Faiveley Cazetieres 2023

Today’s offer is a wine I buy every year: Domaine Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetières. There are certain wines from certain producers that consistently deliver a little something extra. Once you figure out which those are, you tend to buy them every year without hesitation.

Domaine Faiveley is a producer that goes back to the very beginning for me. One of my first real “aha” moments came at a tasting of the newly released 1988s. At the time, I’ll admit I had only a limited grasp of the Burgundy landscape, but one thing became very clear that evening: some wines in the Faiveley lineup stood above the rest, and Cazetières was one of them. Grand Crus, even back then, were well out of reach on a retail clerk’s wages, but there were carefully chosen 1er Crus that rivaled Grand Cru wines in every way except price.

One philosophy I always try to share with clients is the value of finding wines that overdeliver. These are the bottles that give you a Grand Cru experience without the Grand Cru price, though it’s fair to say some of these are not the tremendous value they once were.

Over the last 7 years, I’ve gotten to know Cazetières well. My favorite vigneron, Charles Magnien, lives at the bottom of the slope, and his family has been in the same spot since 1656! We’ve walked the vineyard together many times - its a decent trek to reach the top. To have spent as much time with Charles in the vineyard and listening to him explain all of the subtle nuances of the different soils you begin to understand how magical this terroir really is. Couple that with the fact that there are a majority of the parcels planted just after the 1st world war its no wonder these wines tend to overdeliver.

Faiveley is by far the largest landowner in Cazetières (4.06 hectare), accounting for half of the vineyard, with a total of 8.5 hectares. In 2013, they nearly doubled their holdings with the acquisition of Domaine Dupont-Tisserandot, adding a 2.12-hectare parcel in the lower section of the slope. The soils at the bottom are deeper and richer, with more clay, while higher up the slope the soils become rockier and poorer. Having access to both is a real advantage. The wine gains power and weight from the lower soils, balanced by the more linear, structured character that comes from the upper parcels.

Faiveley’s wines are always among the first we see offered each year and some of the last to arrive. These 2023s came in on the December container, and this will likely be the only offer I make, as there are just 36 bottles available. Come to think of it Im not sure I ever made an offer for this.

If you love Gevrey-Chambertin with bold black fruit, spice, iron, and a strong mineral core, look no further than Faiveley’s Les Cazetières. You will be hard pressed to find a better 1er Cru.