Domaine Faiveley Burgundy Wine Tasting with Special Guest Carl Lercellier (Export Manager)

“There is truth in wine, but you never see it listed in the ingredients on the label”
― Josh Stern

We usually do not host events in the Wine Bar on Monday but when we have the opportunity to tasting an incredible line-up of Burgundy from one of the top Domaines how can I say no… Domaine Faiveley was the first Burgundy tasting we ever hosted at Café Maxx 30 years ago with the man Francoise Faiveley himself and I will never forget the experience, we had over a dozen wines with lots of top level stuff like tonight. We are featuring a vertical of the Grand Cru Monopole Clos des Cortons Faiveley which is the only Grand Cru in Burgundy alongside Romanée-Conti to bear the name of its proprietor.  We also have Batard Montrachet on the table along a total of 10 different wines, what better way to start out the week than drinking great Burgundy. 

Join us as we welcome the Carl Lercellier, the export manager for Domaine Faiveley to a special tasting and dinner at Wine Watch.  Carl will take us on a guided tour of Burgundy introducing the individual vineyard sites and explaining the terroir like only one of the top winemakers in Burgundy can.  The cost of this event is $150 +tax and is limited to 24 tasters, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or email andy@winewatch.com

Domaine Faiveley Burgundy Tasting with Special Guest Carl Lercellier (Export Manager)
Monday, September 16th
7:30pm

Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Clos Rochette Blanc 2017
Price: $39.00       Sale $34.32

This parcel neighbours La Framboisière. The soils in Clos Rochette are very compact, hard to plough and scattered with small rocks that give this climat its name. This parcel has been one of the Domaine's Monopoles since 1933.
This wine reveals exceptionally complex aromas and a fresh nose offering white flowers and spices. The lively attack gives way to a smooth, oily palate thanks to its oak ageing. The flavours and aromas combine harmoniously resulting in a beautifully elegant wine.

Faiveley Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2015
Price: $528.00    Sale $464.64

Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet sits in the shadows of Bâtard Montrachet above the 1er Cru vineyards of Puligny Montrachet. The overall vineyard is just 10 acres with Domaine Faiveley controlling a single parcel of 1.25 acres almost directly below their parcel of Bâtard. Soils remain consistent to Bâtard with clay and white marl, but as the hillside has flattened, the wines produced tend to be more “Puligny” like showing elegance over power.

Domaine Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge 2016          
Price: $22.50       Sale $19.80

(87 Points) "Faiveley's 2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir reveals a lovely bouquet of ripe cherries, grilled meats and woodsmoke, framed by a light touch of reduction that rapidly dissipates in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with juicy acids and youthfully chewy structuring tannins. It's a hearty, successful effort in a vintage that didn't always lend itself to generic Bourgogne, which tended to be hit hard by frost."

Faiveley Monthelie Champs Fulliots 1er Cru 2015           
Price: $55.50       Sale $48.84

Domaine Faiveley purchased this plot of just over 1/2 acre in 2007. The 1er Cru Champs Fulliots vineyard sits in the heart of Monthélie’s 1er Crus sharing a very similar terroir to the 1er Cru vineyards of Les Caillerets and Clos de Chenes which it directly borders. Exposure is to the south and soils an extremely shallow red clay lying directly above solid rock.

Faiveley Beaune Clos de l'Ecu Monopole 2016 
Price: $69.75       Sale $61.38

Clos de l’Ecu was acquired in 2003 and is a monopole of Domaine Faiveley. The 5+ acre “Clos” or walled vineyard sits high on the hillside overlooking 1er Crus Les Bressandes, Les FEves and Les Perrières and the village of Beaune to the east. Soils are shallow, loose and laiden with gravel.

Domanie Faiveley Gevrey Chambertin 2016
Price: $64.50      Sale $56.76

By royal ordinance from Louis-Philippe, the name "Chambertin" was added to the name of the village and it officially became "Gevrey-Chambertin" in 1847. Our parcel selection of old vines aged over 35 years old produces an exceptionally intense and aromatic wine.
Our old vines are over 35 years old and produce an exceptionally intense and aromatic wine that reflects the unique character of its terroir. With its deep, clear ruby red hue, it reveals notes of black fruits and excellent strength and concentration. As with all Gevrey-Chambertin, it requires a few years of patience before reaching its full potential.

Domaine Faiveley Gevrey Chambertin Cazetiers 1er Cru 2017   
Price: $147.50    Sale $129.80

The term "Cazetier" originates from "Castel", the parcel situated just above the Château de Gevrey. It is one of the rare "Têtes de Cuvée" to not have been reclassified as a Grand Cru in the 1930's. Along with "Lavaux-Saint-Jacques" and "Clos Saint-Jacques", this climat is considered to be one of the best Premiers Crus in Gevrey. The Domaine has owned half of the appellation since 2013.

Domanie Faiveley Clos des Cortons Faiveley Monopole Grand Cru 2014              
Price: $253.5       Sale $223.08

Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley is the only Grand Cru in Burgundy alongside Romanée-Conti to bear the name of its proprietor. The name was confirmed in court in 1937. This unique 7-acre parcel sits on the northern extremity of the hill of Corton fairly high up the slope surrounded by the famous “Le Corton” parcel. Soils are poor and well drained, made up primarily of iron-based stones and clay. The majority of the vineyard was planted between 1936 and 1967 with younger plantings up to 2002.

(94 Points) This is pure, featuring cherry, berry, floral and spice aromas and flavors married to a vivid structure. Firms up nicely as the fruit and supporting matrix build to a long finish. Best from 2020 through 2033.   Wine Spectator Author: Bruce Sanderson

Domanie Faiveley Clos des Cortons Monopole Grand Cru 2015
Price: $282.50    Sale $248.60

(95-97 points) (entirely destemmed, as these thick-skinned grapes were extremely high in tannins and total polyphenols): Saturated dark red-ruby. Distinctly dark aromas of black cherry, licorice and violet convey an impression of medicinal reserve. Powerful black cherry, crunchy raspberry and licorice flavors boast remarkable intensity and energy but come across as less austere at this stage than normal. A huge wine with the structure for a 25-year evolution in bottle but there's something almost feminine about its fine-grained texture. The major tannins are totally supported by fruit on the classic, penetrating, extremely long aftertaste. A great wine in the making. (Erwan Faiveley noted that this was the most impressive must he's ever tasted.) The IPT (indice polyphenols totaux) here is a whopping 90, compared to a normal 50, according to Jerome Flous, who added that the record for this cuvée was 103 in 2005. (ST) (1/2017) Vinous

Domanie Faiveley Clos des Cortons Monopole Grand Cru 2017
Price: $282.75    Sale $248.60

Ruby red in colour with clear purple reflections. The nose is powerful, concentrated and exudes notes of black cherry and spice. The palate is rich and smooth with good energy and concentration. The finish is elegant. An excellent wine for cellar ageing.

Menu
Cheese and Charcuterie Selection
Fettucini Carbonara
Chicken Tikka Masala – Indian Stew
Mongolian Scented Filet of Beef Scallion soy and ginger served with sticky rice cake

This event is $150 +tax and is limited to 24 tasters, for reservations call 954-954-523-9463 or email andy@winewatch.com.

In one of the back streets of Nuits-Saint-Georges a rather ugly but functional concrete office block lies over the cavernous traditional cellars of a former sparkling burgundy house (it still says Veuve Labouré on the decaying portals through which the grapes make their entry). This is the headquarters of one of the biggest and best domaines in Burgundy - Bourgognes Faiveley.  Domaine Faiveley is run today by François, sixth in a direct line from the original Pierre Faiveley, who founded the business in 1825.  François - tall, dark, attractive and bespectacled with just the merest suggestion of a lisp - lives next door with his Anglo French wife Anne and their family, two boys and a daughter named Eve, the first female Faiveley to be born since 1772.  François began to take over from his father Guy in the mid-1970's, and he has been solely in charge since 1978.  The wines have always enjoyed an enormous reputation - a Faiveley bottling from the 1940's and 1950's, if you can find one, is one of the best guarantees of a fine old Burgundy.  However, in the modern era the wines have improved even further.  The house of Faiveley is classic, expert winemaking - currently with few rivals.  It is Burgundy at its best.

The Faiveley domaine, 277-acres between Mercurey and the Côte D'Or, is not just one of the largest in Burgundy, but it is also probably the richest in terms of its concentration in Premier and Grand Cru vineyards.  From the outset, unlike other merchants at the time, François Faiveley's predecessors re-invested their profit in real estate to control the quality chain right through from the planting of the young rootstock down to the day the bottle arrives in the cellar of the client.  In Grand Crus the estate comprises vines in Clos de Bèze, Mazis, Latricières, Le Musigny, Echézeaux, and Clos Vougeot.  In Premier Crus the main vineyards are located in Combe aux Moines and Cazetiers (Gevrey-Chambertin), Combe D'Orveau and Fuées (Chambolle-Musigny), and in the Nuits-Saint-Georges climates of Les Saint-Georges, Porets-Saint-Georges, Chaignots, Vignerondes, Athées, Lavières, and Damodes. In addition the domaine has a lease until 2002 on the entirety of the 23-acre Clos de la Maréchale, the most southerly of the great vineyards of the Côte de Nuits.  The Domaine also owns a few acres of Grand Cru Corton, right up at the top of the slope above Aloxe and Ladoix.

"I am convinced", says François Faiveley, "that the quality of any wine is three-quarters (or more) determined by the quality of the fruit in the first place".  When asked about the hidden secrets of great winemaking at Faiveley, François responds:  "The secret is that there is no secret," says François. "In the Alps, you come across cairns, little pyramids made up of small stones. Wine making is like this: a mass of interlocking, coherent detail. The time of vintaging is crucial. Everything, from Clos de Bèze to Bourgogne Rouge, is sorted through on a tapis de triage (there is an interesting wind-tunnel to blow away excess juice if the fruit arrives wet). We employ 15 to 20 people just for this, because the sanitary state of the fruit is so important."  Faiveley believes that intense competition in the future will mean that the only way to survive will be to produce higher and higher quality. The sole solution, not so much for Chambertin Clos de Bèze, which will sell on its name and past reputation, but for middle-of-road Premiers Crus, is that the quality must be stunning.

The majority of Faiveley's needs can be supplied by its own domaine, and François would rather keep the activities of his enterprise within a boundary he can personally control himself. Again, quality is always the first and the paramount consideration.  François Faiveley has no ambition to be master of a mammoth empire.  There is some addition to the in-house supply every year.  Because Faiveley owns only eight acres of ordinary village wine, he must seek outside sources to fulfill his needs for his lesser Burgundies such as the Bourgogne Rouge.  When Faiveley does purchase from outside of his own vineyards, he usually buys grapes - not wine finished by another producer.  Expansion of the domaine, however, is continuing in the Côte Chalonnaise to the south of the famed Côte D'Or.  Having been farmers there since before the First World War, Guy Faiveley, father of François, purchased the nucleus of the existing Mercurey vineyards in 1964.  François has recently extended this by acquiring 27-acres of land in Montagny (it produced its first harvest in 1992). He has also bought twelve prime acres of Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits, in the valley directly above Nuits-Saint-Georges itself.  When queried about expanding in the Côte de Nuits (perhaps Burgundy's most famous viticultural region) Faiveley replies, "the prices are just too excessive."

François is fascinated by the elegance and the aromatic nuances of great Burgundy.  "If I'd been able to pursue a second career", says François, "I would have been a parfumier. I am obsessed by the bouquet of fine Burgundy". (One of his favorite books is Susskind's Perfume). "Burgundy has been wrongly thought by outsiders to be a heavier wine than Bordeaux. I still get people coming up to me saying they can't take Burgundy because it is too heavy, too powerful, too alcoholic. But Burgundy isn't like that. Above all it is a wine of finesse. The great thing about Pinot Noir is its marvelous perfume. Even if a Burgundy may be technically correct, if it doesn't exude this elegance, it is nothing."

François Faiveley is a man of taste and culture - a civilized man with an inquiring mind and a wide range of interests.  Music is one of his great loves, particularly the music of Bach.  Painting, especially Turner, is another great passion. And to relax he has his boat. The boat is named Glenn II (there was originally Glenn I). John Glenn the astronaut?  No. Glenn Gould the pianist, supreme executor of the Partitas and other suites of Johan Sebastian Bach.  Faiveley's wines are, above all, supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot Noir.  They are full, rich and concentrated, oaky but not too aggressively so, and sumptuous in the potential opulence of their fruit. Above all they have richness and breed - the thumbprint of a master winemaker.

It is interesting to note that François Faiveley sued Robert Parker, the foremost American wine critic and editor of The Wine Advocate, for factual errors Parker made in reviewing Faiveley's wines several years ago.  Faiveley won the libel suit and was awarded one franc in damages plus a published retraction from Parker.  François Faiveley is a man very serious about his wines and his reputation.

Erwan and Eve Faiveley are the 7th Generation to run this dynasty in Burgundy and now have the largest holdings of classified vineyards for any Domaine.  Erwan has always had a passion for Burgundy and its wines.  he took over from his father in 2005 and immediately invested in new facilities in order to continue the same quest for excellence as his forefathers.  he strives to produce wines that reveal their potential in their youth and evolve to develop their true potential with cellar aging.  The 2007 vintage was the beginning of a new style fo the domaine.  Eve, the first daughter in 7 generations joined her brother Erwan at the family business in 2014 after working for several years in Paris in the cosmetics industry.  She has a passion for luxury and aestetics and is committed to producing fine wines that reflect their terroir using a traditional savoir-faire that has been passed down through the family over the last two centuries.  She feels strongly about preserving the beautiful legacy for future generations to come.