Tasting Notes
White capsule. A minuscule amount of this Hermitage rouge (just 50-100 dozen) is made each year, depending on the size of the harvest. We do very well to get the allocation that we receive. As the name suggests, this comes from Syrah vines with their roots in both the Greffieux and Bessards terroirs on the hill of Hermitage. Faurie’s Greffieux parcel was planted by his great-grandfather in the ’20s and ’30s, and lies on the rockier granite seam in this vineyard (which is otherwise sandy with rolled, alluvial stones). This is said to bring a juicy, perfumed personality—which partners so well with the darker, more structured, muscular and mineral-etched fruit of Les Bessards. Les Bessards borders both Les Greffieux and Le Méal. It’s a steeply terraced hillside vineyard with a southwest exposure. The soil is pure granite with gravel over bedrock. Many growers will tell you that the granitic spine of Bessards is sine qua non to great Hermitage.
The 2019 blend, Faurie’s final vintage of this wine, comes in at the traditional 60% Bessards and 40% Greffieux and the winemaking was the same as always: 100% whole-bunch fermentation (Faurie does not own a destemmer) in an old wooden vat for 18-21 days; then maturation in used oak. The wine was not fined and was bottled by hand. - Importer Note
An intensely perfumed nose displays mineral-accented red and blue fruit and foral pastille scents that pick up smoky bacon and exotic spice fourishes with air. In a concentrated yet lively style, offering appealingly sweet cherry, blueberry, spicecake and candied violet flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Shows outstanding clarity and tension on a wonderfully persistent, foral-driven finish framed by fine-grained, slow-building tannins. 95-97 points. - Josh Reynolds, Vinous
Shiny dark red, a deep robe; the ripeness is more obvious on the nose of this – it’s full of sun ripeness, high noon, but isn’t overdone or droopy. It expresses plentiful cherry fruits, abundance. The palate shows more spine, Bessards, with good flow of fruits, classic structure which allows you to be ahead of the game for the future. It’s thorough, concentrated, with its fruit sustaining, and vegetal crunch at the end. - John Livingstone
'Faurie is currently making the best wines of his career, which is now well into its fourth decade.' - Josh Reynolds, Vinous
Bernard Faurie has certainly cemented his status as one of the legends of the Northern Rhone. He is the fifth generation in a long line of Hermitage producers, who have owned vines on 'The Hill' since 1935. These vines are now well over 100 years of age, and produce wines of incredible transparency, even in riper years.
Bernard’s parcels are spread among three principal vineyards of Hermitage: Bessards, Méal, and Gréffieux. From these, he produces several single site cuvées, as well as blends across all three. He works his vines as naturally as possible, using a horse to plough, and makes wine in the classic manner - no de-stemming, whole bunches crushed by foot, natural fermentation, no fining and only a light filtration if necessary. The wines are aged for up to 24 months in predominantly 600 litre demi muids, with only 10-30% new oak, depending on the vintage.
It is nice to be reminded of how great this storied terroir can be in the hands of a master vigneron.
| Product Type | Wine Red Shiraz |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | France |
| Region | Northern Rhone |
| Sub Region | Hermitage |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Minimal Intervention |