Faiveley Corton "Clos des Cortons Faiveley" Grand Cru

"Clos des Cortons Faiveley" has been owned by the Faiveley family as a monopole since 1874. It is the domaine's flagship wine and one of just two Burgundian Grands Crus to bear the name of its owner (Romanée-Conti being the other).

Winemaker notes

Ruby red in colour with clear purple reflections. The nose is powerful, concentrated and exudes notes of black cherry and spice. The palate is rich and smooth with good energy and concentration. The finish is elegant. An excellent wine for cellar ageing.

2013

Burghound 93-95: A generous dollop of moderately toasty oak mixes with the highly layered nose of black cherry, cassis, warm earth and an impressive array of sauvage and underbrush notes. There is excellent richness to the overtly powerful and muscular flavors that possess an imposing sense of scale that continues onto the textured and mouth coating finish. Like several of the wines in the range in 2013 this is a big but not really massive wine that retains a sense of proportion even though the underlying structure is quite firm. This will need plenty of patience however.

James Suckling 94: A complete and serious wine for the vintage with wonderful density of fruit and ultra-fine tannins. Full-bodied, muscular and very long.

2017

Wine Advocate 93+: The 2017 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley is showing very well, mingling aromas of blackberries, red berries and cassis with notions of cinnamon, clove and blood orange. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a fleshy core of fruit, ripe but lively acids and powdery framing tannins, concluding with a sapid, youthfully oak-inflected finish. This is a deep and comparatively structured effort in the context of this approachable vintage, and it will merit a bit of bottle age.

2019

Wine Advocate 93-95+: The 2019 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley opens in the glass with notes of cassis, wild berries, warm spices, orange rind, rose petals, espresso roast and sweet soil tones. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's vibrant and lively, marrying notable concentration with fine-boned structure. Long and mineral, it's more ethereal than its rich, muscular 2018 counterpart.

2020

Wine Advocate 94-96: Mingling deep fruit tones evocative of red cherries and plums with notions of loamy soil, licorice, orange rind, rose petals and sweet spices, the 2020 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley is full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, tangy acids and a long, saline finish. This is extremely promising.

Vinous 91-93: The 2020 Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru has quite a rich and outgoing bouquet, plenty of mulberry fruit here laced with touches of tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, quite ripe and slightly confit towards the finish, generous but let’s see how long-term it is.

2021

Burghound 90-93: A perfumed, cool and restrained nose grudgingly offers up its combination of red cherry, raspberry, soft earth and a background touch of oak. There is excellent energy if only average density to the beautifully textured, precise and lightly stony flavors that flash a hint of youthful austerity on the sneaky long and moderately firm finale. This should repay a decade or so of keeping.

Wine Advocate 92-94: Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, rose petals, orange zest and forest floor, the 2021 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley is medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with a rich core of fruit framed by powdery tannins and a taut, incisive profile.

James Suckling 95: This Corton Grand Cru has the imposing structure that we associate with this appellation, but also the aromatic shyness and fresh mineral acidity that not everybody will be pleased by at this early stage of the wine’s long life. For us this is a compelling expression of this great site with excellent mid-palate richness and a very polished finish in spite of a touch of wildness. Try to be patient. Try from 2026.

Vinous 92-94: The 2021 Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru has a pointed nose, a little angular after the splendid Musigny, hints of clove and white pepper filtering through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite sapid with good backbone, solid and a little muscular on the finish. Give this 2-3 years in bottle or preferably leave for ten.

2022

Wine Advocate 94-96: The 2022 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley is also a real success, unfurling in the glass with rich aromas of cherries, berries, peonies, licorice and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated palate that's cool and stony, with a tightly wound core framed by sweet but chalky tannins. This will be long lived.

James Suckling 97-98: A sleeping giant! Incredibly complex structure with enormous earthy depth, the sweet fruit really coming through in the spectacular finish. Wild energy! Long term stuff, but the aftertaste is incredible.

Vinous 94-96: The 2022 Clos des Cortons Grand Cru has a potent nose: think of grandmother's popourri you smelled in her old house. It almost overwhelms that red fruit behind it. The palate is well-balanced with pure red cherry, wild strawberry, and finely-knit tannins. It's one of the more elegant Cortons tasted with a touch of piquancy on the finish. Delightful.

Decanter 95: The 2022 Faiveley Corton is surprisingly fresh and lively for a warm year, with a forward red and black fruit character and a pronounced floral edge with hints of violets and roses. The texture is supple but reasonably dense, and the fresh acidity supports the wine through a long finish. The grapes from Faiveley's 2.77-hectare monopole were partially destemmed and gently fermented before ageing in cask (half new). This wine should open in five to seven years and drink well over the next three decades.