Domaine Faiveley : Corton Grand cru "Clos des Cortons Faiveley" Monopole 2014

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, Faiveley’s 2014 Corton Clos des Cortons felt a little simplistic on the nose compared to its peers. Tightly wound cranberry and strawberry fruit, but there is not much in the way of minerality. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, simple red-berry fruit laced with dried orange peel and sage, leading to a satisfactory rather than extraordinary finish. Tasted September 2017.

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. 120 cases imported.

Bright medium-dark red. Reticent but very pure aromas of cherry, dark berries, licorice, musky underbrush and salty minerals; smells riper and less peppery than the '13, and a bit Cabernet-like. Thick but fresh on entry, then wonderfully suave, juicy and fine-grained in the mid-palate, showing terrific vibrancy and lift as well as a rose petal topnote that's not yet present in the 2015. Still plenty of medicinal reserve here but this is a step up in finesse from the 2013 and distinctly longer and subtler on the aftertaste. Finishes with very fine-grained, tongue-saturating tannins and a subtle whiplash of pungent red and black fruits, minerals and soil. There's incipient body here but the wine is still youthfully imploded and more salty than sweet. Its balance and finesse, though, make it easy to taste today. Extended aeration brought an even silkier texture and lovely sweet Pinot tang of red berries, rose petal and minerals, even a hint of blood orange. Obviously still very young but this wine struck me as a bit more pliant than it was shortly after bottling. It's also hard to believe that such a stylish wine could have been produced here under the old regime. (13.2% alcohol; 3.45 pH; 3.75 g/l acidity; 33 h/h)

True to the spirit of its terroir, a dense, broad wine with an imposing tannic structure that currently dominates the fruit.