The Côte de Nuits () is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, which gives its name to the district and is the regional centre. Though some white and rosé wines are produced in the region, the Côte de Nuits is most famous for reds made from pinot noir. The Côte de Nuits covers fourteen communes. Six produce grand cru wines, in the central district between Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges, with four lesser villages either side. The Grand Crus of the Côte de Nuits are some of the smallest appellations in France, less than a hectare in the case of La Romanée.J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 112–150, 206–207, 247–272, 312–313, 429–487, 758–759 Oxford University Press 2006 J. Robinson Jancis Robinson's Wine Course Third Edition pg 165–168 Abbeville Press 2003
Among the northern villages of the Côte de Nuits there are several distinct terroirs. Uniquely in Burgundy, Marsannay-la-Côte produces wine of all three colors – red and rosé from Pinot Noir, white from Chardonnay. The of the Marsannay appellation extends into Couchey and Chênove. The village of Fixin has its own appellation, but the area of Brochon Côte de Nuits Villages extends into the commune with of premier cru vineyards out of of Pinot Noir and of Chardonnay. The village of Gevrey-Chambertin has more Grand Crus than any other village, with nine. Chambertin and its extension Chambertin-Clos de Beze are widely recognized for the quality of their red Burgundy. The other Grand Crus are Mazis-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyeres-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Latricieres-Chambertin and Ruchottes-Chambertin. Morey-Saint-Denis is a small commune with four Grand Crus: Clos de la Roche, Clos St. Denis, Clos des Lambrays and Clos de Tart.H. Johnson & J. Robinson The World Atlas of Wine pg 54–67 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 187–206 Workman Publishing 2001
Also among the northern villages, the vineyard soils of Chambolle are particularly chalky, giving the wines a lighter body and finer edge of aromas that complements the usual Côte de Nuits backbone of flavor notes. A little white wine is also made in this area. Wines labelled with Chambolle Premier Cru are usually a blend of some of the 19 individual vineyard Premier Crus, of which only Les Amoureuses and Les Charmes are commonly seen. The Grand Crus are Bonnes Mares (which spills over into Morey-Saint-Denis) and Musigny. The village of Vougeot has just one Grand Cru vineyard – Clos Vougeot – that is massive by Burgundy standards, and produces three times as much wine as the rest of the commune. But the variation in terroir over its , and the different winemaking styles of its 75+ owners, mean that wines labeled with the vineyard name Clos Vougeot show as much variation as the wines from entire communes elsewhere. The village of Flagey is best known for its Grand Crus of Grands Echézeaux and Echézeaux; its Premier Crus are sold under the label of Vosne-Romanée. Vosne contains some of the most famous names in the wine world, notably Romanée-Conti and La Tâche AOC, two monopoles of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The other Grand Crus are Richebourg, La Romanée (the smallest AOC in France, at 2 acres/0.84 hectares), Romanée-St. Vivant and La Grand Rue.A. Domine (ed) Wine pg 180–193 Ullmann Publishing 2008 E. McCarthy & M. Ewing-Mulligan "French Wine for Dummies" pg 79–98 Wiley Publishing 2001
Amidst the southern villages, Nuits-Saint-Georges the largest town in the region with producers often selling their wine to the north. The local wines are most of 'Villages' quality, and need longer aging in the cellar than most Burgundies of similar quality. Wines from Premeaux-Prissey are sold under the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation and as Côte de Nuits Villages. Comblanchien gives its name to the seam of limestone in the middle of the Côte d'Or. Its wine is sold as Côte de Nuits Villages. The southernmost village of Corgoloin is also covered by the Côte de Nuits Villages appellation.T. Stevenson "The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia" pg 135–150 Dorling Kindersley 2005 A. Bespaloff Complete Guide to Wine pg 65–78 Penguin Books 1994
History
The early history of the Côte de Nuits is wrapped up in the history of the greater Cote d'Or. The Romans were the first to introduce viticulture into the area during their settlement of Gaul sometime during the 3rd century AD. Breaking away from the typical Roman style of planting near rivers, the Romans encouraged their allies in the area, the Aedui to plant vines on the narrow strip of land that was located to the east of their settlement at Augustodunum. It was this area, known asPagus Arebrignus, that was to eventually be subdivided into the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. When the area was under attack from the Alamans and other Germanic tribes, the Romans sought the help of a Baltic tribe known as the Burgundians who would eventually settle into the area and give the region its name.H. Johnson Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 91–121, 267–274, 371 Simon and Schuster 1989
In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine visited the region, where his orator described the difficulties of cultivating vines there. While the quality of the wine was the envy of the empire, the emperor was told, the vines can only be planted on a narrow patch of land between marshy plains and infertile rocky hilltops, where winter frost would often devastate the crops. Taking the wine down from the côte in fragile wooden barrels was a treacherous ordeal along pothole-filled roads, with many barrels being broken and lost along the way. The orator also described a scene of tangled old vines and knotted roots dotted along the vineyard, a likely sign that the ancient Burgundians practiced the vine propagation method of provignage or layering.
By the Middle Ages, the Benedictines and Cistercians would come to be the dominating force. The Dukes of Burgundy and Valois, through their political influence and patronage of the church, would do much to spread the renown of the area for its unique and distinctive wines. As early as the 15th century, the vineyards of Chambertain and Nuits were gaining reputations apart from the greater Burgundy region. It was, in these early years, that the developing concept of terroir-of a uniqueness tied into the land-began to be associated with the area.
The 17th century saw more vineyards come under the control of the bourgeoisie as the church landholders began selling their lands to the wealthy from the nearby city of Dijon. In 1631, the Abbey of St-Vivant sold their holdings in the villages of Vosne-Romanée. The vineyard of Clos de Beze was sold by the Cathedral at Langres in 1651. Then in 1662, the Cistercians sold off all their vineyard holdings near the town of Fixin.
The 18th century and changing winemaking styles
During the reign of King Louis XIV, his personal physician Guy-Crescent Fagon recommended that he drink only wines from Nuits St-Georges for their health giving properties.D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 32 Harper Collins Publisher Pieroth Japan "Pieroth Newsletter" Issue 11, August 2006 Wine merchants in the Côte de Nuits latched onto this royal association as a great marketing coup over the region's rivals in Champagne and Bordeaux. The 18th century ushered in a period of tête de cuvée of wines made solely from the best grapes produced in single vineyards. To add to the distinctiveness of these wines, new winemaking techniques such as extended maceration and longer fermentations became popular. This produced dark, tannic vin de garde wines that required extended periods of aging. Imitation of this style by producers using lower quality of grapes saw producers use various methods of adulteration such as adding honey to the wine in order to increase the sugar and, consequently, the alcohol level of the wine. Following Jean-Antoine Chaptal's, Napoleon's Minister of the Interior, recommendation to use the method now known as chaptalization to boost alcohol levels, the market was flooded with Burgundy wines from the Côte de Nuits and beyond that were dark, dense and highly alcoholic.
Some of the winemakers producing those hard, dense wines would use some of small segments of white grapes grown in the Côte de Nuits as a softening blend in a manner similar to how white grapes were historically used in Chianti. While for most of its history, the Côte de Nuits had been firmly associated with red grape varieties, the 16th and 17th century saw an increase in plantings of white grape varieties, like Chardonnay and Fromenteau. White grapes continue to be found scattered throughout the area, including a notable white Chambertain, until the mid 19th century when nearly all premier and Grand cru vineyards became completely dedicated to pinot noir.
Classification of terroir Following the success of the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 at the Paris Exposition Universelle, the Comité d'Agriculture de Beaune tasked Dr. Jules Lavalle with coming up with a similar classification of the vineyards of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune for the 1862 International Exhibition in London. The history of the tête de cuvée and making wine from a single vineyard estate was more established in the Côte de Nuits than Côte de Beaune which was reflected in Lavalle's defining over 20 vineyards in the Côte de Nuits worthy of cru for red wines while the Côte de Beaune had only one exceptional vineyard. Lavalle's classification would serve as foundation for the official establishment of Grand cru and premier cru in the 1930s as Appellation d'origine contrôlée or AOCs. Today there are 24 Grand cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits clustered around six villages and more than 100 premier cru vineyards throughout the region.
Climate and geography
Located near the 47th parallel north, the Cote de Nuits is one of the northernmost regions to produce premium quality red wines. However, this northerly location brings with it a lot of vintage variation from year to year. From winter time hail, spring time frost and cool autumns that may bring devastating rains that impede ripening and harvest, the quality of each vintage can be highly variable. The vineyards of the Cote de Nuits are planted on east and southeast facing slopes that receive the most opportune sun exposures with vineyards designated as premier and grand cru almost always planted on this ideal aspect at elevations between 800 and 1000 ft (250–300 m).
The area experiences a continental climate during the growing season that is characterized by very cold winters and warm summers. The nearby Saône river provides some moderation as does the foothills of the Massif Central on the western flank of the region. Its location puts the wine region at a type of "climatic crossroads" where it expresses very different weather fronts from very different sources such as the Baltic sea from the north, the Atlantic from the west and the Mediterranean from the south. The confluences of these different weather system also adds to the great variability seen in vintage years. For instance, warm winds coming from the south can bring much need heat but can also bring the threat of torrential thunderstorms and hail, especially when those winds swing towards the west and meet up with the Atlantic influences. In the summertime, anticyclonic conditions are present but are usually kept in check by the cooling la bise wind from the north.