DOMAINE FAIVELEY DINNER - The Square, London (6/18/2009)
A producer night in London brought us to the Michelin starred restaurant, The Square. Fourteen of us gathered to taste through 17 or so wines from Faiveley. It was a nice grouping of wines centered around the late eighties and early nineties.
The food was flawless and featured several of the house legends
The wine service was superb as Marc took great care of us and gave us a full contingent of glasses so we could linger over wines as long as as we liked
i have to say i thought the whites showed very well, better than i expected and no signs of premox and tasting quite young, well made and interesting
The reds, in many ways did not surprise, they lived up to what many would think of the Faiveley style/wines. They were not charming wines, they in general were a bit lean or at least not showing a lot of soft edges. They went better with the food although perhaps a more rustic meal plays against them better than our very rich gourmet feast did. They begged me to believe they need much more time to come around, but i scratched my head a bit and wondered if they ever would. i guess we will have to come back and try again in 5-10
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1993 Vilmart Champagne Coeur de Cuvée - France, Champagne
light gold, fresh bubbles. a slightly nutty and yeasty nose with apples both on the nose and in the mouth, i think this was bottle was a bit off as the finish was quite clipped/short and it never was as lively or vibrant as it could/should be (89 pts.)
Saute of Scotish Langoustine Tails with Parmesan Gnocchi and an Emulsion of Potato and Truffles (i love this dish)
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2000 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
A light gold yellow color, when first poured there was an interesting nose of candied ginger, sweet spices and maybe a hint of cloves. in the mouth a very well balanced wine wine, with a toasty flavor to it. the sweetness well balanced against the acidity, very long. when returned to at the end of dinner it had evolved and was showing a more minerally side but still very long (92 pts.) -
2001 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
light golden yellow, minerals on the nose with a touch of nuts, very fresh and youthful mouth with some stone fruits and minerals, a bit of smokey edge, very well balanced and acidity and tannins that stayed in the background, very long wine. tasted even better at the end of dinner. my WOTF (and thus white wine of the night) (93 pts.) -
2002 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
light yellow color, floral sweet nose with a touch of mint. very clean, this tasted a bit more like burgundy at first than the other two whites. very focused, pure fresh fruit. very long. this wine may outlast the other two and should continue to get better and better (92 pts.)
Breast and Ballotine of Chicken with Sweetcorn, Girolles, Almonds and Beurre Noisette
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1985 Faiveley Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
shame , badly corked NR (flawed) -
1988 Faiveley Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
lighter rim on this one, seemed to be a middle weight wine, a bit foresty, still showing some warm red fruits, medium length, as a number of people said “a bit rustic and charmless” (91 pts.) -
1993 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Chaignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
purple color, red fruits with a bit of forest on the nose. muscular wine with grippy tannins, medium long. i liked this wine, very NSGish (91 pts.) -
1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
deep color, a bit barney on the nose, i thought this wine was tainted but i seemed to have been in the minority. some dark red fruit flavor, very clipped. grippy hard tannins. was not an easy drink (89 pts.) -
1993 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
bit of forest and fruit on the nose. tastes of sweet dark fruit. very long wine with good balance. very grippy tannins, almost too much. this wine needs more time (92 pts.)
Rump of Veal with Salsify, Cauliflower, Roasting Juices and Grated Bouton de Coulotte
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1988 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
a touch metallic. still hanging on to some of its red fruit but it was a bit pruney/ stewey. herbal, medium length, a bit charmless (89 pts.) -
1991 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
rustic red fruit nose, tight in the mouth, opened up a bit with the food. very tannic, high acid (91 pts.) -
1993 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
light purple color, earthy rustic nose, dark fruits in mouth, monolithic, large wine, well balanced ,this one is going to take a long time to be ready. My co-WOTN (93 pts.) -
1991 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
youthful look,color. sweet fruit nose, very well balanced wine, not as heavy or harsh as some of the cortons.long finish (92 pts.) -
1988 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
light bricking of the wine. a bit horsey on the nose, with some dark fruits. in the mouth this had some sweet red fruits and minerals. medium long, softer than i thought for an 88. not quite as good as the bottle i had 2 months ago (90 pts.)
Herb Crusted Saddle of West Country Lamb with Shallot Puree, Artichokes, Balsamic Vinegar and Olive OIl
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1990 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
nose of sweet funky fruits, smells sweeter than it tastes, the acid is still showing more here than everything else,clipped at end (90 pts.) -
1991 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
TasteVinage bottle- dark fruits with some herbiness on the nose, tight dark fruits in the mouth, high acid, good balance, long finish, big big mouth. this wine will continue to improve for years. co-WOTN (93 pts.) -
2003 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
dark purple color, dark fruits on the nose, a touch of nail polish remover. very big mouth in the wine, rich, round, dark red fruits, quite long. grippy tannins. hard to get a read on this one (90 pts.) -
2007 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
served in magnum-dark purple color, floral nose with dark red pinot fruits on the nose. lush in the mouth, sweet red fruits, lovely minerality. very diff than all the other faiveleys this evening, a more modern style but it is a big lush fruit forward wine. balance is quite good. we will see (91 pts.)
Cheese: Epoisses, Charolais, Citeaux de L’abbaye
Vouvray Moulleaux 1990, Clos Baudoin
Montlous Romulus 2003, Domaine Taille aux Loups (Jacky Blot)
i didn’t take any notes on the dessert wines (sorry jeremy, but thank you for bringing them) , i was revisiting reds and catching up with friends.
all in all a very interesting and fun night of wine and great food and company. i look forward to the next producer dinner
Posted from CellarTracker