• Gevrey-Chambertin is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée  known for red wine production of the Pinot Noir grape, located within the Côte de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy.
• Largest and northern most of the “great” communes in Cote de Nuits.
• Surface area: 87 ha [2]
• Annual production: 2,600 hl [1]
  • Charmes-Chambertin & Mazoyères contribute to over 1/3 of total production.
• All grand crus lie in one contiguous mass south of the village on either side of the Route des Grand crus [1]
• Contains 9 of the 24 Côte de Nuits grand crus
  • Often vies with Vosne for the title of most important commune
• Yves de Chazan of the Abbot of Cluny, constructed the village castle at the top of the village
  • Only 2 of the original 4 towers still stand.
  • Impressive cellar
• Nearby the castle is the church of Saint-Aignan.
  • Extremely medieval, but a bit of an architecture muddle
• The Cellier des Dîmes is a more impressive structure
  • Once a chapter house, later became the place where tenants of the church paid rent.
  • It is where the Church stored the 10% of the crop to which it was entitled by way of a tax, known as a ‘Dime’.
    • The loft was for storing cereals; the cellar for wine.
  • Claude Dugat now rents the cellars today

• • “Gevrey” comes from the word Gabricus, dating but to AD 640 (Gallo-Roman times).
  • ~ 640:
    • The Abbey of Bèze was given land by Duke Amalgaire of Burgundy.
    • Shortly afterwards, legends states that a peasant named Bertin decided that he, too, would plant vines on his neighboring plot.
      • The name Chambertin comes from Champ (field) or Campus Bertin.
    • 894:
      • The Abbey of Saint-Benigne received a land donation from the Burgundian Duke, Richard Le Justicier.
        • The Abbey of Saint-Benigne soon came under the jurisdiction of the great ecclesiastical establishment at Cluny.
          • The Abbot had a castle built, which still stands today.
        • Middle Ages:
          • The Abbey of Bèze sold its vineyards to the Cathedral Chapter of Saint-Mammès at Langres.
            • Saint-Mammès remained the nominal proprietors until the French Revolution.
          • 17^th Century:
            • The Cathedral Chapter of Saint-Mammès leased out Clos de Bèze, as did other chapters.
              • Claude Jomard, a local parliamentarian took a 20-year lease over Clos de Bèze.
                • It is said he made significant reparations to the state of the vineyard.
              • Clos Saint-Jacques passed to the Morizot family.
            • 1728:
              • Claude Arnoux published, in London, one of the first accounts of the wines of Burgundy, in which he wrote about Chambertin as “…the most considerable wine in all Burgundy… it has all the qualities and none of the defects of the other wines”.
                • This led to Chambertin being sold for twice as much as the wines of Volnay, Pommard, & Beaune.
              • *Approximately 100 years later, André Jullien placed Chambertin second only to Romanée-Conti of all red wines of Burgundy.

   

  • 1731:
    • Claude Jobert arrived in Gevrey and began dealing with the successors to Claude Jomard.
  • 1750:
    • Claude Jobert had gained control of over half of Chambertin and Clos de Bèze.
    • He eventually built of a Domaine of over 20 ha throughout Gevrey Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis, & Chambolle-Musigny.
      • He even changed his name to Claude Jobert de Chambertin!!!
    • 1761:
      • Claude Jobert passed away.
      • Gevrey-Chambertin was fetching 10x the price it has commanded in the previous century.
    • Late 18^th Century:
      • Napoléon’s predilection for the wines of Chambertin were well known.
        • He was known for drinking little else.
        • He would drink his Chambertin, bottled 5 or 6 years after the vintage with an embossed “N”, much diluted with water.
      • 1847:
        • Thanks to the lobbying of the local mayor, a decree of Louis-Phillipe allowed the village of Gevrey to suffix its name with that of Chambertin.
        • The established trend was soon followed by most of the other villages on the Côte.
      • 1855:
        • Lavalle, of the Historie et Statistiques de la Vigne et des Grands Vins de la Côte d’Or, decreed one single tête de cuvée in Gevrey: Chambertin (included both Chambertin & Clos de Bèze)
          • As premières cuvées he listed: (in descending rank)
            • Clos Saint-Jacques
            • Fouchère
            • Chapelle (haute)
            • Mazis (haute)
            • Ruchottes (du dessus)
            • Charmes (haute)
            • Griotte (haute)
            • Varoilles (vielles)
            • Estorunelles
            • Cazetiers (haute)
          • Latricières & Mazoyères were included among the deuxièmes cuvées
        • Late 19^th Century:
          • Discreetly & stealthily, a number of climats surrounding Chambertin and Clos de Bèze began to tag “Chambertin” onto their names, just as the Napoleonic decree allowed the village to itself to do.
            • Mazis- Mazis-Chambertin
            • Griotte Griotte-Chambertin
          • During this time, many climats were absorbed into superior neighbors.
            • Les Gémeaux  Chapelle
            • Fouchère Chambertin

   

  • 1936:
    • AOC Laws confirmed a number of historical practices:
      • That Clos de Bèze could be prefixed with the name Chambertin, but all other grand crus could only hyphenate it on as a suffix.
        • Examples:
          • Chambertin, Clos de Bèze
          • Mazis-Chambertin
          • Charmes-Chambertin
        • That Clos de Bèze could be sold as Chambertin Tout Court, but not vice versa.
        • An allowance was given to the producers of Mazoyères-Chambertin, such that they could continue to call their wine Charmes-Chambertin instead
        • The village appellation overlaps into the next commune to the north, Brochon.
      • 50 ha of Brochon can make wine which can be labelled village Gevrey-Chambertin. [1]

• The village of Gevrey-Chambertin is south of Brochon and north of Morey-St.-Denis.
  • Lies on the same level as its grand crus
  • At the point where the Combe de Lavaux opens out into the valley.
• Generally speaking, the commune has an eastern exposure with limestone gravel soils.
  • Where on the slope a vineyard is found has a direct correlation to the limestone vs. gravel composition.
    • Hillside vineyards generally have more limestone-based soils
    • Lower, flatter vineyards have more gravel.
  • Two Combes affect the vineyard climat of Gevrey-Chambertin
    • The Combe de Lavaux (more northern)
    • The Combe Grisard (more southern)
  • These combes act as conduit for hailstorms and cooler air with each vineyard feel the effects differently. [2]
• Suitable vineyard soil stretches further out from the hill in Gevrey-Chambertin than anywhere else in the Côte de Nuits with vineyard land eastern of the D974 still justifiably entitled to communal designation rather than typical Bourgogne. [3]

• Dry Red Wine from Pinot Noir
• Wines are described as:
  • full & sturdy
  • rich & masculine with a touch of the fleshy and exotic
  • More flamboyant than Vosne
  • More substantial than Chambolle
• Grand crus
  • Chambertin
  • Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
  • Chapelle-Chambertin
  • Charmes-Chambertin/Mazoyères-Chambertin
  • Griotte-Chambertin
  • Latricières-Chambertin
  • Mazis-Chambertin
  • Ruchottes-Chambertin
• Premier Cru
  • Aux Combottes
  • Clos St-Jacques
• Gevrey-Chambertin style of wine: [1] & [2]
  • Full & sturdy
  • Rich with a touch of the exotic and the fleshy
  • Sensual & vigorous
    • More flamboyant than Vosne-Romanée
    • More substantial than Chambolle-Musigny

• Write about the region’s top producers.

• Write about the food and culture of this region as it relates to wine.

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[1] Coates, Clive. Wines of Burgundy. University Presses of California, 2008.

[2] Norman, Remington. Grand Cru; The Great Wines of Burgundy Through the Perspective of Its Finest Vineyards. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2011.

[3] Kolpan, Steven, et al. Exploring Wine: The Culinary Institute of America’s Complete Guide to Wines of the World. Wiley, 2010.