Named vineyard
Corton
Identity card
Grand cruAOPRedWhite
Burgundy › Côte de Beaune › Aloxe-Corton · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- About 95 ha (2008); 95% of the output is red.
- In Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses.
- Red: at most 42 hl/ha and at least 11.5% natural alcohol.
Grape varieties
White
Accessory varieties: Pinot Blanc (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Pinot Blanc · 30% at most of the blend
Red
Allowed as a small share of the red wine: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris (15% at most of the vines in each plot)
Only interplanted among the vines
Production rules
11.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
9,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 June after the harvest
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 79 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 137 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Slopes of the Montagne de Corton, 240 to 350 m
- Soils: Limestone below; chert-bearing marls and silts above
- Aspect: From east through south to west
Wine style
- Red
- deep ruby
- small red fruit
- black berries
- full-bodied, tannic
- White
- lightly spiced white fruit
- minerality
- honey, truffle with age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
26 October 2011
Cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2011-1390 du 26 octobre 2011, JORF du 29 octobre 2011. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- The name may be followed by the words "grand cru"
- Red: the name may be followed by one of 24 climats (Les Bressandes…)
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahiers des charges d'AOC publiés au BO-AGRI (décrets du 26 octobre 2011) — dont « Chambertin », « Chambertin-Clos de Bèze », « Chapelle-Chambertin », « Mazis-Chambertin » et « Corton »— Ministère de l'agriculture et de la souveraineté alimentaire — Bulletin officiel (BO-AGRI)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyFiches d'appellation des vins de Bourgogne (surfaces et récoltes)— Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB)
The Côte de Beaune's only red grand cru, and the largest grand cru of the Côte-d'Or: about 95 hectares in 2008, with 95 % of the output red. It wraps the flanks of the Montagne de Corton between 240 and 350 metres, below a wooded escarpment topping out at 385 metres, facing everywhere from east through south to west — hence the range of expression that led growers to name and keep apart twenty-four climats, among them Le Clos du Roi and Les Bressandes, which the label may carry.
Mini-challenge
Corton
3 questions on Corton, all answered right, and the appellation is mastered in your Atlas.
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