Gevrey-Chambertin AOC

Village appellation in the Burgundy Côte de Nuits area of the commune of the same name. This borders the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis to the south. The total vineyard area is around 500 hectares, which also includes some vineyards in the neighbouring commune of Brochon. In 1847, Gevrey added the name Chambertin to the place name, which is the name of the most famous and best site on the Côte d'Or. A Chambertin red wine was also one of the favourite wines of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). This is why it is also called the wine of kings - king of wines. A large part of the vineyards already belonged to the Benedictines of the Cluny Abbey, located south-east of Mâcon, in the 13th century. Here, the best red wines of Burgundy are made from mainly Pinot Noir with, if necessary, portions of Pinot Gris and Pinot Liébault. These wines can be stored for many decades and are mostly even darker than many other Burgundian communes.

The most outstanding come from the nine Grand Cru sites. Chambertin is so well known and famous as a site that all the other eight Grand Crus have also (legally) appended this name to theirs. The Grands Crus are Chambertin (13 ha), Chambertin-Clos de Bèze (15 ha), Chapelle-Chambertin (5.4 ha), Charmes-Chambertin (32 ha, part of the vineyard is called Mazoyères, so the label may also show Mazoyères-Chambertin ), Griotte-Chambertin (5.5 ha), Latricières-Chambertin (7 ha), Mazis-Chambertin (13 ha, also Mazy-Chambertin) and Ruchottes-Chambertin (3.5 ha). The wine from the Clos de Bèze vineyard may also be labelled as Chambertin (this vineyard is next), but the reverse is not true. These two sites are also considered the very best in the area, if not in Burgundy.

The Premiers Crus cover a total of 85 hectares of vineyards. These are Au Closeau, Aux Combottes, Bel Air, Cazetiers (9 ha), Champeaux (6.7 ha), Champonnet (3.2 ha), Cherbaudes, Clos des Varoilles, Clos du Chapitre, Clos Prieur, Clos Prieur-Haut, Clos Saint-Jacques 6.7 ha), Combe au Moine (4.7 ha), Craipillot, En Ergot, Estournelles-Saint-Jacques, Fonteny, Issarts, La Bossière, La Perrière, La Romanée, Lavaut Saint-Jacques (10 ha), Les Cazetiers, Les Corbeaux (3 ha), Les Goulots, Petite Chapelle, Petits Cazetiers and Poissenot. Well-known producers with Grand Cru and/or Premier Crus sites are Bachelet, Bichot (Domaine du Clos Frantin), Boisset, Bouchard Père et Fils, Burguet, Joseph Drouhin, Dugat Claude, Dugat-Py, Domaine Dujac, Fréderic Esmonin, Michel Esmonin, Faiveley, Jadot, Herezstyn, Domaine Leroy, Maume, Mortet, Roty, Rousseau, Serafin and Varoilles.

Picture left: By Urban - Own work, Public domain, Link
Picture right: By Arnaud 25 - Own work, Public domain, Link