2015 Musigny Grand Cru

Erwan Faiveley, the seventh generation of Faiveleys to run this large domain based in Nuits-Saint-Georges, described 2015 as his best vintage to date (he took over in 2004 at the tender age of 25). “The 2009s were very impressive early on but the 2015s are tighter-grained. I’m more confident about the longevity of the 2015s due to their lower yields.” This sprawling estate took full advantage of the best window for harvesting Pinot Noir in 2015, picking from September 2 through 11. Grape sugars were high due to the low yields, said Faiveley, with most of the wines around 13.5% without chaptalization and a couple around 14%.

Under the direction of technical director Jerome Flous, Faiveley vinified its Côte de Nuits cuvées with a higher-than-normal percentage of whole clusters “for more complexity and to counter any possible overmature aromas,” according to Faiveley. But the Côte de Beaune fruit, in spite of its mostly round tannins, was destemmed. Flous carried out one pigeage per day during the active portion of the fermentations. “The macerations were a bit longer than we expected, so we allowed the sugar fermentations to finish in wood, which is unusual here,” noted Flous, adding that this may give the wines additional elegance and viscosity. Like many producers I visited this fall, Faiveley considers Gevrey-Chambertin to have been most successful in 2015, as this village benefited from somewhat higher precipitation totals during this very dry year, which he believes has given the wines more flesh.