Subscribe to my Substack blog and receive email updates for all my new posts.
Erwan Faiveley and I looked at each other in amazement that seventeen years had passed since he took over as head of this iconic producer.
One of the changes that he instituted was to divide Faiveley into (1) Domaine Faiveley for the estate wines and (2) Joseph Faiveley for négociant wines. In fact, 80% of the production these days is Domaine Faiveley, and the great bulk of the Joseph Faiveley production is generic Bourgogne. As for Domaine Faiveley, it now consists of 120 ha, 70 of which are in the Côte Chalonnaise. And in addition, there is Domaine Billaud-Simon in Chablis, which Faiveley purchased several years back but is still operated separately.
2022 Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Myglands
Erwan said that at Mercurey, there was no rainfall between May and September, and so the wines there were somewhat different from those in the Côte d’Or. Notwithstanding any problems caused by the dryness at Mercurey, Faiveley has come up with a winner with the Clos des Myglands, one of its jewels on the Côte Chalonnaise. The wine has an intense mineral nose. The mouth is smooth, round, intense, and deep, with minerality and a sensuous texture. (91-93)
2022 Volnay 1er Cru Frémiets
Frémiets is a vineyard that differs somewhat from Volnay stereotypes; it is on the border with Pommard-Frémiers (note different spelling) and that gives it an individual quality of firmness and lightness that I and many other Volnay lovers greatly appreciate for its individuality. The nose is fragrant, mineral, intense, and deep. On the palate, the wine is deep, layered and significantly more complex than the Mercurey with red and black raspberry fruit and a water-like texture. (92-95)
2022 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Chaignots
From the Vosne slope of Nuits, Chaignots already provides in the nose much of the spice that we associate with Vosne. The mouth is deep, spicy, and powerful with black raspberry fruit, minerality, and fine tannins. Both the flavors and textures are layered. This is grand cru quality from at premier cru appellation. (94-97)
2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos des Issarts
Speaking of grand cru quality at premier cru appellation, Faiveley’s monopole Clos des Issarts lies directly to the north, just across the road, from Rousseau’s Clos des Ruchottes. Through many years of comparing them, I can say that the Rousseau is the superior wine, but not by all that much and the resemblance between the two can be remarkable — the terroir speaks. The nose is dusty, chalky, stony, and penetrating. The mouth shows red and dark fruits very much in the Ruchottes style. There is a noble austerity of texture to the wine, again very much like the Clos des Ruchottes, and lightness on the palate with a silky texture. (93-96)
2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers
The nose, which I describe as musky, is typical of Cazetiers. The mouth is round with raspberry fruit, medium weight, elegance and refinement, density, and on the finish, minerality. In short, this is a wine that lives up to the Cazetiers reputation as one of the top premiers crus in Gevrey. (93-96)