Named vineyard
Clos Saint-Denis
Identity card
Grand cruAOPRed
Burgundy › Côte de Nuits › Morey-Saint-Denis · Recognised on 8 December 1936
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- A red grand cru of about 6.5 ha (2008), in Morey-Saint-Denis only.
- At most 42 hl/ha and 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
42
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 half of the Côte, 280 to 310 m up
- Soils: Crinoidal limestone and marl; frost-split limestone above
- Soils: Thin red clays and silts, well drained
Wine style
- Toasted almond
- red fruit
- spice
- fleshy and elegant
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
20 October 2011
Cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2011-1331 du 20 octobre 2011, JORF du 22 octobre 2011. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 8 décembre 1936.
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 20 octobre 2011) — dont « Clos Saint-Denis »— 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 Morey-Saint-Denis — the clos that gave the village the second half of its name — between 280 and 310 metres, on a moderate slope over fractured limestone. First mentioned in 1367 and attached to the collegiate church of Saint-Denis de Vergy from the eleventh century, it appears never to have been genuinely walled, whatever its name says. The delimited area, about 6.5 hectares in 2008, reaches well beyond the historic clos.
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Clos Saint-Denis
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