Behind the hill: Affordable Burgundy from Monthélie, Auxey-Duresses & St-Romain

The Route des Grands Crus in Burgundy follows the former Route Nationale 74 from Dijon to Santenay, passing through some of the most illustrious vineyard property anywhere, and many visitors to Burgundy never stray from its confines.

In doing so, however, they miss several of Burgundy's most charming villages and their delicious wines.

To correct this mistake, follow the N73 south of Beaune, which leads to the hills of the higher elevations of the Hautes-Côtes, where you will pass through Monthélie, Auxey-Duresses and St-Romain.

This triumvirate forms a section of the Côte de Beaune I think of as ‘behind the hill’ – since they are tucked away, their pleasures hidden from those who do not stray from the mainline villages.

Monthélie

Monthélie lies south of its border with (the much larger) Volnay, its vines spilling over from the slopes of the Côte de Volnay and nestled into the hollow called the Combe Danay.

The steep, vine-covered slopes seem to undulate behind the picturesque village, which includes two areas of premiers crus.

The first is on the border with Volnay, facing southeast, where the climats Sur la Velle and Champs Fuillots border Clos des Chênes in Volnay.

The other section is on the far side of the Combe Danay, where the premiers crus Les Clous and Les Duresses face east as the slope turns toward Auxey-Duresses.

Auxey-Duresses

The village of Auxey (pronounced oh-say) appended the vineyard name Les Duresses (which it shares with Monthélie) to its own in 1924.

All of Auxey’s premier cru vineyards are in the sector closest to Monthélie, but the vines stretch over three hamlets: Auxey-le-Grand, Petit Auxey and Melin.

The heart of the village lies at the base of Mont Milan, where the north-facing slopes are home to Le Châtelet du Mont-Milan, a site that has been inhabited since Neolithic times. The slopes surrounding Auxey have been planted to vines since at least the Gallo-Roman era.

This is prime white wine territory, and here’s why: this southern part of Auxey borders Meursault.

The climat Les Boutonnières borders Meursault’s Meix Chavaux; La Macabrée adjoins Meursault Les Luchets; and Les Hautés and Les Vireux border Meursault Les Vireuils.

St-Romain

In St-Romain, one has a sense of being a world apart. For years, its greatest claim to fame was the renowned cooper François Frères rather than a wine producer, at least until Mme Leroy established Domaine d’Auvenay.

Vineyards here are planted between 280m-400m elevation, beginning where others leave off.

The elevation is so high that originally the vines were classified as Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune before receiving their own appellation in 1947.

The vines east and north of the village line the valley called La Combe Bazin, with the lieux-dits Combe Bazin and Sous Roche facing southwest and Sous la Velle and Sous le Château on the opposite side facing east.

En Poilange and La Périère are south of the village, facing northeast.

Although there are no premiers crus in St-Romain, the village bubbles with excitement.

How do they taste?

The vines ‘behind the hill’ long had a rustic reputation, deservedly or not.

All three villages produce both red and white wine. Red wine dominates in Monthélie, accounting for 85% of production.

In Auxey, due to its proximity to Meursault, white wines make up one-third of the production, while St-Romain produces two-thirds white wine because of the elevation.

In previous decades, the reds across these villages were often tannic and lacking generosity; the whites could be tart and slightly thin.

Global warming, however, has helped change this – the texture of the Monthélie reds now is often supple and silky, with notes of ripe cherry and pomegranate. Those from Auxey have a rich, plummy fruit and dense but approachable structure.

And while the whites from St-Romain are still taut and lemony, they now show substance and persistence on the palate, making the villages ‘behind the hill’ a great destination for value Burgundy.

Wines from 'behind the hill'