Côte de Nuits

The Côte de Nuits runs from north to south between Dijon and Corgoloin. Its vines grow along a narrow strip of hillside around 20km long and in parts just 200 metres wide, a terroir some have even named the Champs-Elysées of Bourgogne. The principal villages from north to south are Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Échezeaux and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Marsannay, regarded as the "Golden Gate to the Côte de Nuits", covers the communes of Chenôve, Marsannay-la-Côte and Couchey, and Fixin lies between Dijon and Gevrey-Chambertin. At the southern end, Corgoloin marks the border between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Côte de Nuits-Villages, also known as Vins fins de la Côte de Nuits, is produced in the communes of Fixin, Brochon, Premeaux, Comblanchien and Corgoloin. Above the Côte, the Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits vines grow on two plateaus between 300 and 400 metres above sea level, an area that has enjoyed a renaissance since the 1950s. In broad terms, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot and Nuits-Saint-Georges tend to produce robust, long-lived wines, while Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanée lean toward finesse and elegance. Morey-Saint-Denis forms a bridge between the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin and those of Chambolle-Musigny.

• Marsannay: Village appellation created 19 May 1987; 2022 production area of 214.14 ha red, 50.55 ha white and 16.18 ha rosé; vines at 255 to 390 metres
• Fixin: created 8 December 1936; 6 Premiers Crus Climats; producing communes Fixin and Brochon; wines may also be known as Côte de Nuits-Villages
• Gevrey-Chambertin: created 11 September 1936; reds only; 26 Premiers Crus Climats; 2022 production area 409.36 ha including 79.32 ha Premier Cru
• Morey-Saint-Denis: created 8 December 1936; 20 Premiers Crus Climats; 2022 production area 85.90 ha red and 5.23 ha white
• Chambolle-Musigny: created 11 September 1936; reds only; 24 Premiers Crus Climats including Les Amoureuses; 2022 production area 152.64 ha
• Vougeot: created 8 December 1936; 4 Premiers Crus Climats; 2022 production area 11.03 ha red and 4.94 ha white
• Vosne-Romanée: reds only; 14 Premiers Crus Climats; producing communes Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echezeaux; 2022 production area 149.47 ha
• Nuits-Saint-Georges: created 11 September 1936; 41 Premiers Crus Climats; producing communes Nuits-Saint-Georges and Premeaux; 2022 production area 289.36 ha red and 15.82 ha white
• Côte de Nuits-Villages: created 31 July 1937; 2022 production area 146.83 ha red and 11.43 ha white

In both the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune the best vineyards lie along a narrow band of limestone facing south-east, while lower-lying vineyards with more clay drain less well. The rock changes from slope to foot. In Morey-Saint-Denis the soils are limestone and clay-limestone dating from the Middle Jurassic, with white Bathonien Oolite up-slope and fossiliferous Bajocien limestone at the foot. Under the Chambertin Grands Crus the up-slope rocks are of Bathonien origin, while lower down the marls and limestones are Bajocian, with marine fossils on the surface. Farther south, the hill-slopes of Comblanchien and Corgoloin are carved into the hard limestones of the Upper Bathonien, and the rock under the Vosne-Romanée Grands Crus is hard Premeaux limestone dating from the Jurassic. Soil depth changes within a single vineyard. In the Clos de Vougeot, the soil is some 40 cm deep at the upper end (about 255 metres), 45 cm in the centre (about 250 metres) and 90 cm in the lower portion (around 240 metres), lying on marl rich in clay and alluvium. In Chambolle-Musigny the slope faces east at 250 to 300 metres with only a shallow covering of soil, but fissures in the hard Jurassic limestone let the roots seek nourishment deep in the sub-soil. Exposures vary by village: east to south-east for Gevrey-Chambertin and Fixin, east for Morey-Saint-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny, and mostly east or south-east for Nuits-Saint-Georges.

• Morey-Saint-Denis: white Bathonien Oolite up-slope, fossiliferous Bajocien limestone at the foot; east-facing at 220 to 270 metres
• Chambertin: Bathonien rocks up-slope, Bajocian marls and limestones lower down
• Comblanchien and Corgoloin: slopes carved into the hard limestones of the Upper Bathonien
• Romanée-Conti: brown limestone soils 60 cm deep with a major clay component, over hard Premeaux limestone
• Clos de Vougeot: soils from about 40 cm deep at the top to 90 cm at the bottom

The Côte de Nuits and Hautes Côtes de Nuits together are the center for the Bourgogne region's Grands Crus, and Pinot Noir is used for the majority of them. Gevrey-Chambertin produces 9 Grands Crus. Chambertin and Clos de Bèze are the crown jewels, and the 7 Climats adjoining them attach the name Chambertin to their own: Chapelle-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin and Ruchottes-Chambertin. Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin share the same defined area, and Charmes-Chambertin is the name normally used. The Clos de Bèze first appears in the year 640 AD as a monastic property and passed to the canons of Langres in 1219; Grand Cru status for Chambertin was granted on 31 July 1937, and its 2022 production area was 13.14 ha. Morey-Saint-Denis has 5 Grands Crus: Clos de Tart, Bonnes-Mares, Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis and Clos des Lambrays. Chambolle-Musigny has two, Musigny and Bonnes-Mares. Bonnes-Mares is shared with Morey-Saint-Denis, with more of it in Chambolle-Musigny, and covered 14.99 ha in 2022. Musigny's boundaries were formally laid down on 16 April 1929, and in 2022 it had 10.13 ha of red and 0.66 ha of white, the Chardonnay planted by the De Vogüé family. Vougeot's Grand Cru is the Clos de Vougeot, founded around 1110 AD by the monks of Cîteaux, who owned it until the French Revolution. Its 50.59 ha lie within walls built 5 centuries ago and are now divided among numerous owners; its 2022 production area was 49.43 ha, and it has held Grand Cru status since 31 July 1937. Vosne-Romanée has 6 Grands Crus: Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, La Romanée, La Tâche, La Grande Rue and Richebourg. Romanée-Conti takes its name from Prince Conti, who, in the BIVB's words, "lost his heart to it in 1760"; it has always been a singly-held entity, as are La Romanée, La Tâche and La Grande Rue, and its 2022 production area was 1.81 ha. In the neighbouring commune of Flagey-Échezeaux lie Échezeaux (36.27 ha in 2022) and Grands-Échezeaux (9.06 ha in 2022), both Grands Crus since 31 July 1937 and, like the Clos de Vougeot, founded by the monks of Cîteaux.

• Gevrey-Chambertin (9): Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Chapelle-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin
• Morey-Saint-Denis (5): Clos de Tart, Bonnes-Mares, Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis, Clos des Lambrays
• Chambolle-Musigny (2): Musigny, Bonnes-Mares; Vougeot (1): Clos de Vougeot
• Vosne-Romanée (6): Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, La Romanée, La Tâche, La Grande Rue, Richebourg; Flagey-Échezeaux (2): Échezeaux, Grands-Échezeaux
• 2022 production areas: Clos de Vougeot 49.43 ha, Échezeaux 36.27 ha, Bonnes-Mares 14.99 ha, Chambertin 13.14 ha, Musigny 10.13 ha red and 0.66 ha white, Grands-Échezeaux 9.06 ha, Romanée-Conti 1.81 ha

Religious houses shaped the Côte de Nuits. The Cistercians of Cîteaux founded the Clos de Vougeot and the Échezeaux vineyards and established the Vougeot vineyards in the 12th century, and a thousand years ago the Benedictine monks of Saint-Vivant de Vergy and the Cistercians of Cîteaux first realised the value of the Vosne-Romanée plots. The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin was founded in Nuits-Saint-Georges in 1934 and holds its chapters at the Château du Clos de Vougeot. Across Burgundy, until the second half of the 20th century most vine-growers sold their grapes to négociants, and demand for domaine-bottled burgundy changed this. Bouchard Père et Fils, Joseph Drouhin and Louis Jadot are négociant examples, and Bouchard Père et Fils and Faiveley have particularly significant vineyard holdings of their own.

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