Vézelay

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard occupies the steep slopes of the Cure valley and its side valleys between 250 and 300 metres of altitude, with south- and east-facing exposures predominating.
• On the left bank, the substrate consists of marls and limestones from the Bathonian, a period of the Middle Jurassic, while the right bank presents a series dominated by marl-clay from the Lias, in the Lower Jurassic.
• The upper vineyard slopes have shallow to moderately shallow erosion soils, often stony and poor in fine earth, resting on a fractured and weathered limestone bedrock.
• On the mid-slope and towards the lower slope, increasingly thick colluvial soils form a mantle of stony calcareous colluvium overlying deep limestone and clay horizons.
• The cool oceanic climate of the Vézelien brings frequent, abundant rainfall reaching 800 mm annually, which clearly sets it apart from other small wine regions of Burgundy.
• The proximity of the Morvan brings wet springs, hot and stormy summers, and fairly harsh winters with real frost risks.
• Annual and daily temperature swings are pronounced, lending a continental note, with winter temperatures frequently dropping to around -10°C and summer temperatures reaching 30°C.

• Phylloxera, which reached the Auxerrois in 1884, halted the commercial rise of the vineyard and reduced planted area to almost nothing.
• Replanting of the vineyard only began in the 1970s, with the founding of a growers' association in 1974 and then a cooperative in 1990 for winemaking and sales.
• The first plantings were mostly directed towards Chardonnay, planted at high density and yielding small crops for quality white wines.

• The wine is a dry white of pale yellow-gold colour, made from the Chardonnay grape variety.
• The sensory profile combines a floral character, great freshness and minerality on the palate, gaining complexity and finesse with age.

• The local climate, influenced by the proximity of the wooded Morvan massif, preserves the acidity of the harvest and lends more freshness to the white wines, which notably develop aromas of white acacia and hawthorn flowers.

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 30 octobre 2017, JORF 9 novembre 2017
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB