Description

Emmanuel Giboulot’s Grande Châtelaine is a top-class Côte de Beaune that combines richness with a sharp minerality. It comes from the mid-slope of the Montagne de Beaune, where clay-limestone soils with gravel produce wines of great mineral purity. This finely crafted wine, with its chalky character, captivates with its lively and invigorating finish.

Côte de Beaune and Côte de Beaune Villages

On the slopes of the Montagne de Beaune, above the 1er Crus, lies the ancient vineyard of the Côtes de Beaune. This rare appellation covers an area of just 52 hectares, making it one of the smallest in Burgundy. Although their names are similar, the Côte de Beaune appellation should not be confused with that of the Côtes de Beaune Villages (3,222 ha). Indeed, the wines produced are quite distinct: the former concerns only the Beaune production, whilst the latter covers that of 14 villages on the hillside, excluding Beaune itself.

In the vineyard, in the cellar

The soil

The soil is clay-limestone with gravel on bedrock.

Grape varieties

100% Chardonnay

The vineyard

The vineyard site known as ‘La Grande Châtelaine’ takes its name from the distortion, over the centuries, of the pronunciation of a medieval sharecropping contract: ‘le grand de cheptel’. It consists of low-growing vines with an average age of 30 years. The La Grande Châtelaine plot is situated in the middle of the Montagne de Beaune hillside and overlooks the valley linking Beaune to Bouzeles-Beaune.

Vinification

The whole grapes are pressed and cold-settled for around 24 hours. The clear must is fermented in oak barrels that have previously held several wines to preserve purity and minerality. The resulting wine was aged on lees for 12 months before bottling.

What to eat with a Côte de Beaune La Grande Châtelaine by Emmanuel Giboulot?

Shellfish, grilled fish, game and poultry. This wine also pairs very well with hard cheeses such as Comté or Mimolette.