Corton Le Corton

East-facing below the Charlemagne holding, this was one of the last wines to be picked. Intense purple in colour, this displays a fresh nose – clear cut and mineral. It is very intense but not too muscular, good with grape tannins and fresh hillside acidity. Very persistent.

Frédéric Weber has taken over prime winemaking responsibilities from Philippe Prost. He shares with his predecessor the ability to talk eloquently about his wines, with an excellent knowledge of each terroir. One change here is the increasing use of whole bunches during fermentation, though more in the Côte de Nuits than Côte de Beaune this year. Overall, these are excellent wines.

Rich, imperial purple with a huge, generous nose, this is exciting. A vast bundle of ripe dark fruit, some plums, some cherries, really very stylish indeed, and excellent length.  Very good weight, still lively and very long. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 grapes were picked between 30th September and 11th October. The white skins were fragile so pressing was very gentle, the reds more robust and capable of a good proportion of whole bunch fermentation. Most wines are now in tank with bottling a little earlier than usual. An exceptional range of reds in particular from Bouchard this year.

Rich purple with a lively, sumptuous dense fruit, this is very rich with a great crunch behind. Needs much more time. Massive with a good fresh finish but is just a bust a babe in arms at the moment.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Faiveley use three picking teams. Two started in the white wine vineyards on 28th September and were finished in four days. Then it was all hands to the red grapes. In general the harvest came in healthily, the hard work all year round in the vineyards paying dividends. We were once again very impressed.

A rich, generous colour that’s full, yet bright purple, with very intense fruit and a touch of graphite. It continues to black cherries, with some bright red fruit notes, and a huge mouthful through the mid palate, leading to an exquisitely stylish finish with some oak and very good length.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

The new era at Faiveley is now into its sixth vintage and the house style, which allows the fruit to express itself in a very seductive manner while enhancing the individual qualities of each terroir, has been safely established. Now the management is concentrating on reinforcing their supplybase with some crafty contracts and vineyard purchases in both Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. We may be able to offer more cuvées in the future, and though opportunities are clearly limited by the 2012 vintage circumstances, we have been well looked after this year.

The brilliantly rich and dense bouquet of this Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru is well supported by a wonderful intensity of fruit on the palate that sits perfectly on the cusp of red and black flavours. This is a really fabulous wine.

Displaying exceptionally good acidity, this wine is refreshing, shows a lovely structure and great length. The lower part of the vineyard gives a solid base to support the high notes from the hillside sector, and together it makes a sublime version of Corton.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The resurgence begun by the trio of Erwan Faiveley, Bernard Hervé and winemaker Jérôme Flous, who arrived in 2007, is very apparent in this brilliant series of 2011 wines. They began the harvest on 31 August and picked for 9 days. There are some new wines this year from a contract for the whole production of an estate in Chambolle-Musigny and the Faiveley white wines from totally healthy grapes are particularly successful in 2011, perhaps the best we have seen from the new regime.

---

This is one of Faiveley’s flagship wines and it is a cracker this year. Dense to the eye and with a powerful, but appealing nose before exceptional density on the palate as well, it is just on the cusp of black fruit. This is definitely Grand Cru quality and is exceptionally persistent too. Drink 2017-2025.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

2010 is year three of the ‘new’ Faiveley style and they have again delivered an excellent set of wines. They picked from 20th September to 29th, beginning with Côte d’Or whites. The new regime has concentrated on an overhaul of winemaking principles, leading to a refinement of style. Next up will be a renovation of their Côte Chalonnaise cellars. They have also been expanding significantly into the Côte de Beaune, especially for white wines.

A massive black-purple colour, the nose has hugely lively, rich, dark fruit, with even a tiny touch of eucalyptus. Very intense afterwards, this is holding up very well. There is maybe a touch of liquorice, even of chocolate, but a good thread of acidity through the middle maintains the freshness. Drink 2025-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Two changes to note in the Faiveley style this year: the diminution of new wood, a trend they plan to develop further, and the use of 25 percent whole bunches in the vinification for 2015, whereas previously it was very rare to use any. They maintained their practice of punching down rather than pumping over, and the combination of these points leads to wines which are more rugged and structured than their recent vintages. The harvest was completed between 2nd and 11th September.

The crop here was small, partly due to hail and partly because of the old vines. This is rich, dark purple with a sensational density of fruit on the nose, huge volumes in the mouth and good oak integration. There’s dark raspberry and some black cherry, with acidity woven in absolutely as it should be. Magical.

Erwan Faiveley believes that 2014 would be regarded as a great vintage – if only 2015 had not come along to trump it. He feels that the changes which have taken place in the cellar since 2007 have had a discernible effect on the quality of Faiveley wines, while similar qualitative changes in the vineyard are only now bearing fruit. Here, balanced but restricted yields are the key.

As ever, the deepest of colours, taut yet resplendent in dense blackberry-esque fruit on the nose; the palate has an almost brambly quality to it, predictably four-square & dare I say chunky. Give it 20 years.