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Mazoyères-Chambertin


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Mazoyères-Chambertin is a Grand Cru vineyard lying within the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. It lies directly to the south of Charmes-Chambertin, an area with which it shares an important relationship. The vineyards are allowed to cross-label, and as a result of Charmes' higher reputation most of the producers label their wines this way. As a result, the Mazoyères name has become obscure, and less than 1,000 cases of wine a year are now made under this name. It is estimated that only 10% of Mazoyères-produced wines are actually labeled under that appellation in bottle. Despite this, the few wines produced here are generally of a very high quality.

History

The surprising rule allowing the Charmes and Mazoyères designations to be interchangeable was incorporated along with the AOC rules of 1937.

Climate and Viticulture

Since the Mazoyères vineyard has just as much of the actual Charmes name as Charmes-Chambertin's own vineyard does, there is no reason to assume that the quality would be any lower. Well-layered marl, clay, and limestone have high concentration and combine with the excellent weather to make this flat vineyard's wines anything but flat. While these appellations are still far behind Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Mazoyères' own distinction has almost entirely wines that come from excellent soil.

Grape Varieties

Major Producers

The Mazoyères appellation is so small that there are only two great producers with good availability outside France.

Subregions

See Charmes-Chambertin for the appellation that most of these wines are labeled under. Other than Charmes, the Mazoyères appellation has no relations with any other regions nor subregions.