Côte de Beaune

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard sits within the rectilinear relief of the Côte de Beaune, which extends over approximately 25 kilometres in a general north-east/south-west direction.
• The cool oceanic climate is disrupted by continental or southerly influences channelled along the Rhône–Saône axis, with annual rainfall of approximately 750 millimetres and a mean annual temperature of 10.5°C.
• The geographical zone is limited to the territory of the single commune of Beaune, in the Côte-d'Or department, with altitudes ranging from 225 to 360 metres.
• The slope, with a general east/south-east aspect, is divided in two by a deep dry valley cutting into the hinterland, with varied aspects ranging to due south or south-west.
• The lithological sequence begins with a layer of platy Callovian limestone overlain by Oxfordian limestones, with a hard limestone escarpment that is often wooded, followed by a layer of marls forming a small terrace.

• The rhetorician Eumenius, at the beginning of the fourth century, refers to an ancient and celebrated vineyard on the slopes of the 'Pagus arebrignus', near Beaune, in his 'Speech to Constantine'.
• In 570, Gregory of Tours wrote that the Côte de Beaune was covered in vines and that no liquor was preferable to the wines of those hillsides.
• The Burgundians, who arrived from northern Europe in the fifth century, enacted the 'Lex Gundobada' (lois gombettes), which encouraged wine production in the region.
• The international reputation of Beaune's wines grew in the seventeenth century; Courtepée attributed this to the flight abroad of Protestant inhabitants of Beaune following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, who became effective advocates for the wines.
• In 1816, Jullien noted that Beaune was the commune producing the most wine, both in first and second quality, and that its wines had the reputation of being the most clean-tasting of all Burgundy.
• The Côte de Beaune appellation, recognised in 1937, initially overlapped with the territory of the Beaune appellation recognised in 1936, before its parcel area was differentiated by the inclusion of plots on the marly level at the top of the slope, which had been excluded from the Beaune appellation.
• The vines are trained at planting densities above 9,000 vines per hectare, with an encépagement based on Pinot noir and Chardonnay, and the wines are aged for several months.

• The red wines are often tender, supple, and refined, with notes of small red fruits and a fine acidity that allows them to age gracefully.
• The white wines are often fairly supple, sometimes rich in texture, but always underpinned by good acidity, and develop floral and mineral aromas.

• Exacting viticultural, winemaking, and ageing practices, applied to this particular geographical setting, favour the production of wines of strong character and great longevity.
• The varied slopes and aspects, the limestones of the hillside, and the gravelly deposits of the footslope impart distinct characters to the wines produced from the different climats.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 28 novembre 2011, JORF 30 novembre 2011
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB