Domaine Faiveley Tasting
I segue-ed into the weekend by attending a tasting of Faiveley wines, one of many Wine Master Classes that were part of World Gourmet Summit festivities here in Singapore. Other wineries presented included Chateau Cos D'Estournel, Chateau-Figeac, Domaine Bonneau du Martray, Domaine Michel Gros, and Luciano Sandrone.
Christophe Voisin, Export Director @ Faiveley, gave his spiel on the estate and their incredible range of wines, and also moderated the tasting that followed. It was interesting to hear that 80% of their vineyards are domaine owned, as I had always had the impression that Faiveley was primarily a negociant. Surprising to me also, was that they produce about 50 bottles of Le Musigny each year!
> Mercurey 1er Clos du Roy 2002 - Youthful, ruby color. Simple red fruit flavors with a touch of violets, but overwhelmed by a rather underwhelming greenness. Stems galore.
> Beaune 1er Clos de l'Ecu 2003 - Deep, full red. Viscous and rich with lots of "over the top", "chao tar" (read as burnt), aromas of black fruits, bubble gum and grilled meats. Almost Rhone like. Someone mentioned that this would be a very interesting wine to serve at a blind tasting.
> Nuits Saint Georges 1er Aux Chaignots 1998 - This wine showed softer, very flavorful red fruits, with lots of mother earth and minerals. A little austere for me, but at that point in the tasting, a definite step up in quality.
> Nuits Saint Georges 1er Aux Vignerondes 1996 - A light, purplish red showing sensory elements of smoked salmon, violets and cherries. Still a little closed and shy for me on this day.
> Nuits Saint Georges Clos de la Marechale 1995 - Now we're talking Burgundy. Smelly socks and farmyard, with very clean, cool, elegant fruit. Fine tannins frame this nicely. Liked this NSG the best.
> Mazis Chambertin 1995 - Dominated by very effusive caramelized, soy sauce aromas. High tone flavors of raspberries, century egg, oyster sauce and flowers. Superb on the finish. A great wine.
> Latricieres Chambertin 1993 - Medium red with a rim of rust. Very rustic aromas of truffles and mushrooms. On the palate, all farmyard, earth and chicken shit. Charming.
> Corton Clos des Corton 1990 - Very nuanced, mature oak entry introducing mouth-filling plum fruit, cool steel, wet stones, and pencil lead elements. Liked that the palate had a very clean, uplifted fruit profile and still tasted very fresh. Alive and kicking. Still some way to go yet. A fellow attendee at the tasting mentioned he had a case of this stowed away in his cellar. Lucky dude!
Faiveley wines are represented in Singapore by Culina which has 2 gourmet store locations, Culina Parkhouse (t 65-6735-8858) & Culina Bukit Timah (t 65-6468-5255), where the wines are available.
posted by dominus91 at 11:37 AM
3 Comments:
Lucky you to be able to attend this tasting. I was invited by our dear friend Mr. Lee for another of Faiveley tasting on Saturday afternoon (not sure if this is the one) but fatherhood duties prevented... I am sure the Clos des Cortons 90 still have decades ahead of it. And happy to see my fave vineyards Mazis and Latricieres were presented too. Faiveley is a whole-cluster school. But I like them cos they're hardcore and long-lived wines made in older style. Not easy to appreciate at all, especially in its youth. And admirable in that not many domaines stick to this approach given the rising popularity of burgundies nowadays which makes it immensely tempting to make the wines more 'pleasurable' in its youth.
Nice run down of the wines!!
Per kindness of Mr Lee, the wines posted were from last Satuday afternoon's tasting. Quite incredible to see the immense portfolio of wines they produce. You're completely right about their hardcore nature. The wines really need time. Some participants were of the opinion that present day Faiveley wines are not as good as before though. I guess time will tell. Cheers my friend!
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