- Corton-Charlemagne
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The Corton hill as seen from southwest. The Corton vineyards on this side of the hill are located in Aloxe-Corton.
A bottle of Corton-CharlemagneCorton-Charlemagne is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for white wine in Côte de Beaune subregion of Burgundy.[1] It is located in the communes of Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix-Serrigny; and Chardonnay is the only allowed grape variety.[2] Around 300,000 bottles of white wine are produced each year in the appellation.[3] The AOC was created in 1937.
The vines are located on the higher ground of a hilltop that stretches between the Burgundian villages of Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses. The slopes planted with the most valuable vineyards are south-east facing on the hilltop, and the land gradually slopes down towards the major French highway Route 74. The red wine appellation of Corton covers the lower part of the hill, and the areas for Corton and Corton-Charlemagne are partially overlapping. Furthermore there is a third Grand Cru appellation on the Corton hill, Charlemagne, for white wine. Charlemagne is only 0.28 hectares in size, so production is limited.[4]
Bonneau du Martray is the largest single owner of vines within the Corton-Charlemagne vineyard with 9.5 hectares.[5]
Contents
Production
In 2008, 52.44 hectares (129.6 acres) of vineyard surface was in production within the AOC, and 2,237 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to just under 300,000 bottles.[4]
Origins
Corton-Charlemagne is named after the French emperor Charlemagne, supposedly because his wife preferred white wines as they did not stain his beard.[6]
References
- ^ BIVB: Corton-Charlemagne
- ^ Appellation rules, last updated 1998
- ^ Joseph, Robert. French Wines. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 105. ISBN 0-7513-0793-9.
- ^ a b BIVB: Les Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée de Bourgogne, accessed on November 3, 2009
- ^ Johnson, Hugh (2003). Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion. Mitchell Beazley. p. 111. ISBN 1-84000-704-4.
- ^ Matthews, Patrick. Burgundy. Mitchell Beazley. pp. 73. ISBN 1-84533-036-6.
See also
External links
Categories:- Burgundy AOCs
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