze is very dense, powerful, and harmonious with dark fruit and a touch of earth. It is lively, nervy and more powerful than the previous wines and potentially is a great wine. (95-98)

2013 Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze  “Les Ouvrées Rodin”
In recent years, Faiveley has made this special cuvée of Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze. It is from a plot that has belonged to Faiveley since the 1920s, with vines dating from the 1920s. This wine is dark, round, and pure with less structure and power and more finesse than the other Clos-de-Bèze, and indeed than I expect from Clos-de-Bèze in general. The wine is long and pure. This wine, too, is potentially great, but I found it no greater than the other Clos-de-Bèze, just slightly different in style. (95-98)

2013 Musigny

I don’t have written down how many bottles of this wine there are in 2013. Faiveley owns but 0.03 ha, meaning that in a “normal” year (i.e., 35 hl/ha) only 140 bottles are produced, and I would guess that the figure is less for 2013. The vines here are more than sixty years old, and this wine is made entirely with whole clusters. It is deep, dense, and pure with dark fruit, but still very young. It is a haunting wine for its purity. (93-97)