Ladoix-Serrigny

For travelers coming from the north, Ladoix-Serrigny is the first commune of the Côte de Beaune, right after the Côte de Nuits. The village stands at the mouth of a small valley descending from the Hautes Côtes, with vines on both sides: to the north a gentle south-facing slope, to the south the eastern flank of the hill of Corton. Before the nineteenth century Ladoix was known mainly for the building stone from the valley's quarries. In the Middle Ages it was a hamlet of Serrigny; according to the appellation rules, the name Ladoix meant a spring in old Burgundian, and a large karst spring does indeed rise at the foot of the hill.

Until the 1930s its best wines were usually sold as Aloxe-Corton, or even as Corton; the Ladoix appellation was created in 1937 and includes 11 Premier Cru climats, mostly mid-slope. Pinot Noir prevails, but whites take up about a third of the area in production: Chardonnay grows mainly on the marly soils of the upper slope. For six of the 11 climats only one color is permitted: Les Grêchons et Foutrières, for example, yields only white, Les Joyeuses only red.

Ladoix-Serrigny is also one of the three communes of the Grand Cru Corton and includes parcels of Corton-Charlemagne: names such as Le Rognet et Corton or the Mourottes recur both among Ladoix's Premiers Crus and among the climats of the Grand Cru. Other vines in the commune fall within the Aloxe-Corton appellation. Ladoix reds may also be released as Ladoix Côte de Beaune or Côte de Beaune-Villages. The available bottles are listed below.