Irancy

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The appellation area occupies a small dry valley on the right bank of the Yonne valley, set within the cuesta of the Côte des Bars, a major geomorphological feature of the Paris Basin.
• The sediments date from the Upper Jurassic, with a hard limestone named Calcaire du Barrois forming a cliff above the Marnes à Exogyra virgula — compact, impermeable marls rich in small comma-shaped oysters — and a Calcaire à Astartes near the valley floor.
• The escarpment of the Côte front reaches 120 to 130 metres in relief, with the plateau not exceeding 300 metres in altitude and the valley floor lying at around 120 metres.
• The delimited plots for harvest are spread between 150 and 300 metres in altitude, mainly on the marly slopes, with varying aspects facing south, west, or north depending on the gradient.
• The cool oceanic climate, modified by continental influences, features moderate and regular rainfall of only 650 millimetres per year at Auxerre and a mean annual temperature of 10.8°C.
• The amphitheatre carved into the Côte des Bars is particularly well sheltered from cold northerly winds, and its vigorous topography provides stony soils with good heat retention and efficient drainage.

• Pinot noir, a native Burgundy variety, dominates the planting, but is accompanied by Pinot gris — known locally as 'beurot' — and by César, also called 'romain', a variety of enigmatic origin.
• In 861 and then in 900, Charles the Bald and Charles the Simple respectively donated a parcel of vines to the Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, on which the village of Irancy depended.

• The wines display a ruby colour and intense fruitiness with aromas of morello cherry, sometimes combined with floral notes of violet, with a lively freshness on the palate.
• The presence of César in the blend can significantly deepen the colour and reinforce the tannic structure of the wines, which have a considerable ageing potential of more than ten years.

• The presence of César in the lieu-dit 'Palotte' imparts a certain hardness to the wines in their youth, but in return ensures them a considerable longevity.

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)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB