Grands Échezeaux 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. Grands Échezeaux is located within the commune of Flagey-Echézeaux

Flagey-Echézeaux

Flagey-Echézeaux is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-Wine:Flagey-Echézeaux is home to two Grand Cru vineyards, Échezeaux and Grands Échezeaux. Most of the other vineyards of the commune is part of the Vosne-Romanée appellation, and there is no "Flagey-Echézeaux"...

, on a strip of land between the territory of the communes Vosne-Romanée

Vosne-Romanée

Vosne-Romanée is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Burgundy in eastern France.-Population:-Wine:It produces the region's most celebrated wines, all made entirely from the Pinot Noir grape: "There can be little doubt that in the firmament of the Cote de nuits, Vosne-Romanée is the brightest...

, Vougeot

Vougeot

Vougeot is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-Wine:The historical wall-enclosed Grand Cru vineyard Clos Vougeot is situated within the commune and makes up most of its vineyard surface.-See also:...

 and Chambolle-Musigny

Chambolle-Musigny

Chambolle-Musigny is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.It is one of the wine villages situated on the Côte-d'Or escarpment, and is one of the twelve Cote d'Or communes of France which added/adopted the name of their most well-known vineyard as a suffix to the original name of...

. Grands Échezeaux borders on Clos de Vougeot and its wall in the east and north, and on Échezeaux

Échezeaux

Échezeaux 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. Échezeaux is located within the commune of Flagey-Echézeaux, on a strip of land between the territory of the communes...

 in the west and south. The AOC was created in 1936.

Wine style

In general, Grands Échezeaux is considered a better appellation than its larger and more variable neighbour Échezeaux. In the early 2000s, there were 21 vineyard owners in Grands Échezeaux, but 80 in Échezeaux. The most well-known owner in Grands Échezeaux is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world's greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world's most expensive...

.

Production

In 2008, 7.53 hectares (18.6 acre) of vineyard surface was in production within the AOC, and 240 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to 32,000 bottles.

AOC regulations

The main grape variety for Grands Échezeaux 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 and a minium grape maturity of 11.5 per cent potential alcohol is required.