This is always beautiful with dried strawberries, flowers and hints of rosebush. Medium-to full-bodied with a round yet poignant tannin background and fresh acidity. Lively Mercurey. Drink or hold.

Faiveley’s exemplary Mercurey Premier Cru comes from a substantial six-hectare parcel that faces east on a very gentle slope. Just a little more concentrated than its La Framboisière cuvée – which is also worth buying – this is rich, sunny and full of red berry and bramble fruit with good underlying zip, fine tannins and suave 30% new wood.

A mild touch of reduction blurs the detail but the fruit is clearly ripe. Otherwise there is a highly seductive mouthfeel to the solidly concentrated middle weight flavors that possess even better depth on the more structured and slightly rustic finale. This is blessed with plenty of dry extract and is very promising for improving over the mid-term. Recommended for value.