Named vineyard
Chevalier-Montrachet
Identity card
Grand cruAOPWhite
Burgundy › Côte de Beaune › Puligny-Montrachet · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- A white grand cru of about 7.5 ha (2008), in Puligny alone.
- At most 48 hl/ha and at least 12% natural alcohol.
- A 1921 ruling gave this name to the wines of the Chevalier climat.
Grape varieties
White wine onlyChardonnay
Made from Chardonnay alone
Production rules
48
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
9,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 June after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 97 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- 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 47 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 106 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: Mid-slope facing east-south-east, 260 to 300 m
- Soils: Shattered limestone: thin, very stony soils
- Soils: Soils cleared of stones over generations (cairns, walls)
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
9 November 2011
Cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2011-1493 du 9 novembre 2011, JORF du 11 novembre 2011. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- The name may be followed by the words "grand cru"
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahiers des charges d'AOC publiés au BO-AGRI (décrets du 9 novembre 2011) — dont « Chevalier-Montrachet »— Ministère de l'agriculture et de la souveraineté alimentaire — Bulletin officiel (BO-AGRI)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Other sourceMontrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet et Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet— Wikipedia (anglais), recoupé avec Oxford Companion to Wine
A white grand cru wholly within Puligny-Montrachet, higher up the slope than Montrachet itself, between 260 and 300 metres, on heavily fractured "calcaire de Chassagne": thin, very stony soils, free draining and poor, which generations stabilised by clearing stone, raising murgers and building dry-stone retaining walls. About 7.5 hectares in 2008. In 1816 Jullien ranked it first class alongside Montrachet.
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Chevalier-Montrachet
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