Marsannay

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• Appellation at the northernmost tip of the Côte de Nuits, limited to 3 communes (Marsannay-la-Côte, Couchey, Chenôve) in the Côte-d'Or.
• Jurassic bedrock with alternating Bajocian crinoidal limestones and marls, and Bathonian oolitic limestones and Calcaire de Comblanchien.
• Shallow, carbonate-rich, well-draining soils with a high clay content on the footslopes; very permeable gravelly soils on the large alluvial fan.
• The climats du Chapitre and du Clos du Roy are distinguished by grèzes litées scree deposits overlying the limestone bedrock.

• Viticulture documented as early as 530 AD (Gregory of Tours); records at Marsannay from 658 (donations to the Abbey of Bèze); AOC recognised in 1987.
• Following the abandonment of gamay in the 19th century, a return to Pinot Noir N; vine densities above 9,000 plants/ha; ageing over several months.

• Reds: powerful tannic structure, aromas of small black fruits, prune, and musk; gravelly soils yield elegance and richness.
• Fruity rosés (peach, red fruits) with freshness and vivacity; full-bodied whites with exotic fruit notes or hints of menthol and lemongrass.

• Gravelly, free-draining soils yield fruity wines with an elegant, supple structure; shallow soils rich in clay and iron oxides on the hillside yield powerful, deeply coloured wines with long ageing potential.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB