Faiveley

Faiveley is usually described as a negociant house, which was accurate a generation ago and is misleading now. The family owns a very large vineyard holding by Burgundy standards, spread from the Cote Chalonnaise up through the Cote de Nuits, and the domaine wines dominate the range. The house style also changed in the late 2000s, away from firm extraction and towards lighter handling, so older reputations do not describe what is in the bottle today.

The range climbs in the ordinary Burgundian way. Regional Bourgogne and Cote Chalonnaise wines at the base, then village and premier cru bottlings from Nuits-Saint-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny and Pommard, then an unusually long list of grand crus, including the family monopole at Corton.

The honest warning is about timing rather than money. Faiveley grand cru in a young vintage is built to be kept, and drinking it in its first few years buys tannin and structure rather than pleasure. A premier cru from a good village, opened at eight or ten years, will often give more actual enjoyment than a grand cru opened at three.

The list below is sorted by price, lowest first.