Aloxe-Corton

Aloxe-Corton, pronounced “Alosse,” lies a few kilometers north of Beaune, at the foot of the hill of Corton, the “Montagne de Corton” that marks the transition from the Côte de Nuits to the Côte de Beaune. Set apart from the rest of the Côte, the hill is covered with vines up to the crown of woods on its summit, at about 385 meters, and much of the hillside is Grand Cru: Corton, Corton-Charlemagne, and Charlemagne.

The communal appellation, recognized in 1938, draws its wines mainly from the band at the foot of the slope, on clay soils washed down from above. It includes 14 Premier Cru climats: nine in Aloxe-Corton territory, the rest in neighboring Ladoix-Serrigny. They occupy the most favorable positions, right below the Grand Cru, where the soils drain best. The wine is almost always red, from Pinot Noir: deep color, red and black fruits, full body, and firm but balanced tannins; it shows its best after a few years in bottle. White from Chardonnay is a rarity.

Tradition credits Charlemagne with a gift of vines on the hill to the collegiate church of Saulieu in 775. In the twelfth century the monks of Cîteaux had an estate here with a grange and a chapel, where the climat Les Vercots lies today, while the Clos du Chapitre recalls the chapter of Autun cathedral, which owned property here in the sixteenth century. Since 1862, like other communes in the region, the village has added to its own name that of its most prestigious cru. You'll find the available bottles below.