Mercurey: broken hills, three heights
A line across the hills west of Mercurey and down the east-facing slope at Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu. Tap a layer to read it.
Swipe the plate sideways to see the whole section.
Highly schematic. The line runs due east about 1.4 km south of Mercurey village. Garrey's parcels are pinned at the heights the domaine gives (Le Châtelet 320 m, Clos de Montaigu 270–300 m, La Chassière 235–260 m), not at surveyed positions. Bouzeron, Rully, Givry and Montagny lie 5 to 20 km away on other fault blocks and are listed without pins. The Côte Chalonnaise is a mosaic of tilted, faulted blocks; one fault is drawn. The section has not been checked against the BRGM 1:50,000 sheet for Chalon-sur-Saône.
6 layers, youngest at the top
Single vineyards we pour from. Tap one on the plate.
Why the Chalonnaise is not a smaller Côte d'Or
- There is no single scarp: faulted, tilted blocks give slopes facing every way and rock that changes over short distances.
- More marl and clay than the Côte d'Or, so wines are rounder and fruit-led, with exceptions on the limestone tops.
- At Mercurey, Garrey's three heights read like a textbook: Le Châtelet, a village site at 320 m, Clos de Montaigu between limestone and clay, sandy La Chassière at the foot.
- Bouzeron's white Oxfordian marls suit Aligoté; Montagny's Liassic marls and Gryphaea limestone suit lean, chalky Chardonnay.
Did you knowBouzeron is the only village appellation in Burgundy for Aligoté. Sylvain Pataille of Marsannay makes one.
Pas Mal wines on this ground
Mercurey
- Mercurey 1er Cru Clos de MontaiguDomaine Philippe Garrey
- Mercurey 1er Cru Clos du ParadisDomaine Philippe Garrey
- Mercurey 1er Cru La ChassièreDomaine Philippe Garrey
- Mercurey La ChagnéeDomaine Philippe Garrey
- Mercurey Le Châtelet Vieilles VignesDomaine Philippe Garrey
Bourgogne from the Garrey cellar
- BourgogneDomaine Philippe Garrey
- Bourgogne Clos des BoillesDomaine Philippe Garrey
Bouzeron and Rully, to the north
- Rully La ChaumeDomaine Jean-Yves Devevey
- Aligoté BouzeronDomaine Sylvain Pataille
Montagny, to the south
- Montagny 1er Cru Les CoèresDomaine Feuillat-Juillot
- Montagny 1er Cru Les Grappes d'OrDomaine Feuillat-Juillot
- Montagny 1er Cru Les Vins de FrançoiseDomaine Feuillat-Juillot
- Montagny CamilleDomaine Feuillat-Juillot
- Montagny 1er Cru Mont LaurentDomaine Nicolas Rossignol
Hautes-Côtes de Beaune from Devevey, Demigny
- Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Champs PerdrixDomaine Jean-Yves Devevey
Also from the Garrey cellar, grown in the Languedoc
Sources: World of Fine Wine, Mercurey vineyards tour; Decanter, Mercurey and Montagny regional profiles; Idealwine, Côte Chalonnaise; Vignerons de Buxy (Millebuis), Montagny Les Coères sheet; Domaine Philippe Garrey, Domaine Feuillat-Juillot and Domaine Jean-Yves Devevey notes; AWS Terrain Tiles.