Named vineyard
Ruchottes-Chambertin
Identity card
Grand cruAOPRed
Burgundy › Côte de Nuits › Gevrey-Chambertin · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Just over 3 ha (2009), higher up the slope than Chambertin.
- "Ruchottes", akin to "roche" (rock), recalls its stony soils.
- Stricter than the village: at most 45 hl/ha, at least 11.5% natural alcohol.
Grape varieties
Red wine onlyPinot Noir
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
45
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11.5
% 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 68 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 12.5 % ABV across 64 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 76 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: Lower slope, 290 to 310 m, moderately steep
- Soils: Frost-split Bathonian limestone, dotted with stone heaps
- Soils: Very thin, stony soils with red clays
Wine style
- Raspberry
- Blackcurrant
- Redcurrant
- Forest floor
- dense, powerful tannins
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
7 November 2011
Cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2011-1465 du 7 novembre 2011, JORF du 9 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 7 novembre 2011) — dont « Ruchottes-Chambertin »— 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)
A red grand cru of Gevrey-Chambertin between 290 and 310 metres, on a moderate slope over frost-shattered Bathonian limestone. That rock shows in the landscape as a profusion of "murgers", cairns of cleared stone piled at the edge of the plots, and the name "ruchottes", kin to "roche", remembers it. Just over 3 hectares in 2009, on the lieux-dits "Ruchottes du bas" and "Ruchottes du dessus".
Mini-challenge
Ruchottes-Chambertin
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