Aloxe-Corton AOC

The communal appellation is located at the northern end of the Côte de Beaune(Côte d'Or) in the French region of Burgundy. Vineyards were first named here in 696. Like many Burgundian municipalities, Aloxe added the most famous vineyard name to its name in 1862, and that is the historic Corton vineyard. It is wooded on its top, but planted with vines on its western, eastern and southern flanks.

A gift from Charlemagne

Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) donated the upper part of the hill to the Abbey of Saint-Andoche in Saulieu in 775. It remained in their possession until 1660. The Corton vineyard covers around 280 hectares of vines and extends over the three villages of Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix-Serrigny. It is divided into two Grand Cru sites and 14 Premier Cru sites. The white wines are made from Chardonnay, the red wines from Pinot Noir with a proportion of Pinot Liébault and Pinot Beurot (Pinot Gris).

Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne

The Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru site is exclusively for white wines. The more than 50 hectares of vineyards lie in a narrow band at the top of the Corton hill and stretch from Ladoix-Serrigny in the west via Aloxe-Corton to Pernand-Vergelesses. According to legend, white vines were planted here at the instigation of Hildegard (wife of Charlemagne) because she disliked the red wine stains on her husband's beard. The climate here is somewhat cooler and the much lighter-coloured, almost chalk-white soil is very different from Corton. The white wines are made from Chardonnay with a little Pinot Blanc. Another Grand Cru site called Charlemagne for white wine is almost identical in area to Corton-Charlemagne, but is rarely used.

Grand Cru Corton

The Corton Grand Cru site is used for red and white wines and is the only one for red wines in the Côte de Beaune area. It also extends into the Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses districts. The red wine is made from Pinot Noir with small proportions of Pinot Gris and Pinot Liébault. Small quantities of white wine are also produced from Chardonnay. The vineyards cover over 90 hectares on reddish marl soil on a ferruginous and calcareous plateau. The area is divided into 20 sub-areas, which are allowed to add their names to Corton. These are Les Bressandes, Le Charlemagne, Les Chaumes, Les Chaumes et la Voierosse, Les Combes, Le Corton, Les Fiètres, Les Grèves, Les Languettes, Les Maréchaudes, Les Meix, Les Meix Lallemand, Les Paulands, Les Perrières, Les Pougets, Les Renardes, Le Rognet-Corton, Le Clos de Roi, Les Vergennes and La Vigne au Saint.

Premier Cru sites

The Premier Cru sites cover 40 hectares of vines and are called Clos des Maréchaudes, Clos du Chapître (Les Meix), La Coutière, La Maréchaude, La Toppe au Vert, Les Chaillots, Les Fournières, Les Guérets, Les Maréchaudes, Les Moutottes, Les Paulands, Les Petites Lolières, Les Vazolières and Les Vercots.

Producers

The wines from the Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites account for more than half of the production. The rest is marketed under the Aloxe-Corton village appellation. Well-known producers in the AOC Aloxe-Corton are Arnoux, Bichot, Bonneau du Martray, Bouchard Père et Fils, Chapuis, Coche-Dury, Delarche, Domaine Leroy, Dubreuil-Fontaine, Faiveley, Hospices de Beaune, Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, Prieur, Remoissenet, Tollot-Beaut and Verget.

Aloxe Corton: by Louis Latour
Corton: Copyright @josephdrouhin