Domaine Faiveley buys top Chablis producer Billaud-Simon

Domaine Faiveley has acquired one of the best-known names in Chablis, Domaine Billaud-Simon, marking the family-owned producer's second big purchase in the space of 12 months.

Billaud-Simon has around 20 hectares of vineyards in some of the best terroirs in Chablis, Faiveley said, without disclosing a fee for the deal.

The deal gives Faiveley vines in four grands cru vineyards, including Les Clos, Les Preuses, Vaudesir and Les Blanchots, as well as in four premier cru vineyards, including Montee de Tonnerre, Mont-de-Milieu, Fourchaume and Vaillons.

It has been a busy 12 months for Faiveley, after the Burgundy producer also agreed to buy Domaine Dupont-Tisserandot late last year, gaining a further 20 hectares of vines in Gevrey-Chambertin.

‘It’s becoming more and more difficult to find vines in the greatest appellations in Burgundy,’ said Erwan Faiveley, the seventh generation family member to run the firm, at the time.

Of Billaud-Simon, Faiveley said it would be a ‘great honour’ to develop the brand.

‘In the great tradition of Bernard Billaud, we will continue to focus on the outstanding characteristics coming from the Kimmeridgien terroirs of Chablis, to create focused, precisely-vinified, mineral-driven wine.’

The Chablis area saw some of the steepest vineyard price rises in 2013.

Prices for premier cru vines in Yonne, the French locality that houses Chablis, increased by 22% last year to an average €316,000 per hectare, according to Safer agency that governs agricultural land transactions across France.

Written by Chris Mercer