terroir: the soul of la côte d’or, côte de nuits
DESCRIPTION
Don Kinnan, CSS, CWE, and the lead instructor for the French Wine Society’s new Master Burgundy Certificate program presents an incredible in-depth seminar on the wines, soils, climate and history of the Côte d’Or.TRANSCRIPT
La Cote d’Or
-- made famous by Napoléon himself
Napoleon’s Favorite Wine
9 Grands Crus, most in a Côte d’Or village
26 Premiers Crus
Largest village AOC in the Côte de Nuits
110 Growers, plus many “outsiders”
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LEGEND
Ruchottes
Mazis
Clos de BezeChambertin
ChapelleGriottesMazoyères
Latricières
Charmes
Grands Crus: 211.3 acres 35,222 cases
Premiers Crus: 199 acres 37,333 cases
Village: 812 acres 159,667 cases
TOTALS: 1222.3 acres 232,222 cases
Cote de Nuits’ most delicate wine.
Average yields are some of the Cote d’Or’s lowest.
Very dif ferent soil geology from Gevrey and Morey.
Village name derived from “boiling fields” (campus ebulliens).
Cistercians arrive in 1110 and remain until the Revolution.
“Musigny” added to the town name in 1878.
In 1960, became a “sister town” to Sonoma, CA
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2 Grands Crus(red): 64.2 ac; 8,746 cs “ “ (white): 1.4 ac; 266 cs
24 Premiers Crus(red): 138.9 ac; 24,200 cs
Village (red): 237.1 ac; 44,000 cs
TOTAL: 441.6 ac 77,212 cs
Chambolle MusignyMorey St Denis
Les Baudes, Les Sentiers
Les Fuées
Bonnes Mares
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Largest Grand Cru in the Cote de Nuits (123.2 acres).
Largest “clos” in the Cote d’Or.
100 parcels divided among 80+ owners.
Good examples tend to be lusher and spicier than Chambertin and La Tache, but with less intensity and definition.
Top of the slope, bordering Musigny and Echezeaux, is best. Soil is pebbly, oolitic limestone of Bathonian origin, and is well-drained.
Mid-slope, the soil becomes Bajocian limestone with pebbles and clay. Drainage is good.
Lower slope, the soil is more alluvial, deeper, and drains less well.
Burgundy
Clos de Vougeot
Vosne-Romanee
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La Tache, Romanee Conti,Romanée St Vivant
Vosne Malconsorts
Nuits Boudots
Richebourg
A Blue Ribbon Recipe
Ingredients: white oolite calcaire a entroques thicken with ostrea acuminata and shake sof tly, cover with a 4 f t top soil and pebble layer place on a gently sloping, east facing incline with fractured base rock of premeaux l imestone
“The quality potential of wine is in the
vineyard…..man can diminish or equal this
quality in the cellar, but not augment it.”
Monks establish “Clos Saint-Georges” as their signature vineyard in AD 1023.
In 1698, Louis XIV regains health after drinking “Nuits” wine prescribed by his doctor, Dr. Guy Fagon.
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Middle Nuits (16 Premiers Crus):
The best “terroir” of the village
Most notably - Les Saint-Georges, Les Cailles, Les Poirets, Les Vaucrain, Les Pruliers
Wine style is rich, robust, and sturdy, with a minerality and a gamey hint, but “the charms of leather and denin can also be alluring.”
41 Premiers Crus: 349.8 ac 61,378 cs
Village: 388.8 ac 77,255 cs
Totals: 738.6 ac 138,633 cs