Introduction
APPELLATIONS
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
Gevrey-Chambertin is a large commune comprising 410 hectares, stretching from Brochon in the north, to Morey-Saint-Denis in the south. A mix of terroirs, with patches of limestone contributing to the complexity of the best Gevreys and to the great variety of styles.
It boasts an astonishing nine grands crus, more than any other village, all bearing the name Chambertin. Gevrey-Chambertin is a red wine-only appellation.
MOREY-SAINT-DENIS
After Vougeot, Morey-Saint-Denis is the smallest village of the Côte de Nuits, with just 150 hectares of vines. Perhaps less well known than its neighbours, Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south, it displays some of the power of Gevrey, as well as a kinship with Bonnes-Mares, which starts just beyond the southern wall of Clos de Tart.
The grands crus here are Clos des Lambrays, Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis and Clos de Tart. The abundance of walled vineyards echoes the self-contained nature of this alluring but enigmatic village.
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
There is something magical about the village of Chambolle-Musigny. Snug against the limestone cliff faces, it feels isolated from the rest of the Côte. Its wines can combine soaring perfume with tannic structure: Chambolle at its best brings together the ephemeral and the earthly.
Its two grands crus are Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, at the southern and northern extremes of the village respectively. The principal premier cru – arguably of grand cru calibre – is Les Amoureuses
VOUGEOT
The Clos de Vougeot is a historically important 50 hectare plot, bestowed with grand cru status in its entirety. Beneath this rather broad-brush approach to classification lie nuances of quality, meaning here even more than elsewhere in Burgundy, ‘grower is everything’.
Vougeot can be a source of extremely long-lived Pinot Noirs which, in combination with deft winemaking and increasing use of stems and whole bunches, can also display great elegance.
VOSNE-ROMANÉE
With its six grands crus, plus the Échezeaux vineyards in the neighbouring commune of Flagey-Échezeaux, Vosne-Romanée could reasonably claim to be the apogee of the Côte de Nuits (not that it would dream of doing something so tactless). Aside from a gently salubrious air, there is little in the understated village square to give away the vinous greatness of the slopes beyond.
La Romanée-Conti is the bull’s-eye, surrounded by a cluster of famous grands crus, including La Tâche, Les Gaudichots, La Grande Rue, La Romanée, Les Richebourgs and Romanée-Saint-Vivant. To the north lies Flagey-Échezeaux and beyond it, the Clos de Vougeot.
NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES
Nuits-Saint-Georges is the most southerly of the famous Côte de Nuits appellations. As is the way in Burgundy, the town of Nuits appended the name of the best-known local vineyard, the premier cru Les Saint-Georges. Being the region’s largest urban centre, it is also the town from which the Côte de Nuits takes its name.
Nuits-Saint-Georges has extremely varied soils and aspects, comprising a substantial 300 hectares of vines, 142 of which are premiers crus. This is an appellation without grands crus, perhaps surprisingly. Known for red wines, there are in fact seven hectares dedicated to white wine production.