Named vineyard
La Romanée
Identity card
Grand cruAOPRed
Burgundy › Côte de Nuits › Vosne-Romanée · Recognised on 11 September 1936
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Under one hectare (about 0.85 ha): a single producer, a single wine.
- At most 38 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 (5% at most of the vines in each plot)
Only interplanted among the vines
Production rules
38
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: Foot of the slope, gently inclined, in a marly hollow
- Soils: Bajocian marls and soft, frost-shattered limestone
- Soils: Clayey soils, red with iron oxides, well drained
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
26 October 2011
Décret n° 2011-1396 du 26 octobre 2011 relatif à l'AOC « La Romanée » (JORF n°0252 du 29 octobre 2011, page 18277, texte n°56)
Labelling terms
- The name may be followed by the words "grand cru"
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « La Romanée »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Vosne-Romanée »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- 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)
- Official sourceDélimitation parcellaire des AOC viticoles de l'INAO (jeu de données ouvert)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / data.gouv.fr
- Trade bodyFiches d'appellation des vins de Bourgogne (surfaces et récoltes)— Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB)
Eighty-five ares and no more, directly above Romanée-Conti, on a slightly sharper slope in the same marly hollow, with soft frost-shattered limestone lying over the Bajocian marls. The blanket of colluvium masking the bedrock rarely exceeds a metre and is often far thinner. A monopoly of the Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, it is the smallest appellation d'origine contrôlée in France.
Mini-challenge
La Romanée
3 questions on La Romanée, all answered right, and the appellation is mastered in your Atlas.
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