Joseph Faiveley Monopole Clos de Myglands Mercurey Premier Cru 2015 375ml

Description

Clos de Myglands is one wine I’ve always found undervalued in the Faiveley stable. It offers firm tannins and acid, strong mineral back bone with just enough red cherry and rose petal over the top and silky fruit on the palate to make it all charming. While conventional wisdom states Mercurey will not improve with age, experience tells me you can leave this for 7-15 years and reap the benefits.

Faiveley are a large business in Burgundy who own large parcels all over the Cotes. This includes 70ha in Mercurey – a mostly overlooked region South of the Cote d’Or. From entry level to Grand Cru there is amazing care and attention. Their monopole wines are worth seeking out.

Mercurey

Probably for good reason, this appellation is mostly overlooked. But some winemakers coax out the beauty of the region. They are lean, mineral wines, with firm acid and tannin. The great examples have just enough cherry and rose petal to balance this out.

Burgundy

The classic part of Burgundy known as the Cote D’Or (the slope of gold) is essentially one vineyard that is 60km long and maybe 5km at its widest. From this limestone ridge some of the most complex, long-lived and aromatic wines are produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cistercian monks who owned the land codified the entire region and so each small plot has a name.

Pinot Noir

This is the most elusive grape. It is relatively early ripening and extremely sensitive to terroir. Its perfect place on earth is the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. So haunting are great red Burgundy’s charms that growers everywhere try to emulate them. Pinot Noir is not just a one trick pony, it can make great reds, rosé, sparkling and even sweet wines, whites on occasion and I’ve tasted a decent fortified Pinot Noir too.