Producer note: I met on this visit with François Faiveley's son Erwan, who was being groomed to eventually assume control the presidency of this now seven generation domaine (established in 1825), has now acceded to that very position. And as I reported in Issue 23, the former managing director of Bouchard Père et Fils, M. Bernard Hervet, has been hired as the new CEO of Domaine Faiveley, reporting to Erwan Faiveley, was present as well. For the record, M. Hervet will not begin in his new position until January 1st;, he is spending time "familiarizing" himself with Faiveley's operations and personnel. Both of them profess to be "very happy with 2005. Quality is exceptionally consistent almost no matter the appellation though at Domaine Faiveley, Gevrey is the star as the wines just seem to have an extra dimension. Yields were relatively normal except for Echézeaux where there was early hail damage that did not affect quality but did reduce quantity. The harvest was very clean as there was almost no triage to do and we had good sugars that ranged between 11.5 and 13%. The malos were slow and long and many did not finish until September and while it's too soon to be sure, we may delay the bottling a month or two as a result." In my view 2005 is a great vintage for Faiveley though as with any domaine with a range this large, some wines are more successful than others. Still, provided that you're prepared to allow the wines to age for the most part at least 10 years, they should absolutely be on your short list of wines to buy this vintage. (Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; there are many sources in the UK, among them John Armit Wines, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Howard Ripley, The Wine Society and Haynes, Hanson & Clark).
Tasting note: A densely fruited nose that runs more toward the blue and black side of the aromatic spectrum displays hints of wood spice and warm earth and leads to fresh, suave and rich flavors underpinned by much finer tannins but also less complexity and overall depth. Certainly a good effort but less distinguished.
