Côte de Beaune-Villages

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard lies on the Côte de Beaune escarpment, which extends for approximately 25 kilometres in a general north-east/south-west direction and is tectonic in origin.
• This escarpment separates the calcareous plateaux of the Hautes Côtes to the west, at elevations of between 400 and 500 metres, from the Bresse plain to the east, a Tertiary graben at close to 250 metres altitude.
• The cool oceanic climate receives continental or southerly influences channelled along the Rhône–Saône corridor, with approximately 750 millimetres of rainfall per year and an annual mean temperature of 10.5°C.
• The slope substrates consist of calcareous formations dating from the Middle and Upper Jurassic, with alternating hard limestones and softer marls, and locally dolomitic horizons.
• The plots are situated on well-exposed slopes at between 230 and 400 metres altitude, with an average gradient of 20%, which may reach 40% on the steeper hillsides underlain by marly substrates.

• The appellation Côte de Beaune-Villages was recognised in 1937, grouping together the red wines of communes other than those set aside from 1936 onwards as individual appellations, such as Beaune, Corton, Pommard, and Volnay.
• The vineyard is planted predominantly with Pinot noir, the native Burgundy variety, trained at planting densities in excess of 9,000 vines per hectare.
• The wines are aged for several months, which gives them good cellaring potential depending on the characteristics of the vintage and the commune of origin.

• The wines display a ruby-red colour with a tannic structure that is often measured and velvety; some sectors in the south tend to be more tannic and deeper-coloured than those in the north, which show greater finesse.

• Communes situated on the main face of the Côte yield generous wines with pronounced ripeness and supple tannins, while those set back in the valleys cutting into the Hautes Côtes plateau produce fresher, more elegant, and more fruit-driven wines.

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 17 novembre 2011, JORF 20 novembre 2011
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB