The renowned French wine region of Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) has five primary wine growing areas: Chablis Côte de Nuits Côte de Beaune Côte Chalonnaise MâconnaisMontrachet is the oldest of the five Grand Cru appellations of Côte de Beaune. It’s also the second largest of the five sites, covering about eight hectares of land. (The other four Grand Crus are Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, and Criots-Bâtards-Montrachet.)The Grand Cru vineyard lies between Meursault in the North and Santenay in the South.Located midslope on Montrachet hill, the vineyard lies above the villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. It covers land in both the Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet communes.Interestingly, the way the vines are planted makes the divide visible. The vines on the Puligny side (known as Montrachet) run from east to west. On the Chassagne side (commonly known as Le Montrachet), the vines generally follow a north to south orientation.A Brief History of the Montrachet AppellationWinemaking in Montrachet can be traced back to the Middle Ages! In 1252, local landowners donated parcels of vines to the Cistercian church of Maizières in the ‘Montrachaz’ area.For many years Montrachet was just a stoney vineyard with none of the borders that it now has. In 1879, both the villages of Puligny and Chassagne appended the name ‘Montrachet’ to their names. And in July 1937, Montrachet was made an appellation.Today, the Montrachet vineyard is split into sections or plots, each owned by a different producer - each producing some of the world’s most coveted white wines. They are: Marquis De Laguiche Jean Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils Mm Ramonet Noël et Jean-Claude Guillaume Guillaume (Boillerault de Chauvigny) Regnault de Beaucaron Mme De Surville Le Cailleret 1er Cru de Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère Premier Cru vineyard Ch. de Puligny Montrachet Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Domaine des Comtes Lafon Domaine Jacques Prieur Domaine Leflaive Domaine Thénard M Amiot Guy et Mme Monnot Jean-Claude M Colin Marc Mlle Petitjean Claudine Mme Blain-Gagnard Claudine Mme Fontaine-Gagnard Laurence Mr. Fleurot RenéThe Four Surrounding Montrachet Grand CrusMontrachet may be the oldest, and possibly the most prestigious of the five vineyards in Côte de Beaune. But the other four Grand Crus that surround it hold their own in terms of wine quality.Let’s see what they are.A. Batard-MontrachetBatard-Montrachet is a Grand Cru that also covers land in Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. Its terroir is ideal for the Chardonnay grape varietal that makes complex wines with excellent aging potential like the Corton Charlemagne and the Etienne Sauzet Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru.Some famous winemakers in this Grand Cru include Domaine Bachelet-Monnot and Girardin.B. Chevalier MontrachetThe Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru appellation lies entirely within Puligny. It produces the most concentrated white Burgundies with layered richness.Wines produced in Chevalier-Montrachet are similar in style to Montrachet wines and tend to become more complex as they age.Bouchard Pere et Fils and Domaine Colin-Deleger are some of the popular wine producers found here.C. Bienvenues-Batard-MontrachetThis is a small Grand Cru vineyard that lies entirely within Puligny-Montrachet. Many of the Bienvenues wines are comparable to those from Bâtard-Montrachet.Popular wine producers in Bienvenues include Domaine Louis Carillon et Fils and Domaine Paul Pernot.D. Criots-Batard-MontrachetThis small Grand Cru vineyard sits entirely within Chassagne-Montrachet and makes some of the greatest white wine vintages. At 3.9 acres (1.5 hectare) it is one of the smallest Grand Cru vineyards in France, producing less than 400 cases of wine a year.Wine producers here include Domaine d'Auvenay and Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard.Now, let’s look at what’s unique about the environmental factors (terroir) in Montrachet.
