Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Wine

October 1, 2010

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Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru wines are those made under the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation, from grapes grown in officially recognized Premier Cru vineyards. There are a large number of Premier Cru sites (or climats) within the appellation’s catchment area, and wines from those sites are permitted to bear their specific climat name on labels.

Chassagne-Montrachet itself is a village in the Cote de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy, with its own communal appellation, created in 1937. As with every Burgundian commune, the list of Premier Cru vineyards here is reviewed every few years by the INAO, the French governmental organization responsible for administration of the nation’s appellation system. Burgundy’s Grand Cru vineyards are treated independently, and each have their own appellations.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru wines may be either red, (made from Pinot Noir) or white (made from Chardonnay), and but it is particularly the whites which have earned the appellation its reputation for producing some of the world’s most respected wines. For much of the twentieth century red wines made up the majority of the wine produced here, but the increasing fame of the local Chardonnay led the commune to shift its focus to white wines.

The finest Premier Cru sites here are in the far north-eastern corner of the parish, bordering the Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru site. Here, the limestone soils are at their finest and richest, brining minerality to the wines. The vineyard orientation is also at its best here, allowing the grapes to benefit from the excellent ripening conditions. White wines from these Premier Cru sites age well in bottle, developing slowly from a powerful opulent youth into a complex, elegant style over ten years or more.

The soils around Chassagne-Montrachet are characteristically Burgundian, with a high content of limestone, particularly on the slopes of the Cote d’Or, (the 45km / 27 mile limestone escarpment running from Dijon to Santenay). There is a distinct difference, however, between the vineyard sites to the south of Chassagne-Montrachet village and those to the north. To the south is found a higher concentration of limestone marl and red gravel – soils to which Pinot Noir is better suited. To the north the harder marlstone gives way to softer, finer limestone structures, and it is here where some of the world’s most respected Chardonnay is made.

The climate around Chassagne-Montrachet is of continental type, with warm, dry summers and cool winters. While spring arrives earlier here than in Burgundy’s northern outposts like Chablis, the commune’s viticulturalists must still contend with cold spring mornings and the risk of frost damage to their vines.

Many consider Chassagne-Montrachet to be the southern limit of Burgundy, as it is the last of the region’s communes to have an unbroken flow of Premier Cru vineyards and a Grand Cru vineyard. Although the larger of the two communes, and despite producing nearly twice as much Premier Cru wine, Chassagne is still slightly overshadowed by its more famous neighbor Puligny-Montrachet, with which it shares the Le Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru vineyards

Source: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-chassagne-montrachet+premier+cru

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