Mercurey wine is produced in the communes of Mercurey and

Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Wine The vineyards of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu are part of the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' Mer ...

in the

Côte Chalonnaise Côte Chalonnaise is a subregion of the Burgundy wine region of France. Côte Chalonnaise lies to the south of the Côte d'Or continuing the same geology southward. It is still in the main area of Burgundy wine production but it includes no Grand ...

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 ...

. The ''

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) Mercurey may be used for

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

with respectively

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.' ...

and

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 ...

as the main grape variety. The production of red wine dominates, with almost 80 per cent. There are 32 Premier Cru vineyards within Mercurey AOC, but no Grand Cru vineyards exist in this part of Burgundy.BIVB: Mercurey
accessed on November 18, 2009 The AOC was created in 1936.

Wine style

The red wines of this area are characterized by their deep color, compared to neighboring appellations, and fuller bodies. The wines of Mercurey are noted for their spicy

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 ...

notes but quality can be quite varied. The late 20th century saw an influx in vineyard expansion with some new plantings going on sites less suitable for quality viticulture. This expansion has increased the propensity for lower quality Mercurey which can taste more dilute with weaker fruit flavors. The less common white wines made in the area are characterized by their

minerality The use of wine tasting descriptors allows the taster to qualitatively relate the Aroma of wine, aromas and Flavor (taste), flavors that the taster experiences and can be used in assessing the overall quality of wine. Wine writers differentiat ...

and apple notes.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 206-207 Workman Publishing 2001 Well-made examples typically drink at their peak between 5–12 years after vintage.T. Stevenson ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' pg 159-160 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Production

In 2008, of vineyard surface was in production for Mercurey at village and Premier Cru level, and 27,668 hectoliters of wine were produced, of which 22,583 hectoliters were red wine and 5,105 hectoliters were white wine.BIVB: Les Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée de Bourgogne
accessed on November 18, 2009 Some of this area was used for the white wines in 2007. The total amount produced corresponds to just under 3.7 million bottles, of which just over 3.0 million bottles of red wine and just under 700,000 bottles of white wine. Mercurey has the largest production of the Côte Chalonnaise appellations.

AOC regulations

The AOC regulations allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines,AOC regulations for Mercurey, last updated 2003
/ref> but this not very often practiced. For white wines, both Chardonnay and Pinot blanc are allowed, but most wines are likely to be 100% Chardonnay. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare for red wine and 45 for white wine. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level red wine, 11.0 per cent for village-level white wine and Premier Cru red wine, and 11.5 per cent for Premier Cru white wine.

Premiers Crus

There are 32 '' climats'' within the Mercurey AOC classified as ''Premier Cru'' vineyards. Their wines are designated ''Mercurey Premier Cru'' + vineyard name, or as just ''Mercurey Premier Cru'', in which case it is possible to blend wine from several Premier Cru vineyards within the AOC. In 2007, of the total Mercurey vineyard surface consisted of Premier Cru vineyards, of which red and white Mercurey Premier Cru. The annual production of Premier Cru wine, as a five-year average, is 6,079 hectoliter of red wine and 656 hectoliter of white wine. Mercurey Pinot noir

The following Premier Cru vineyards are located in the commune of Mercurey: The following Premier Cru vineyards are located in the commune of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu:

References

{{reflist Burgundy (historical region) AOCs