Marsannay under the microscope: A look at this underrated region as premier cru promotions beckon

With the imminent declaration by the INAO of new premiers crus for Marsannay, the long arc of the village’s fortune is trending further to the good.

The history of the village is among Burgundy’s oldest, but it’s a tale of ancient vineyards fallen into disrepute that should soon see their redemption and receive the recognition they have long deserved.

Scroll down for 15 Marsannay wines from the potential premier cru sites

History

The first mention of vines in Marsannay is in the Chronicle of Bèze (a 12th century text written by a Burgundian monk, telling the history of the monastery St-Pierre de Beze), which states that the monks of Bèze recorded a donation of vines in 630AD by Duke Amalgaire, who founded the Abbey the year before. These vines remained the property of the church for more than 1,000 years.

By the 13th century, the Dukes of Burgundy owned vines here as well. A wine press constructed in 1238 by Alix de Vergy can still be seen in the village of Chenôve.

The ducal vines reverted to the French crown when Charles the Bold, the last Duke of Burgundy, died in 1477.

A question of reputation

Until the French Revolution, the wines of Marsannay were highly regarded and expensive. But the industrialisation of Dijon in the 19th century increased demand for everyday wines that workers could afford, and much of the Pinot Noir once planted was uprooted and replaced with Gamay and Aligoté.

The region became known for inexpensive wines rather than top quality ones. Their reputation continued to decline throughout phylloxera, and by the time the appellation system was put in place in the 1930s, the vines in Marsannay only had the right to the basic Bourgogne appellation. The village-level Marsannay appellation did not come into existence until 1987.

Although the legendary Domaine Clair-Daü (forerunner of Domaine Bruno Clair) began to replant Pinot in the early 20th century, the renaissance gathered speed only slowly, until 2002 when plans for Marsannay premiers crus started to take shape.

In 2024, the INAO announced which climats would potentially be elevated.

Now the precise limits of each premier cru are being delineated, and Marsannay growers hope that their premiers crus will be announced soon.

The 14 climats in consideration for promotion:

Clos du Roy

Les Longeroies (Bas and Dessus)

En La Montagne

Es Chezots (to be changed to En Grands Vaux)

La Charme aux Prêtres

Le Boivin

Les Grasses Têtes

Le Clos de Jeu

Saint-Jacques

Les Favières

Au Champ Salomon

Aux Genelières

Le Clos

Champs Perdrix

Exploring the terroir of the potential premiers crus

Marsannay is a large and complex appellation. It stretches over three villages: Chenôve, Marsannay-la-Côte and Couchey, and includes more than 360 hectares of Marsannay.

Nearly 100ha more are authorised to exclusively produce Marsannay Rosé (the only appellation to allow village-level rosé).

To simplify matters, the appellation can be considered in three parts: Chenôve and the northern part of Marsannay; west of Marsannay and south to the village of Couchey, and south of Couchey to the border with Fixin.

North

In the north, the ancient terroir of Le Chapitre was for centuries the property of the cathedral of Autun. It was classified merely at regionallevel until 2019, and thus is not up for promotion to premier cru. The terroir, however, is comparable to the Clos du Roy climat, which will likely be promoted.

At the top of the Le Chapitre slope, the subsoil is white oolite and Comblanchien limestone. Further down, it was shattered into smaller stones by the freeze-thaw cycles of the ice age, forming beds of fractured rock called ‘grèzes litées’.

The Clos du Roy, former property of the Dukes of Burgundy and the French crown, shares this same structure. Both vineyards have superb conditions for growing quality grapes.

Three more climats will also be promoted here. The most prominent is the large Les Longeroies, subdivided into the upper portion (Dessus des Longeroies) and the lower (Bas des Longeroies). Soils here are similar, but there are no grèzes litées.

At the top of the slope, facing due south, lies En La Montagne, planted mostly above 300m of elevation. This cool site borders the valley called the Combe du Pré.

At the base of the slope lies a climat called Es Chezots, which many growers have been spelling ‘Les Échézeaux’, but it will soon be changed to En Grands Vaux to avoid confusion with the more famous vineyard of that name in Vosne.

Centre

West and south of Marsannay down to the village of Couchey, there are eight climats to be defined and possibly promoted.

La Charme aux Prêtres, Le Boivin, Les Grasses Têtes, Le Clos de Jeu, Saint-Jacques and Les Favières all lie at mid-slope, face east-southeast, and are protected from the cooling influence of the Combe du Pré.

This group of crus lies mostly on crinoidal limestone (what the French call ‘calcaire à entroques’ from the slightly older Bajocian Age), although the top of the slope is often white oolitic limestone, and the base of the slope there is a deeper layer of marl.

Over the border into the village of Couchey but on the same types of soils are Au Champ Salomon and Les Favières.

Slightly south and further up the slope is Aux Genelières, solidly on the band of limestone.

South

South of Couchey, near the border with Fixin, there are steeper slopes and less soil. Le Clos features a shallow slope, marl soil and an east exposition.

The large climat of Champs Perdrix rises above Le Clos to over 300 m elevation on the border with Fixin has a combination of Bathonian limestone and marl soil.

Styles and taste

Arguably more important than the minutiae of subsoils and expositions is what the wines actually taste like.

Approximately three-quarters of the production of Marsannay is red. While blended wines can sometimes be light in colour with high-toned red berry and pomegranate aromas, those that proudly bear the name of a specific climat can be inky dark and powerfully tannic depending on vintage.

These will feature the mineral-inflected black fruit of the Côte de Nuits, some with a distinctive savoury or gamey note.

The whites can vary from floral, forward and somewhat soft, to incisive, lemony and vibrant.

So what makes Marsannay worth your attention? In short, the wines are delicious and not ruinously expensive.

The best of the proposed premiers crus are on a par with the other premiers crus of the northern Côte de Nuits. They resemble the wines of Fixin and Gevrey with which they share many common points, and their often-reasonable prices make them even easier to love.

Eight Names to Know

Domaine Charles Audoin

Fifth-generation Cyril Audoin is at the head of a 14ha domaine based in Marsannay that focuses heavily on single-vineyard bottlings from the best climats.

The domaine was certified organic in 2018 and farms around 9ha. Cyril’s style is fresh, perfumed and elegant.

Domaine René Bouvier

Bernard Bouvier is the president of the ODG Marsannay (the Organisation for Defence and Management of the Marsannay appellation). He took over from his father René in 1992, and now farms more than 30ha in a range of appellations in his home base of Gevrey, in Marsannay, and in Fixin.

He produces a profusion of different cuvées, including a number entirely made without sulphur, although sulphur use is generally minimal before bottling.

His style is further refined using a high percentage of whole clusters in the fermentations and a low percentage of new oak barrels. These are powerful wines capable of long ageing.

Domaine Bruno Clair

Domaine Bruno Clair is one of the successor domaines to Burgundian legend Domaine Clair-Daü, and the family still maintains significant holdings in many of the Marsannay climats.

Founder Joseph Clair was instrumental in replanting Marsannay with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and his son Bruno has long been a champion of the wines of his native village.

The wines of this domaine are classic references for the village and a marvellous way to discover the possibilities of Marsannay.

Domaine Derey Frères

The Derey family has been winegrowers in the area since 1650, although they began bottling at the domaine only after World War II.

The domaine is currently directed by three young brothers, Romain, Maxime and Pierre-Marie. The family owns 20ha between Dijon and Gevrey, but more than half is located in four Marsannay crus, including three up for promotion: Champs Perdrix, Les Genelières, and Champs Salomon. 2023 is their first vintage to be certified organic.

Domaine Jean Fournier

Domaine Jean Fournier is now run by Laurent Fournier, a busy man: his domaine extends over 22ha (all but 2.5ha of which are in Marsannay).

He has been the driving force behind the efforts to classify the premiers crus of Marsannay.

As with several producers in the village, he uses a generous proportion of whole bunches, and low levels of sulphur and new oak. His domaine was certified organic until the very difficult 2016 vintage, when he lost this certification, although he is now once again certified. The style of these wines is complex but understated and not overly marked by barrel ageing.

Château de Marsannay

The Château de Marsannay owns 40ha of vines, including a number of the future premiers crus in Marsannay.

The property was founded in 1990 by the Boisseaux family, owners of the negociant Patriarche. The larger group was sold to Castel in 2011; the following year, Boisseaux family sold the Château de Marsannay (and the Château de Meursault) to Olivier Halley.

The property is now run by Stéphane Follin-Arbelet and Technical Director Sylvain Pabiot, and achieved organic certification in 2021. The wines have considerably improved in recent years, making this a domaine to watch.

Domaine Philippe Naddef

Philippe Naddef, based in Fixin, inherited 2.5ha from his grandfather, Dr Denis Bizot. Unlike his father, Philippe worked in wine (at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé), and gradually built up his vineyard holdings to 6ha.

He has recently taken retirement, and has been succeeded by his son Michel. Michel has worked alongside his father since 2008; he continues to make the Domaine Philippe Naddef wines as they have always been made, but he also makes wine under his own name.

These wines are made in a different style – picked later, extracted more gently, sulphured very lightly, and less marked by new wood. Both labels, however, produce a delicious range of wines.

Domaine Sylvain Pataille

Sylvain Pataille makes some of the most delectable wines in the northern Côte de Nuits from his base in Marsannay. Although he did not come from a winemaking family, he studied oenology at school and has worked (and continues to work) as a consulting oenologist.

He acquired his first hectare of vines in 1999 and has slowly built up a domaine of 15ha, primarily through fermage and metayage contracts.

‘There have been many evolutions in my wine’, says Pataille, ‘I have found that the secret doesn’t exist,’ yet he generally ferments using mostly whole clusters, minimal sulphur, and few new oak barrels.

The style of his Marsannay is rich, layered and complex. He is also a great champion of Aligoté.

15 Marsannay wines to try:

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