2022 Aloxe-Corton Village

Here’s something that not many people know about Nicolas Faure. No, it’s not that he’s married to Amélie Berthaut. Or he makes wines that, I think to his bemusement, have developed a cult following. Or that he once worked at a small producer called Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Or that he makes a Riesling in Burgundy. No, Faure loves mature Bordeaux. He’s probably the only one with a genuine passion for proper old-school claret and has empty mementos of bygone bacchanals to prove it. He’ll probably be leafing through my Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide more than anyone else in Burgundy. In the meantime, Faure is pushing the boundaries with a small range of wines from vines pruned Poussard with two canes, employing low-intervention winemaking with 100% use of whole bunches for the reds. His portfolio also now includes a pure Pinot Blanc, hitherto blended with Chardonnay, and that aforementioned Riesling – the perfect bottle to bring to a Burgundy-themed dinner where wines are being served blind (although legally it must be labeled as Vin de France). Faure is always candid about his wines, mentioning whenever he felt he might have picked too late. The 2022 posed the challenge of wines tasting as ripe as he would like but at around 12% alcohol or even just under. His wines wear their hearts on their sleeves. They don’t make claims for greatness, but he happens to make one of the best Aligotés out there. Quantities are extremely small and his wines are in high demand.