Domaine Jacques Prieur vineyards in Charmes Chambertin

Charmes-Chambertin is an ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

'' (AOC) and

Grand Cru Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The ...

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

for

red wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties. The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice from most purple grap ...

in the

Côte de Nuits The Côte de Nuits () is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, which gives its name to ...

subregion of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, with

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

as the main grape variety. K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 191-195 Workman Publishing 2001 It is located in the southern part of the commune of

Gevrey-Chambertin Gevrey-Chambertin () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of France in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.

and on the lower hillside east of

Chambertin Chambertin is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, ...

(on the other side of the

Route des Grands Crus The Route des Grands Crus (roughly, "road of the great wines") is the name of a tourist route situated in Burgundy, France. The approximately 60-kilometre route runs along the foot of the Côte d'Or escarpment, from Dijon in the north to Santen ...

), north of

Mazoyères-Chambertin Mazoyères-Chambertin is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Mazoyères-Chambertin is located within the commune o ...

and south of

Griotte-Chambertin Griotte-Chambertin is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Griotte-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevr ...

. The AOC was created in 1937.

Wine style

Wines from Charmes-Chambertin are known for being highly fragrant in their youth, J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 313 Oxford University Press 2006 and known for the

typicity Typicity (French ''typicité'', Italian ''tipicità'') is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins and thus demonstrates the signature characteristics of the grape from which it was produced, e ...

character of the Pinot noir and its soft, ripe fruit flavors that typically peak between 10-20 years. The section of the vineyard closest to the Route N74 road is often considered closer to ''

premier cru Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The ...

'' than Grand cru status. T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 146-147 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Production

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2006 Domaine Jouan Olivier

In 2008, of vineyard surface was in production within the AOC, which made it the largest Grand Cru in Gevrey-Chambertin. of wine was produced, corresponding to just under 150,000 bottles.

AOC regulations

The main grape variety for Charmes-Chambertin is Pinot noir. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

Pinot blanc Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...

and

Pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

as accessory grapes, but this is practically never used for any Burgundy Grand Cru vineyard. The allowed base yield is 37 hectoliter per hectare, a minimum planting density of 9,000 vines per hectare and a minimum grape maturity of 11.5 per cent

potential alcohol Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice (must) and, hence, indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar.AOC regulations, last updated 2009
/ref> Mazoyères-Chambertin, which adjoins Charmes-Chambertin to the south, is generally (and legally) bottled under the Charmes-Chambertin appellation.

References

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Wine style

Production

AOC regulations

See also

References