Monthélie

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The Monthélie vineyard sits within the rectilinear, tectonically formed escarpment of the Côte de Beaune, which stretches for approximately 25 kilometres along a north-east/south-west axis.
• This escarpment separates the calcareous plateaux of the Hautes Côtes, lying between 400 and 500 metres in altitude, from the plain of Bresse, a Tertiary graben at around 250 metres in altitude.
• The roughly 150-metre change in elevation along the Côte brings to the surface flaggy Callovian limestones at the foot of the slope — formerly quarried as building stone — and Oxfordian marls in the upper part of the hillsides.
• According to Wikipedia, the soils are calcareous and gravelly, of Bathonian origin, mixed with red clay and marls, with a south and south-east exposure at between 230 and 370 metres in altitude. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• A broad, north/south-facing valley cuts into the hillside and, at its mouth, forms a well-drained, stony alluvial fan that generates cooler mesoclimates.
• The climate is dominated by a cool oceanic tendency tempered by continental and southerly influences, with moderate annual rainfall of around 730 millimetres and a mean annual temperature of 10.5 °C.

• The Monthélie appellation was recognised as an appellation d'origine contrôlée in 1937, after the wines had long been sold under the names of Volnay, Pommard, or Beaune throughout the nineteenth century.
• Pinot noir accounts for 90% of planted area, with chardonnay concentrated in the cooler sectors such as the combes and the marly soils.

• The red wines have a ruby colour and a fine tannic structure that lends them great elegance, with good aging potential of ten years or more.
• The white wines display a roundness lifted by the acidity needed for wines intended for aging, while according to Wikipedia the palate is supple, ample, and lightly tangy.

• The cool oceanic character of the climate and the topography of combes and valleys, which generate varied mesoclimates, endow Monthélie's wines with great freshness.
• The Jurassic marly and calcareous substrates, within this climatic context, are ideally suited to the full expression of pinot noir — Burgundy's native variety — as well as of chardonnay, which is likewise deeply rooted locally.

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

Dénominations géographiques complémentaires

• Monthélie premier cru AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Clos des Toisières AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru La Taupine AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Cas Rougeot AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Château Gaillard AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Clos Gauthey AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Clou des Chênes AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Meix Bataille AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Le Village AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Barbières AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Champs Fulliots AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Clous AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Duresses AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Riottes AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Les Vignes Rondes AOC (PDO)
• Monthélie premier cru Sur la Velle AOC (PDO)

All appellations in France

Sources

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