Faiveley is where my research on wood - and coopers - began a couple of years ago. That first experience left me shocked. At the end of the tasting I was able recognise the flavour profile of the individual barrel maker easier than that of the site. Yesterday, I returned to taste the 2012s with Bernard Hervet, the managing director, who had led me down this path years ago. Barrels as we all know are not recipients, like pots and pans in the kitchen, but ingredients in and of themselves. As at most of the leading estates in Burgundy, this comparative tasting often boiled down to Taransaud versus Francois Freres, but of late Dargaud & Jaegle have impressed me on certain wines as well. That said, there doesn't seem to be a silver bullet. Bernard Hervet's read is that Taransaud teases the soil out of Gevrey, Chambolle and Volnay, Francois Frères is better for Nuits and Pommard. Further, although I have often asked myself if wood that had been seasoned longer was more than merely a marketing exercise, I was positively surprised to note what a T5 barrel had done for a Clos de Vougeot that Faiveley had once sold as bulk.  Comments