Domaine Faiveley - Clos de Vougeot 2019

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Containing the largest Grand Cru in all of the Côte d’Or, Vougeot, the village, takes its name from the small stream flowing through it, called Vouge. Over three quarters of the village retains Grand Cru status, and a single vineyard at that: Clos de Vougeot (or simply, Clos Vougeot). Its mass—over 50 ha—retains the single name chiefly for historic reasons.

But today, Clos de Vougeot contains over 80 owners and shows significant soil and slope variations within its boundaries. The top, bordering Musigny and Grands Echezeaux, is calcareous and gravelly on oolitic limestone and exhibits wonderful drainage. The middle sections are limestone, gravel and clay with less of a slope. The lower part has little slant and is mostly made of clay. Historically the diverse parcels were blended but today the abundance of owners means that everyone has his own style. Exploring and understanding them is part of the allure of Clos de Vougeot.

In general a fine Clos de Vougeot when young will be dense and dark but juicy, with a pronounced austerity, and needs a good ten years to bring it to its full potential.

Domaine Faiveley Description

The Domaine of Faiveley is situated in the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges, Burgundy, France. Wine runs deep in the Faiveley family’s blood. Seven generations and one of the largest owners in Burgundy, with holdings spreading from the Côte de Nuits to the Côte Chalonnaise, featuring polished, collectible reds and whites with exceptionally high ratings. Today it is managed by Erwan Faiveley and his sister Eve Faiveley.

"Faiveley’s wines are... supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot Noir... above all they have richness and breed, the thumbprint of a master winemaker." -Clive Coates M.W. Côte d’Or, A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy.

Inside Burgundy: 94-96 Points

Vinous: 93-95 Points

"The 2019 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru comes from Faiveley’s 1.27-hectare parcel. It has a floral nose with potpourri and light lavender aromas that partially occlude the fruit expression. The palate is lithe on the entry with modest depth and quite tertiary in style, and a keen thread of acidity lends freshness on the finish. A little austere in style, it opens with aeration to offer a very minerally finish. Here, it put the Echézeaux 2019 in its place.

Wine Advocate: 93-95 Points

Aromas of cherries, wild berries, incense and loamy soil, framed by a deft touch of spicy new oak, introduce the 2019 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered wine that's elegantly muscular, with terrific depth and concentration. Long and penetrating, this is a fine longer-haul proposition from Faiveley.

Jérôme Flous told me that Faiveley began picking on September 9, finishing by the 20th, and that yields averaged out at around 35 hectoliters per hectare in white and a little less in red. Comparing the 2019 vintage to "a more concentrated version of 2010," he admires—as I do—its vibrant fruit tones and refined tannins, finding it more elegant than 2018. The quality of the red wines chez Faiveley is old news, and for more information on this firm's evolution I direct readers to my report published in the August 2020 Week 1 issue of The Wine Advocate. It's worth underlining, however, how good the whites are these days: Flous tells me that he now includes fûts from Damy and Chassin in the white wine barrel program, and in the last few vintages, I've found the wines' new oak component better and better integrated.