Domaine Nicolas Faure
Most Burgundy estates began with a legacy. Nicolas Faure started from scratch. There were no family vineyards, no wine cellars, and no appellation passed down through the generations. After working for others for many years, he gathered small vineyards around Meuilley, located on the hill behind Nuits-Saint-Georges, and established Domaine Nicolas Faure.
Production is extremely limited, amounting to only about 6,000 bottles per year, and some wines are produced in quantities as small as a single barrel. Farming is done organically and by hand. Red wines are fermented with whole clusters in fermentation vats, aged in used barrels, and the use of sulfites is kept to a minimum.
The addresses of the vineyards scattered across Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune appear, on paper, to be mostly unassuming: Bourgogne, Hautes-Côtes, and the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges, among others.
History
In Nicolas Faure's garage, there is a panel with all the harvest dates, dating back to 2011, written in chalk. That was the first vintage, which came from a friend's wine cellar. Les Herbues It was approximately three barrels, about 1,000 bottles, of Nuits-Saint-Georges produced in the Klima.
Faure had no background in winemaking. After studying at Beaune, he gained hands-on experience working in other people's vineyards. In 2006, he worked at Domaine Agnès Paquet, located in Meloisey; in 2007, he completed an internship at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; and in 2009, he worked for a year at Jean-Louis Chave, located in Rhône, spending harvest season working in the vineyards and wine cellars. Then he went to New Zealand, to Fromm in Marlborough.
After returning to Burgundy in 2010, he went back to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and stayed there until 2015. During that time, he took over Les Herbues as a side project. Starting in March 2015, I also worked part-time at Domaine Prieuré-Roch.
Starting in 2013, three more small plots of land were added. Then, in 2014, he finally raised the funds to build his own small winery at Meuilley, and the wine has been produced there ever since.
Faure married Amélie Berthaut, who runs the family-owned vineyard Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, located in Fixin. He spends most of his weekdays there. The wine he makes himself is produced in the wine cellar beneath the family home.
One hectare, cut into pieces
Domaine Nicolas Faure cultivates a total of approximately 1 hectare of farmland, which is divided into several small plots scattered among Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, and Hautes-Côtes. By any standard, this is a small farm, and Faure has stated that he has no concrete plans to expand it.
The first and best-known plot is Les Herbues, located on the northern edge of Nuits-Saint-Georges, on the Vosne-Romanée side. He acquired this plot in 2010 and adapted the vines to his own standards.
Other plots include the following:
- Bourgogne rouge Aux Argillières
- La Corvée de Bully, located in Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, planted with Aligoté Doré vines over 100 years old
- Coteau des Bois, located in Nuits-Saint-Georges
- A plot located in Aloxe-Corton
All vineyard work is done entirely by hand, and no chemical treatments are used. Yields are intentionally kept low, which is one of the reasons why the juice can be obtained in a concentrated state without any significant processing.
Pinot, Aligoté, and a special one
Three varieties appear in the Domaine Nicolas Faure range, one of which is not what you would expect in the Côte de Nuits.
- Pinot Noir: All red varieties, ranging from Bourgogne to Nuits-Saint-Georges and Aloxe-Corton
- Aligoté, specifically the old Aligoté Doré vines found in La Corvée de Bully
- Riesling, first bottled as part of the 2022 vintage
Riesling is quite distinct from the other wines; rather than reflecting the typical style of Burgundy, it can be described as an experimental venture by Faure.
Winemaking
Harvesting is done by hand. Grapes for red wine are processed as 100% whole clusters, including the stems, and are pressed using the same type of old vertical press that was used at Domaine Leroy. Fermentation for both red and white wines is carried out using natural yeast.
Aging takes place in used oak barrels and lasts approximately 8 to 16 months, depending on the wine; because the barrels are neutral, the oak flavours are barely perceptible. White wines undergo fining with bentonite. Red wines are not fined or filtered.
No additives are used except for a small amount of sulfur dioxide. Domaine Nicolas Faure cultivates grapes organically and adheres to the principle of minimal intervention wherever possible; however, these wines are not marketed as natural wines in the currently accepted sense. Faure's approach is closer to traditional non-interventionism than to any specific movement.
What comes out of the Meuilley cellar
The first thing to understand about this product line is its production volume. With total annual production amounting to only about 6,000 bottles, some cuvées are produced in quantities as small as a single barrel, a volume that is woefully insufficient to meet global demand.
The wines released under the Domaine Nicolas Faure label are as follows:
- Bourgogne Aligoté La Corvée de Bully: Produced from 100-year-old Aligoté Doré vines
- La Corvée de Bully Red: Produced from Hautes-Côtes de Beaune vines
- Bourgogne Aux Argillières, Pinot Noir
- Nuits-Saint-Georges: Produced from the Les Herbues and Coteau des Bois plots
- Aloxe-Corton
Faure also bottles Riesling, and the lineup varies depending on the vineyard parcel and vintage. Most of these belong to regional or village appellations rather than famous crus. These wines have garnered an enthusiastic global following and have become highly sought-after.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Domaine Nicolas Faure based?
In Meuilley, a village in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits behind Nuits-Saint-Georges. The winery was built there in 2014, below the family house.
Did Nicolas Faure inherit his vines?
No. He had no family connection to wine and bought or leased every parcel himself, starting with Les Herbues at Nuits-Saint-Georges in 2010.
What is the link with Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet?
Nicolas Faure is married to Amélie Berthaut, who runs that family estate in Fixin. He works there most of the time and makes his own wines separately.
Why are the wines so hard to find?
Total production sits at about 6,000 bottles a year, spread over several cuvées, and Faure has no plans to grow the domaine significantly.
