2015 Puligny-Montrachet “Les Chalumaux”Comtesse de Chérisey
France | Burgundy
$120
Producers
Faury owns two parcels in the Côte-Rôtie lieu-dit known as “l’Arselié,” located high on the hill where the land begins to undulate before connecting with the plateau farther above. These parcels lie in the northern Côte Brune, on the north side of Ampuis, above Le Plomb and Grandes Places. One of them produces fruit for his Côte-Rôtie, which is blended with his holdings from Le Plomb and Fourvier on the lower, steeper slopes. The other portion, just outside of the official appellation, is used to create this bottling that differs from Côte-Rôtie in name only. We release it younger, and it drinks sooner, but it has all the telltale aromatics, flavor, and structure of the legendary roasted slope: black, ultra-smooth, loads of graphite. Traditionally made, whole-cluster Syrah from a proven master of the grape, aged in older demi-muids, this is one of the only Syrahs that gives you a taste of the great northern Rhône Syrah appellations without the price tag.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Syrah |
Appellation: | Collines Rhodaniennes |
Country: | France |
Region: | Northern Rhône |
Producer: | Lionel Faury |
Winemaker: | Lionel Faury |
Vineyard: | 18 years average; .75 ha |
Soil: | Schist |
Aging: | Aged for 15 months in 5 to 15 year-old demi-muid |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Condrieu
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Collines Rhodaniennes
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Hermitage
Barruol Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Along the steep, narrow valley that traces the northern Rhône, the appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and Saint-Joseph take their place among the great wines of France, and Domaine Faury is one of the region’s most artisanal producers. When Philippe Faury took over the domaine in 1979, the family was selling wine, peaches and cherries, and the bulk of their clientele was local. Over the years, Philippe increased their holdings to over 11 hectares and began to sell internationally. He shared his savoir faire with his son, Lionel. Since 2006, Lionel has taken over the reins, though father and son still work side by side. Every method they use encourages the grape towards greatness with the ultimate respect for its fragility.
On the wines of the northern Rhône, Kermit wrote in Adventures on the Wine Route, “The best combine a reminder of the sunny Mediterranean with the more self-conscious, intellectual appeal of the great Burgundies farther north, which is not a bad combination.” Like the wines of Provence, Burgundy, and Beaujolais, Kermit was introduced to this region by Richard Olney, an American ex-pat and friend of Alice Waters.
Though technically part of the same region as the southern Rhône and connected by the Rhône River, much differentiates the north from the south. The climate is continental and in general cooler than that Mediterranean climate of the south. The appellations are significantly smaller: Cornas has less than 300 acres planted to vine and Hermitage around 345. The area planted is minute when compared to Gigondas (3,000+ acres) and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (nearly 8,000 acres). Many of the great wines come from steep hillside vines—terraced during Roman times. It was clear to the Romans that great wine could be made here and DNA evidence now shows that Syrah is in fact indigenous to the Rhône.
The terroir is predominantly granite and lastly, blends of the wines are mostly single grape varieties. Only four grape varieties are permitted in AOC blends: Syrah, Viogner, Marsanne, and Roussanne (as compared to the 19 permitted varieties allowed in Châteauneuf). The red wines are nearly all Syrah and Condrieu and Château Grillet must be 100% Viogner. The whites of Hermitage, Saint Joseph, Saint Péray, and Crozes-Hermitages may only be blends of Marsanne and Roussanne.
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Hermitage
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Collines Rhodaniennes
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Condrieu
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Hermitage
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Hermitage
Domaine Larue France | Burgundy | Saint-Aubin
Albert Boxler France | Alsace | Alsace Grand Cru
Charles Joguet France | Loire | Chinon
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236
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