Finally, an atlas of the Coast Chalonnaise !

We were talking to you yesterday with Auxey-Duresses , Monthélie And Saint-Romain , in Côte de Beaune (21) , of these "peripheral" appellations of the "great" ones, where excellent bottles can be found, in rouge as in blanc at affordable prices. And in this vein, there is of course also the Coast Chalonnaise (71), on which the book "Coast" has just been published Chalonnaise , Atlas and History of Climate and Place Names » which we highly recommend.

Find below the article published in issue 144 of Bourgogne Aujourd'hui, available in issue number and/or by subscription.

A traveler who had gone around the world and returned twenty years later would not recognize the Coast Chalonnaise and especially its wines. The vineyard landscapes have largely remained the same, but that's just about the only thing that hasn't changed in this region bordering the south of the Côte de Beaune . The side Chalonnaise count five AOC villages , for a total of nearly 5,000 hectares of vineyards: Bouzeron , Rully , Mercurey , Givry And Montagny to which must be added the AOC Burgundy Regional Coast Chalonnaise The release in bookstores of "Côte" Chalonnaise "Atlas and History of the Names of Climats and Places," a work produced on the same model as the one devoted to the vineyards of Côte-d'Or ("Climats and Place Names of the Great Vineyards of Burgundy"), is therefore a form of consecration for this region which, in about twenty years, has gone from a sector where, apart from a few "pioneering" estates (Joblot, Meix Foulot, Maréchal, Michel Juillot, Jacqueson…), the wines were nothing unforgettable, in a high-quality vineyard, where a new generation of winemakers, too numerous to mention here, followed the example of the best addresses in the neighboring Côte-d'Or.

The book is the result of a collective effort. In the preface, Gilles Platret, mayor of Chalon-sur-Saône and historian, reminds us that the oldest traces of wine production in the Burgundy region are found in Chalon, in the form of a wine amphora production workshop dating from the first century AD. Sylvain Pitiot, a surveying engineer and manager for over twenty years of the Domaine of Clos of Tart In Morey-Saint-Denis, he produced detailed maps of the climates and specific vineyard sites for each of the five appellations. villages Marie-Hélène Landrieu-Lussigny, a professor of classical literature and author of "Les lieux-dits dans le vignoble bourguignon" (Jeanne Lafitte Publishers, 1983), examines each vineyard site and location to explain the origin of its name, whether it relates to a former owner, the nature of the soil, former cultivated or livestock-raised areas, thatched roofs, a particular land shape, the presence of springs, and so on. Finally, Jacky Rigaux, a university professor and writer, provided the general overview of the Côte d'Or. Chalonnaise and the various articles devoted to each of the five villages The whole thing is accompanied by numerous very precise figures, particularly on the areas delimited for each premier cru and climate in AOC villages .

In short, the release of this very comprehensive atlas is news that can only delight true enthusiasts, those who drink the wine and not the label… because the Côte Chalonnaise because of the high quality terroirs, because the winemakers have made great progress and their finest red and white premier crus can now look eye to eye those of their northern neighbors in Côte-d'Or, because the prices remain very affordable, because the region is magnificent and welcoming and simply because it deserves it!

Christophe Tupinier

" The side Chalonnaise – Atlas and History of Climate and Place Names, Éditions de Monza and Éditions du Meurger, €49. Available in good bookstores and especially at the Athenaeum of Vine and Wine, in Beaune .

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director