Product Review
Score: 88-91
Tasted: Jan 01, 2011
Drink: 2014+
Issue: 41
Outstanding
Producer note: I met on this visit with Erwan Faiveley's second in command Bernard Hervet as Faiveley is completing an MBA in New York. He described 2009 as a vintage that is "ripe and warm but without any heaviness. I could smell mocha in the fruit and this only happens in vintages where the seeds attain a high level of ripeness. We began picking the reds on the 7th of September and brought in impeccably clean fruit and quite a bit of it as yields were generous but it's important to note that they were not ridiculous. The amount of destemming varied considerably, indeed between 0% and 100%. We did a classic vinification of about three weeks and the colors came quickly. We used a bit less new wood and what we did use was with a very light toast. As to the wines, I would compare the 2009 vintage with 1959 or 1964, which is to say other very ripe vintages with large yields. In 2009, the classification hierarchy is well and truly in evid
Pinot Noir is responsible for some of the worldâ??s finest wines. Famed for producing the red wines of Burgundy and the C?´te dâ??Or in particular, it is now widely grown in cool climates across Califonia and Oregon, and with increasing success in New Zealand. Although typically used to produce varietal wines, Pinot Noir makes a significant contribution in the wines of Champagne, where it is vinified as a white wine and blended with Cardonnay and Pinot Meunier. On the whole, fresh summer fruit of strawberries, raspberries and red cherries tend to be the identifying qualities, however richer versions express darker fruit including black cherries (kirsch), cherry cola, leather and violets to name a few.
Two hundred miles south east of Paris lies the famous and historic wine region, known in French as Bourgogne. The Cote d'Or, the heartland of the region, consists of two distinct sub-regions split on either side of the town of Beaune.The C?´te de Nuits to the north, includes the famous villages of Vosne-Romanee, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Nuits-Saint-Georges and are known primarily for making red wine from Pinot Noir.Although The C?´te de Beaune to the south still makes some magnificent reds (see Volnay and Pommard), white wine made from Chardonnay is the main focus. The most famous villages are Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. Burgundy has three other important regions. The village of Chablis (exclusively Chardonnay) encompassing the region's most northerly vineyards. The C?´te Chalonnaise and M??connais to south are quantitatively speaking more important. Agriculture is more diverse with a significant portion of the land devoted to livestock and arable farming.
Red wine is wine made from dark-coloured grape varieties. The color of red differs based on the grapes variety or varieties used.Interestingly, black grapes yield a juice that is greenish-white. The actual red color comes from anthocyan pigments (also called anthocyanins) from the skin of the grape (exceptions are the relatively uncommon teinturier varieties, which produce a red colored juice). Most of the production centers around the extraction of color and flavor from the grape skin.
