Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard lies within the Côte de Beaune, a rectilinear relief of tectonic origin oriented northeast–southwest, separating the calcareous plateaux of the Hautes Côtes to the west from the Bresse plain to the east.
• The plots are situated on a gently sloping south-facing hillside at an altitude of 240 metres, on the lower part of the main slope of the côte.
• The bedrock consists of Middle Jurassic (Callovian) flaggy limestones, overlain by a thin layer of clayey colluvium rich in limestone pebbles, soils described by Wikipedia as deep, clayey, calcareous brown soils derived from Jurassic strata.
• The name 'Criots', derived from a Celtic root referring to rock, explicitly alludes to the abundant stone content of the plots' soils.
• The climate is cool oceanic, tempered by continental or southerly influences channelled along the Rhône–Saône corridor, with around 750 millimetres of rainfall per year and a mean annual temperature of 10.5°C.

• The name 'Montrachet' appears as early as the thirteenth century among lieu-dits, but the appellation d'origine contrôlée 'Bâtard-Montrachet' was not recognised until 1937, with the plot-level delimitation of 'Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet' coming into effect only in 1939.
• The vines are trained at planting densities in excess of 9,000 vines per hectare, with the encépagement based on the Chardonnay variety.

• The white wines display a fine golden-yellow colour and combine finesse with elegance in a perfect balance.
• The rich and complex aromas very often recall hazelnut and honey, interwoven with floral notes, with a particularly long aromatic persistence.

• The stony soils over a bedrock of flaggy limestone ensure effective drainage and contribute to the freshness and vivacity of the wines produced in this appellation.

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