Côte de Nuits, Burgundy’s slope of great red wines

Its wines are mainly red, from Pinot Noir, with a little white from Chardonnay and Aligoté. The grands crus lie in six villages: Gevrey-Chambertin has nine of them, Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze among them; Morey-Saint-Denis has the Clos de Tart and the Clos de la Roche; Chambolle-Musigny the Musigny and the Bonnes-Mares; Vougeot the Clos de Vougeot; Flagey-Échezeaux the two Échezeaux; and Vosne-Romanée six, from the Romanée-Conti to La Tâche and Richebourg.

The Clos de Vougeot began as a wine estate of the monks of nearby Cîteaux Abbey in the 12th century and still covers almost 51 hectares in one piece; its château has belonged to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin since 1945.

North of Gevrey-Chambertin, Marsannay-la-Côte, whose appellation also covers a rosé, and Fixin open the slope; south of Vosne-Romanée come Nuits-Saint-Georges, with 41 premiers crus but no grand cru, and Premeaux-Prissey. The Route des Grands Crus links the villages, and behind them the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits rise to 300 to 400 m, around 20 villages in the hills.

Dijon stands at the northern end. With the Côte de Beaune, the slope belongs to the Climats of the Burgundy vineyards, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 4 July 2015: nearly 60 km of named vineyard plots and more than 40 towns and villages.

Our full-day wine tour spends the morning here and the afternoon in the Côte de Beaune. The tastings are booked with the domaines, usually by appointment, and paid to them directly.