Chorey-lès-Beaune

Chorey-lès-Beaune lies a few kilometers north of Beaune, near Aloxe-Corton and Savigny-lès-Beaune. Its vines do not climb the slope: they occupy the band at the foot of the Côte, on two alluvial fans built from debris washed down from the plateau. The southern one, laid down by the small Rhoin river, is rich in limestone gravels; the northern one abounds in “chailles,” flint nodules. The gradients are slight, the vineyard opens to the east, and the stony subsoil drains well.

A history of the village published in 1875 dates the first mention of its vines to 706, in the will of Ansebert, Bishop of Autun. The Hôtel-Dieu of Beaune, founded in the fifteenth century, received several vineyards here as gifts in the decades that followed. Until the 1930s, Chorey's wine was mostly sold under the better-known name of Beaune. In 1936 that name became an appellation in its own right, and the following year, on July 31, 1937, Chorey obtained its own as well.

The appellation is Village level, and the commune has neither Premiers Crus nor Grands Crus. Almost all the wine is red from Pinot Noir, supple and elegant, with aromas of raspberry and sour cherry that shift over time toward strawberry jam and leather; the more structured vintages age well. White (Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc) covered about a tenth of the area in production in 2022. The label may show the name of the lieu-dit, such as Les Beaumonts or Pièce du Chapitre; the reds may also be sold as Côte de Beaune-Villages. The available bottles are listed below.