Bernard Faurie
Overview
Bernard Faurie is a prime STGT domaine making traditional red Hermitage from top-quality sites including Le Meal, Les Bessards, and Les Greffieux. The winemaking is unhurried and natural; the wines take time to meld and blossom. From 2021, Bernard is working just his 0.2 hectare of 1960s Syrah planted by his father on Le Meal, with the remaining 1.5 hectares rented to his son-in-law Emmanuel Darnaud. He also formerly made Saint-Joseph, which was transferred to Darnaud.
Appellations
- Hermitage
- Saint-Joseph (formerly)
Key Wines
- Hermitage Bessards-Le Meal red — from two of the Big Three climats; five-star wine in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, and “spectacular truth” in 2018
- Hermitage Les Bessards red — introduced in 2015; the second bottling was a six-star Grand Vin; only two demi-muid casks, ~1,450 bottles total
- Hermitage Le Meal red — capable of hitting true heights (e.g. 2001), very classy
- Hermitage Greffieux-Meal-Bessards red
- Hermitage white — has become more confident in recent vintages
- Saint-Joseph red / Vieilles Vignes (now transferred to Emmanuel Darnaud)
Style Notes
Traditional, unhurried Hermitage from prime granite sites. The wines are natural and take time to open. The Bessards-Meal blends two of Hermitage’s Big Three climats (L’Hermite being the third). The whites have been variable over the years but have gained confidence recently, though Bernard can bottle what JLL regards as early. His final larger-scale vintage was 2020; from 2021, production is just from the tiny Le Meal parcel.
Producer Profile (JLL / drinkRhone.com)
Bernard Faurie makes traditional red Hermitage from top quality sites — it is unhurried winemaking, the wines are natural, and take time to meld and blossom. Until the transfer of his Saint-Joseph vineyards to his son-in-law Emmanuel Darnaud (based at Crozes-Hermitage), those were trusty local wines possessing the understated, nicely crisp red fruit of the area.
Over the years, the whites from Hermitage and Saint-Joseph have been variable. The recent white Hermitage has become more confident, with the 2019 white grounded, true, and built to age well.
Bernard’s last Saint-Joseph white was the 2012, his last Hermitage on the previous scale of production the 2012; thereafter he worked less of his Hermitage vineyard, with his final larger scale vintage the 2020.
Location: 27 ave Helene de Tournon, 07300 Tournon. Export markets: 1) USA, 2) GB, 3) Belgium, 4) Australia/Japan/Norway/Switzerland. 75% of Hermitage exported.
My Tastings
Key Wines & Vintage Notes (JLL / drinkRhone.com)
Hermitage Bessards-Le Meal Rouge
The flagship blend of two of the Big Three Hermitage climats. Five-star in great years.
| Vintage | Rating | Drinking Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | — | 2049-51 | Inner sweetness, appealing depth of black fruits, coulis |
| 2019 | ★★★★★★ | 2055-61 | Griottes, soaked cherries, violet, prune ripeness; “spectacular truth” |
| 2018 | — | 2052-54 | Floral, clear raspberry; harvested six days after the Greffieux-Bessards |
Hermitage Les Bessards Rouge
Introduced in 2015. Only two demi-muid casks, ~1,450 bottles total.
| Vintage | Rating | Drinking Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | — | 2048-50 | Smoky, gunflint, blue fruit; very typical of Bessards |
| 2018 | ★★★★(★) | 2050-56 | Copious, plush, fleshy; “California in the glass” — unusually opulent for Bessards |
Hermitage Greffieux-Meal-Bessards Rouge
| Vintage | Rating | Drinking Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ★★★★(★)–★★★★★ | 2051-56 | Busy black cherry, supple, inviting |
| 2018 | ★★★★(★) | 2050-53 | Bright red fruits, good clarity, spark and pulse |
Hermitage Le Meal Rouge
| Vintage | Rating | Drinking Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | — | 2058-61 | Made for Bernard’s personal consumption from new 300-litre cask; “I thought I was going to take retirement” |
Hermitage Blanc
| Vintage | Rating | Drinking Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | — | 2043-45 | Nice burst, open and firing with youthful vigour |
| 2019 | — | 2045-47 | Grounded, true, built to age. Nuts, quince, honeysuckle, gunflint |
| 2018 | — | 2039-41 | Second bottling; reduced raising to keep freshness |
Note: Bernard’s final larger-scale vintage was 2020. From 2021, production is just from his tiny 0.2 ha Le Meal parcel.
Vintage Context (from JLL vintage reports)
- 2020: Bernard on his last full vintage: “2020 lies between 2019 and 2018, is neither solar nor Nordic, but is well balanced, still with a high degree, but a bit less than 2019, around 14 degrees. We harvested at a normal time, the second week of September.” JLL found the Les Bessards cuvee “a bit light on real Bessards authority, stamp” due to higher yields; Bernard: “the higher yield meant less depth, density this year.” See 2020 Rhone Vintage.
2019: Hermitage Bessards-Le Méal six stars (“spectacular truth” — griottes, soaked cherries, violet, prune ripeness). Greffieux-Méal-Bessards four-to-five stars. Hermitage blanc “grounded, true, built to age.” A standout Hermitage vintage. See 2019 Rhone Vintage.
2018: The defining Faurie anecdote of the vintage: the Bessards reached 15.2 degrees — JLL calls it “Wild Wine, Bessards de la Noche, a confrère of Serge Gainsbourg.” Bessards-Le Méal: “floral, clear raspberry.” Bessards cuvée four-to-five stars (“California in the glass” — unusually opulent for Bessards). Greffieux-Méal-Bessards four-to-five stars. The hierarchy of soils was never stronger. See 2018 Rhone Vintage.
2013 Hermitage: Bessards-Méal five stars. Very good vintage — perhaps shading 2012, starting from a richer base while retaining freshness. See 2013 Rhone Vintage.
2012 Hermitage: Les Greffieux-Bessards five stars. Very good at Hermitage — wines have expanded and gained striking depth with time. See 2012 Rhone Vintage.
2010 Hermitage: Both bottlings (Greffieux + Méal/Bessards; Bessards-Méal) earned six stars. An excellent Hermitage vintage of supreme balance. See 2010 Rhone Vintage.
2009 Hermitage: Five-star ratings for both the classic and the Bessards-Le Méal bottlings. A magnificent vintage of concentration and depth. Bernard is noted as raising his Hermitage in 600-litre demi-muid oak casks, using chalk to keep up with events. See 2009 Rhone Vintage.
2005: JLL specifically cites the Bernard Faurie 2005 Saint-Joseph (tasted in November 2011) as evidence that the southern zones around Tournon showed “style and clarity” as the 2005 reds aged. A wonderful Syrah year. See 2005 Rhone Vintage.
Sources
sources/articles/JLL/Bernard_Faurie.txtsources/articles/JLL/rhone_wines_data.json— Wine-by-wine vintage notes (JLL / drinkRhone.com)sources/articles/JLL/rhone_vintage_reports.json— JLL vintage reports 2005-2021