The old vines, or vielles vignes, behind this bottling were planted in the 1950s and ‘60s in a lieu-dit (named, but not ranked, vineyard) called “En Champs.” This site is just downslope from the premier cru “Champeaux” and is distinguished by its very thin topsoil, which gives way quickly to the limestone “mother rock” below. Naturally, the Liveras refer to it as a “very mineral terroir,” and it is very much reflected in the wine: its gets its power and drive from its pronounced minerality, which provides a sturdy foundation for the fragrant Pinot fruit. 

Livera’s vineyard holdings total just over 8 hectares, spreading into nearby appellations such as Fixin and Marsannay, and their old, frigid caves are truly a trip back in time. In generations past the Liveras sold the majority of their grapes to larger négociant producers such as Jadot and Bouchard, but Damien has steadily increased the amount of ‘estate-bottled’ wine the family produces. His focus has been on the health of his family’s vineyards, as he has reduced yields dramatically over the years and farmed according to lutte raisonnée principles—that poetically named methodology (“the reasoned struggle”) in which chemical inputs of any kind are employed only in the direst of emergencies.

The 2014 vintage in Burgundy has given us many powerful and rather forward expressions of Pinot Noir, and this wine is no exception. Fruit for “En Champs” was hand-harvested, fermented using only indigenous yeasts, aged mostly in used barrels, and bottled unfined and unfiltered—resulting in a wine of considerable depth and, most appealingly, terroir transparency. In the glass it is a brilliant ruby red moving to garnet at the rim, with aromatics that leave no doubt that it is born of the earth: there’s a dark, crushed-stone minerality mingling with deep and satisfying scents of black cherry, blackberry, wet violets, black pepper, and an especially evocative ‘forest floor’ quality. It strikes a delicious balance between rustic and polished, its woodsiness countered nicely by the kirsch-like richness of fruit. This wine will age beautifully for 10 years or more, without a doubt. If you want to check one out now (highly recommended), decant it a good hour before serving it in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees, and most definitely with food: let its earthy depth shine alongside this jus-y Beef Brisket recipe. Man does this wine check all the boxes…it could become dangerously habit-forming!