Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

 for red wine in the Côte de Nuits

Côte de Nuits

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 center...

 subregion of Burgundy

Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...

, with Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 as the main grape variety. Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of France in the Bourgogne region in eastern France.It lies 15 km South of Dijon. This touristic, winemaking village is situated on the Route des Grands Crus in the Côte de Nuits...

, and it is situated approximately in the centre of a group of nine Grand Cru vineyards all having "Chambertin" as part of their name. The other eight vineyards, which all are separate AOCs, have hyphenated names where Chambertin appears together with something else, such as Chapelle-Chambertin. Chambertin itself is situated above (to the west of) the Route des Grands Crus

Route des Grands Crus

The Route des Grands Crus is the name of a tourist route situated in Burgundy, France.The approximately 60-kilometre route runs along the foot of the Côte d'Or escarpment, from Dijon in the north to Santenay in the south. Thus it runs through many of the great appellations of Burgundy wine, hence...

. It borders on Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, together with a group of nine Grand...

 in the north, Griotte-Chambertin

Griotte-Chambertin

Griotte-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Griotte-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin...

 and Charmes-Chambertin

Charmes-Chambertin

Charmes-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety...

 in the east (across the road) and the Latricières-Chambertin

Latricières-Chambertin

Latricières-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Griotte-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin. It is situated above the Route des Grands...

 in the south. The AOC was created in 1937.

Of the surrounding vineyards, wines from Chambertin-Clos de Bèze may also be sold under the Chambertin AOC. However, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze has a very good reputation on its own, so this is not widely practiced. The other seven "hyphenated Chambertin" Grand Cru vineyards do not have this right to use the Chambertin AOC.

Wine style

As with most of Burgundy's vineyards, both Chambertin and Clos de Bèze have had numerous owners, twenty-three and eighteen respectively. Unfortunately, quality varies from producer to producer and, although Chambertin has been called "King of Wines", less accomplished winemakers do not always produce wines that fully live up to that reputation. The quality of wines from Clos de Bèze is considered higher and more consistent than those from Chambertin. The best wines from these two vineyards are quite powerful. They have concentrated fruit flavors, intense, rich, perfumed aromas, and long aging capabilities.

History

The Clos de Bèze vineyard was initially cleared and planted back in the 7th century by monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s from the Abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

 of Bèze

Bèze

Bèze is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...

, which owned the land. Legend has it that it was not until the 12th century that Chambertin itself was planted by a Monsieur Bertin, who felt that he could also make good wines if he grew the same grape varieties as his famous next-door neighbour. His vineyard was called Champ de Bertin ("Bertin's field") and later shortened to Chambertin.

In 1702, Claude Jobert acquired both vineyards uniting both Chambertin and Clos de Bèze.

The Chambertin wines were one of Napoleon

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

's favorites and it is said that he insisted that they be available to him even during his various military campaigns.

Production

In 2008, 13.22 hectares (32.7 acre) of vineyard surface was in production for Chambertin AOC, and 437 hectoliter of wine was produced under the Chambertin designation, corresponding to slightly less than 60,000 bottles.

AOC regulations

The main grape variety for Chambertin is Pinot Noir. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

 and Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 as accessory grapes, but this is practically never used for any Burgundy Grand Cru vineyard. The allowed base yield

Yield (wine)

In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

 is 35 hectoliter per hectare, a minimum planting density of 9,000 vines per hectare is required as well as a minium grape maturity of 11.5 per cent potential alcohol.

Producers

Of the producers in Chambertin, the wines of Domaine Armand Rousseau

Domaine Armand Rousseau

Domaine Armand Rousseau is a French wine grower and producer. It is based in Gevrey-Chambertin, in the Côte de Nuits wine-growing region of Burgundy, France.-History:...

 generally command the highest prices. Rousseau owns 2.15 hectares (5.3 acre) in Chambertin, as well as a total of 4.38 hectares (10.8 acre) in four of the other "Chambertin" Grands Crus.

Other vineyard owners with more than 1 hectares (2.5 acre) in Chambertin are Domaine Jean-Louis Trapet, Domaine Rossignol-Trapet and Camus Père et Fils. Between 0.5 hectares (1.2 acre) and 1 ha each is held by Louis Latour

Louis Latour

Maison Louis Latour is a French wine grower, négociant and producer based in the Côte de Beaune wine-growing region of Burgundy, France. Created in 1797, Louis Latour is one of the larger growers and producers in the Beaune area, producing around 8m bottles of wine annually.The most famous of the...

, Domaine Jacques Prieur

Domaine Jacques Prieur

Domaine Jacques Prieur is a wine grower-producer in Burgundy, France, located in Meursault. The domaine produces wines from both Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits...

 and Domaine Leroy.

Overview of the "Chambertin" vineyards

Together, the nine "Chambertin" Grand Cru vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin form a continuous area which roughly forms a rectangle 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) by 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) in size, situated just south of the town of Gevrey-Chambertin itself. In three of the vineyards, the producers are free to choose between two Grand Cru appellations.

Grand Cru	Relative position	May also be called	Vineyard surface (2007)	Average annual production (2003-2007)
Chambertin	West (Southwest)		15 hectares (37.1 acre)	454 hl
Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, together with a group of nine Grand...	West (Northwest)	Chambertin	14.4 hectares (35.6 acre)	444 hl
Charmes-Chambertin Charmes-Chambertin Charmes-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety...	East (Southeast)	(Mazoyères-Chambertin)	29.57 hectares (73.1 acre)	1,112 hl
Mazoyères-Chambertin Mazoyères-Chambertin Mazoyères-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Mazoyères-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin. It is situated below the Route des Grands...	Southeast	Charmes-Chambertin	1.83 hectares (4.5 acre)	67 hl
Chapelle-Chambertin Chapelle-Chambertin Chapelle-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety...	Northeast		5.49 hectares (13.6 acre)	159 hl
Griotte-Chambertin Griotte-Chambertin Griotte-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Griotte-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin...	East		2.71 hectares (6.7 acre)	92 hl
Latricières-Chambertin Latricières-Chambertin Latricières-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Griotte-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin. It is situated above the Route des Grands...	Southwest		7.05 hectares (17.4 acre)	308 hl
Mazis-Chambertin Mazis-Chambertin Mazis-Chambertin, sometimes written Mazy-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Mazis-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin. It is situated...	North		9.27 hectares (22.9 acre)	322 hl
Ruchottes-Chambertin Ruchottes-Chambertin Ruchottes-Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Ruchottes-Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin...	Northwest		3.07 hectares (7.6 acre)	102 hl

In general, Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is seen as one notch above the other seven Grands Crus in quality. This is also reflected in a small difference in the allowed yield, where Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze are restricted to a base yield of 35 hl/ha, while the other seven are allowed 37 hl/ha.