The first week of June was a celebratory one for us. Not just the 80th anniversary of D-Day, important as that continues to be, but also, either side of it, our 55th wedding anniversary and Diane’s 21st birthday. Needless to say, those all called for some serious feasting and carousing.
Diane took charge of the feasting and I looked after the carousing, a division of labor that almost always works well for us. Since she opted for some French-ish sorts of meals – e.g., foie gras, a ragout of pheasant – I followed suit with some nice Burgundies. I had a small cache of 20-year-old Faiveley crus that seemed as if they would be appropriately festive. They were.
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Faiveley is an important Burgundy house, one of the best négociant-éleveurs of the whole zone. It is still family-owned, after almost 200 years. In that time Faiveley has accumulated a very impressive list of vineyards in both the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, particularly strong in Grand Cru and Premier Cru parcels. Some examples: Chambertin Clos-de Bèze, Échézaux, Musigny, Corton Clos des Cortons.
For Diane’s birthday we drank a 2001 Clos de Bèze; for our anniversary a 2001 Clos des Cortons.
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I’m very glad I bought these wines many years ago: not only because they’re drinking beautifully now, but also because were I to try to buy them now – presuming I could find any for sale – I couldn’t begin to afford them. Burgundy continues to set the pace for wine prices.
Burgundy also continues to set the bar for Pinot noir, and especially for age-worthy Pinot noir. From great sites like Clos de Bèze and Clos des Cortons, properly aged Pinot noir delivers a complexity of flavors that, in individual tasters, usually produces either inarticulate murmurs of pleasure or pages of tasting notes. I’m more partial to the murmurs, myself, so I’ll simply quote here from the late Clive Coates, who loved Faiveley’s wines:
Faiveley’s wines are, above all, supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot noir. They are full, rich and concentrated, but not too aggressively so, and sumptuous in the potential opulence of their fruit. But above all they have richness and breed, the thumbprint of a master winemaker.
No damning with faint praise there! I think that, with appropriate deference, I have to disagree with Coates’s assessment on one point: In both the bottles that we drank that week, the fruit was for my palate a touch too aggressive – so much so that it gave the wine a tiny hint of rusticity, not displeasing but definitely present. But that is quibbling: The wines were wonderful, and they greatly enhanced our pleasure on our two occasions. Would that all my wine purchases culminated so happily!
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Ciao Tom, with great pleasure I send you my warmest wishes ! Happy anniversary from Torgiano! Teresa
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It is a real delight to hear from you, Teresa! Thank you for your warm wishes.
Congratulations. Wishing you many more birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations
Thank you for your good wishes!
Happy Anniversary! And Happy Birthday to Diane on turning 21. Finally she can drink.
But I also want to let you know, Tom, that I finally – FINALLY – made it to Firenze. Very moved by the sites but not the hordes of people already here. But what’s important is that we’re eating and drinking very well.
I’m very happy that you made it to Firenze: I know you have wanted to for a long time. It’s only a shame you couldn’t have gotten to Italy years sooner, before the tourist hordes descended. Ah well: however crowded, it’s still beautiful. Keep eating and drinking well: It eases the crowding.
Congratulations on all those celebrations. And on the wines with which you celebrated. Cheers!
Thank you, Mauricio.