Unpacking the Complexities of Burgundy in Morey-Saint-Denis
It’s no secret that Burgundy is one of the most challenging wine regions to learn. Burgundy has more appellations than any other major wine region in France - (1) 84 appellations, which represents a little under 25% of all appellations in France; (2) over 1,000 climats; and (3)
As I started working through my Wine Scholar Guild Master-Level Bourgogne course, one of the biggest surprises for me was how much overlap there is within this region. For example, some villages incorporate land from other villages, and some lieux-dits are included in multiple appellations without consistent rhyme or reason.
Compared to some larger Burgundy villages like neighboring Gevrey-Chambertin with nine grand crus, Morey-Saint-Denis is a relatively easy village to learn, with only five grand crus, four of which have the word “clos” in the name, which makes the memorization process relatively simple. However, this commune also exemplifies quite well many of the complexities of the Burgundy region.
Focusing on this particular village, here are some four examples from Morey-Saint-Denis that demonstrate the mind-boggling complexities found in many other parts of the Bourgogne wine region, with four fun facts specific to Morey-Saint-Denis sprinkled in.
Disclaimer: The map above is not drawn to scale! The map should be viewed solely for general illustrative purposes and should not be relied upon for accuracy in any respect.
The Basics of Morey-Saint-Denis
Morey-Saint-Denis sits just below the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin in the northern end of the Côte de Nuits.
My pneumonic for memorizing the Côte de Nuits villages is (from north to south):
My - Marsannay
Friends - Fixin
Good - Gevrey-Chambertin
Morning - Morey-Saint-Denis
Come - Chambolle-Musigny
Visit - Vougeot
Vivian - Vosne-Romanée
Now - Nuits-Saint-Georges
Morey-Saint-Denis has five grand cru appellations and 20 premier cru appellations. The five grand cru appellations are (from north to south):
Clos de la Roche
Clos Saint-Denis
Clos des Lambrays
Clos de Tart
Bonnes Mares
Fun fact #1: Morey-Saint-Denis is the only commune in Burgundy where the grand cru appellations stretch entirely from one end to the other (here, the northern border all the way down to the southern border).
Fun Fact #2: Unusually for a Côte de Nuits commune, red and white wine from five different varieties can be produced here: (1) Chardonnay; (2) Pinot Noir; (3) Aligoté; (4) Pinot Blanc; and (5) Pinot Beurot (also known as Pinot Gris).
#1: A climat can consist of multiple lieux-dits.
For a short primer on lieux-dits and climats, check out my “The Basics of Burgundy: Six Words to Know” blog post here.
The distinction between lieux-dits and climats can be very confusing in the abstract, but the grand cru appellations of Morey-Saint-Denis are good examples of how multiple lieux-dits can sit within one climat.
As shown above, the grand cru appellation, Clos de la Roche consists of seven lieux-dits: (1) Clos de la Roche; (2) Les Chabiots; (3) Les Froichots; (4) Les Fremières; (5) Les Genavrières; (6) Les Mochamps; and (7) Monts Luisants.
In contrast, the grand cru appellation, Clos de Tart, contains only one lieu-dit, the namesake Clos de Tart.
#2: A lieu-dit can span multiple levels of appellations
In very general terms, Burgundy has four different quality levels of appellations: (1) regional (e.g., Bourgogne); (2) village (e.g., Morey-Saint-Denis); (3) premier cru (e.g., Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru); and (4) grand cru (e.g., Clos Saint-Denis).
Interestingly, some lieux-dits can contribute to wines of different hierarchy levels.
For instance, the lieu-dit Monts Luisants in the northern portion of Morey-Saint-Denis consists of land that spans three different levels of appellations: (1) village; (2) premier cru; and (3) grand cru. The eastern portion is included in the grand cru appellation of Clos de la Roche, the middle portion is included in Monts Luisants Premier Cru and wine made from the most western sliver of land can be labeled as village-level Monts Luisants.
Another example of a lieu-dit that spans multiple levels of appellations is La Combe d’Orveau in Chambolle-Musigny with four different levels: (1) regional; (2) village; (3) premier cru; and (4) grand cru (included in Musigny Grand Cru).
Fun Fact #3: Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc Vieilles Vignes Premier Cru (a mouthful) is the only premier cru appellation in Burgundy to be made from Aligoté. The vineyard is a monopole of leading Morey-Saint-Denis producer Domaine Ponsot, which produces 100% Aligoté wines from old vines. The oldest vines were planted in the year 1911, over a century ago!
#3: Appellations can straddle multiple villages
Morey-Saint-Denis is sometimes said to have “4 plus 1” grand crus. The reason behind this quip is that the smallest grand cru in Morey-Saint-Denis, Bonnes Mares, only has 10% of its land located in Morey-Saint-Denis while the other 90% of its land is located in the neighboring commune of Chambolle-Musigny. Domaine Bruno Clair owns the piece of the Bonnes Mares vineyard located in Morey-Saint-Denis.
Another famous example of a grand cru appellation straddling multiple villages is the grand cru Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune, which is split almost 50/50 between the villages of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.
#4: Certain appellations can cross over into land in other appellations
The word “clos” in Burgundy refers to a walled vineyard, and the grand cru Clos de Tart is an example of a vineyard enclosed within a dry-stone wall.
Clos de Tart borders the grand cru appellation of Bonnes Mares to the north. However, within its southern walls is a tiny sliver of land that is technically part of the Bonnes Mares vineyards. Note that this sliver is not currently planted with vines, so there is no Bonnes Mares wine presently being made in Clos de Tart.
Fun Fact #4: While “clos” refers to a walled vineyard, some vineyards with “clos” in the name, such as the renowned Clos de la Roche, presently have no surrounding wall!
Are you confused yet?
Welcome to the club! Wait until we get to the discussion about Corton, and then it will get really fun!
What other topics of Burgundy would you like to learn more about? Comment below!
