Located near the
47th parallel north, the Cote de Nuits is one of the northernmost regions to produce premium quality red wines. However, this northerly location brings with it a lot of
vintage variation from year to year. From winter time hail, spring time frost and cool autumns that may bring devastating rains that impede
ripening and
harvest, the quality of each vintage can be highly variable. The vineyards of the Cote de Nuits are planted on east and southeast facing slopes that receive the most opportune sun exposures with vineyards designated as premier and grand cru almost always planted on this ideal aspect at elevations between 800 and 1000 ft (250–300 m). The area experiences a
continental climate during the
growing season that is characterized by very cold winters and warm summers. The nearby
Saône river provides some moderation as does the foothills of the
Massif Central on the western flank of the region. Its location puts the wine region at a type of "climatic crossroads" where it expresses very different
weather fronts from very different sources such as the
Baltic sea from the north, the
Atlantic from the west and the
Mediterranean from the south. The confluences of these different weather system also adds to the great variability seen in vintage years. For instance, warm winds coming from the south can bring much need heat but can also bring the threat of torrential
thunderstorms and
hail, especially when those winds swing towards the west and meet up with the Atlantic influences. In the summertime,
anticyclonic conditions are present but are usually kept in check by the cooling
la bise wind from the north. The term côte in
French means
hill and for the Cote de Nuits, it describes its geographical placement along the northern expanse of the Cote d'Or escarpment, located just south of the city of
Dijon. South of the village of Corgoloin begins the
Cote de Beaune region. The region is very narrow ranging from less than a quarter of a mile wide (2/5 of a kilometer) at its narrowest point to about a mile and half (approx 2.4 kilometers) at its widest point. The entire cote is located along a
fault line situated between the plains of the Saône and the
Morvan hills to the west. Within the region, dry valleys known as
combes, such as the Combe de Lavaux near Gevery-Chambertain, and tributaries of the Saône, such as the
Meuzin river near Nuits-St-Georges and the
Vouge near the town of Vougeot, break up the escarpment and create patches of land with different aspects and orientations.
Soils Like most of Burgundy, the
vineyard soils of the Cote de Nuits is extremely varied. Even areas on the same hillside or only separated by a single dirt path can have dramatically different soil compositions. The Burgundian attribute this diversity of soils to the
terroir of the region and as partial explanation for how a pinot noir wine made near the village of Gevrey-Chambertin can taste so different from a pinot noir made in the adjoining village of Morey-St-Denis. Despite these differences, there are some broad generalizations that can be made. Most vineyards contain a base soil of
limestone with
marl (a
clay and limestone mixture) that often includes a mixture of
gravel and
sand. Historically Burgundian wine growers would uses the proportion of limestone to marl as a guide for what type of
grape varieties would be most suited to the area. If the area had a high concentration of marl, pinot noir was planted while Chardonnay would grow in vineyards dominated by limestone. Most of the vineyard soils in the region date back to the
Jurassic period of 195-135 million BC when the entire Burgundy region was part of a large
inland sea. This left a foundation of predominately limestone made from the skeletal fragments of the marine life that once roamed this sea. The
marlstone of the region is made up of the marl, clay, sand and gravel fragments that came from the weathering of old mountain chains in the area such as the
Ardennes. The flow of streams and tributaries of the Saône contributes to the diversity of the vineyard soils by depositing
alluvial sediments from their paths. The soils closest to the plains of the Saône are too fertile, with patches of poorly drained soils, that make growing quality wine grapes difficult. As you move upwards along the cote escarpment the soil becomes progressively less fertile with higher proportions of the well-draining and highly porous
oolitic limestone and less clay. At this elevation of around 800 ft (250 m) most of the premier cru vineyards start to be found with areas of particularly favored location being designated as grand cru. The band of suitable soils for viticulture is narrow because too far up the hills (beyond 1000 ft/300 m) the top soil becomes too thin to support vines. ==Viticulture==