With family dinner last night, to pair with main courses (mine was Roasted Veal Tenderloin with Morel Sauce, and a side of fresh Chanterelles):
1997 Domaine Faiveley Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley - The third bottle of this I’ve opened this year. All consistent - impressive, firm structure, big-boned, quite full-bodied, with good lift to its moderately spiced, well-ripened fruit. Mild sanguine and iron undertones. Wood is integrated rather well. A complete wine with notable heft, middle, finish, discreetly commanding palate presence throughout (no shouting here). Though still an adolescent, I believe this will continue to improve for many years to come. Enjoyable now; good ageing potential. I must find more of this.
Luis, thanks for the note. I’m a big fan of Cortons Faiveley, it’s such a shame they take so long to come around!
BTW, have you tried the 1999 lately? I’m thinking of getting a couple of bottles, hopefully for consumption soon.
Cheers, Howard
Hi, Howard. No, unfortunately I’ve not tried the '99 at all. I hope to soon though.
Best,
Noel (pretty much nobody calls me “Luis” these days except when in Spain, where they usually call me by my complete first name “Luis Manuel” anyway).
I believe Joel opened this very bottle last Friday in SF, sadly the wine was corked.
So he told me on FB, Glenn. Too bad, but, it happens. Maybe the next one will be healthy.
Best,
N
You could sense the quality underneath too! See you back on FB soon.
Nice to read a good report on a '97, a somewhat inconsistent vintage I think. And good to hear from you Noel! …Paul
Hi, Paul, and thanks. I first started buying some '97 Burgundy (reds pretty much) after reading Hugh Johnson’s old review of the vintage in general (I read it around 2003 or 2004 I vaguely recall); and started trying them out later on. Some were nice, some were not - same as any other vintage.
I can’t recall offhand all the ones I liked and didn’t like, but, off the top of my head, one I didn’t find particularly interesting was the '97 Comte Armand Pommard Epeneaux. It was ok, just not interesting enough to buy again (at this point, anyway). I bought 6 early this year, tried it out, and just finished off the rest in short order (it’s not expensive, anyway). I could well be wrong, but I didn’t think its possible upside was worth taking up my limited cav space for ageing.
A 1997 DRC Grands Echezeaux was decent, but not very interesting either (not my bottle, a friend shared it over dinner).
One the other hand, a 1997 DRC Montrachet was, with material breathing time, absolutely superb (got it at a good price - relatively speaking). A 1997 DRC Romanée St-Vivant was also very impressive.
Another that I remember offhand as pleasing was the 1997 R. Groffier Chambertin Clos de Bèze. Though a bit lower in acid than what I usually go for, I thought it had good enough potential to keep an eye out for more.
I’ve had lots more of the '97s, but nothing else comes to mind right now.
Best,
N