The 2018 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley is showing nicely in bottle, mingling aromas of cassis and dark berry fruit with hints of baking chocolate, grilled meats, forest floor and sweet spices. Medium to full-bodied, rich and elegantly muscular, its ripe core of fruit structured by powdery tannins and lively acids, it's long and expansive. This is a deep, brooding Clos des Corton that will demand bottle age to realize all its potential.

The 2018 Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley Grand Cru has an attractive, pure bouquet of red currant and cranberry fruit laced with wilted rose petals and crushed stone. The palate is smooth on the entry with sappy red berry fruit, harmonious and fleshy. This is the best of four Faiveley reds that I tasted from this vintage and it shows the best composure and complexity on the finish. Excellent.

The Clos des Cortons Faiveley is the only grand cru to bear the name of its owner. Early-ripening vintage. Some whole bunch (proportion depending on the vintage). 19-day vatting with daily punchdowns. The free-run wine is run off using a gravity system while the marc is pressed slowly and gently. The wines are aged for 18 months in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% second-use). Real depth to this. You can see the difference between it and the Merry Edwards Pinot clearly… Pretty damn smart. This has potential (quite a bit of tannin lurking underneath) but masses of complex fruit with real charm. You could drink this with food now but it will repay ageing, I’m sure. (JR)

Barrel sample. Mid to deep cherry red. Dark fruits with a hint of violets and a very faint stemmy note – herbal but not unripe (though I don’t think there were any stems in the ferment). The floral side is present yet delicate. Lighter-bodied than the Faiveley Côte de Nuits grands crus just tasted, tighter, a little more severe on the palate but that perfume is from start to finish. (JH)