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 ...
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 ...
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. There are nine Grand Cru vineyards within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin,
. While Gevrey-Chambertin also has several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards, it has a particularly large amount of vineyards at the village level for a Côte de Nuits appellation. This is because the vineyards of the AOC stretch further to the east (beyond the N74 road) than in most neighbouring AOCs.
Wine style
Gevrey-Chambertin wines are highly colourful and potent for Burgundies, with intense aromas and flavours evoking
blackcurrant
The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...
,
cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...
liquorice
Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
The liqu ...
, among others. The potency of Gevrey-Chambertin wines makes it a suitable accompaniment to stews and strong-flavoured cooking, such as grilled red meat, leg of mutton,
beef Bourguignon
Beef bourguignon () or bœuf bourguignon (; ), also called beef Burgundy, and ''bœuf à la Bourguignonne'',''Random House Dictionary'online at dictionary.com/ref> is a French cuisine, French beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy wine ...
, rabbit stew,
coq au vin
''Coq au vin'' (; , "rooster/cock with wine") is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.
A red Burgundy wine is typically used, though many regions of France make variants using local wines, such ...
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
In 2008, of vineyard surface was in production for Gevrey-Chambertin at village and Premier Cru level, making it the largest village-named appellation of the Côte de Nuits, and the second largest of the Côte d'Or, just behind
. In the same year, 17,282 hectoliter of red wine was produced, corresponding to just over 2.3 million bottles.
AOC regulations
The AOC regulations 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 in the red wines, but this is not practiced very often. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare, and the grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent
* Champeaux
* Petits Cazetiers
* Combe au Moine
* Les Goulots
* Aux Combottes
* Bel Air
* Cherbaudes
* Petite Chapelle
* En Ergot
* Clos Prieur
* La Perrière
* Au Closeau
* Issarts
* Les Corbeaux
* Craipillot
* Fonteny
* Champonnet
Clos Saint-Jacques, which is situated in the centre of the group of Premiers Crus to the northwest of the village, is typically the most highly regarded Premier Cru vineyard of Gevrey-Chambertin. The wine from this and some other vineyards often command prices higher than many Grand Cru wines from Côte de Nuits.
Grands Crus
The nine Grands Crus all lie to the south of the town, on both sides 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 ...
''. Chambertin is the most famous of these vineyards. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze may also be called Chambertin, without the "Clos de Bèze" part, and Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin both have the same production zone, meaning that these names can be used interchangeably by producers.