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Domaine Nicolas Faure

Halloween and Nicolas Faure. They go together. Every time I visit Faure in his small winery tucked below the house shared with his “better half,” Amélie Berthaut, his young children are out trick or treating. Next time, maybe I should dress as Dracula? Anyway, it is always a pleasure to visit this winemaker who exploits modest holdings and turns them into little gems. To be honest, I was oblivious to the cult following that surrounds Faure, probably because he is so down-to-earth and frankly, doesn’t get out of bed each morning motivated by price or stardom. As he mentioned more than once during my visit, there is only one place he wants to be: out in his vines.

“The challenge for 2023 is that when we tasted the berries, they tasted ripe, but for the whites, the alcohol was very low. We picked on August 28 or 29 at 11.5% potential, but the wines taste ripe. We just added minimal SO2 just before racking. The whites are all in bottle and for the first time, under Diam. The reds were racked the previous week.”

Faure furrows his own path here. It was interesting to hear him refer to his work up in Fixin with Amélie as his “day job.” His own cuvées are unequivocally no hobby—he is too serious about them for that. But with diminutive quantities, it is almost like a testing ground for his ideas, trialing unorthodox varieties like Riesling and from next year, Merlot. “Look forward to your Petrus,” I quipped. I really fell for his new cuvées from Pernand-Vergelesses, a single parcel he has planted with Chardonnay and Aligoté, the latter delicious. Not everything hits the spot. I’ve yet to be convinced by his Riesling, though there are only 300 bottles to go round. Otherwise, these are just soulful wines that are just a joy to drink.

From The Lord Giveth…Burgundy 2023 (Jan 2025) by Neal Martin

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2023 Bourgogne Aligoté La Covée de Bully

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