Côte de Nuits
The northern half of the Burgundian Côte. Hard Jurassic limestone close to the surface, east-facing slopes and Pinot Noir.
A fault you can walk along
The Burgundian wine Côte is a north–south fault escarpment. Along it the Jurassic plateau sank, on the western edge of the Tertiary formations of the Bresse graben.1
In the north, in the Côte de Nuits, the Gevrey anticline lifts Bajocian and Bathonian strata, which gives the relief its cuesta shape. Further south, in the Côte de Beaune, the relief is softer because of wide outcrops of Oxfordian marl.1
Limestone for Pinot Noir, marl for Chardonnay
Soils on hard Bajocian and Bathonian limestone are found mainly in the Côte de Nuits and suit Pinot Noir. Marl soils, associated with Chardonnay, are found mainly in the Côte de Beaune.1
| Côte de Nuits | Côte de Beaune | |
|---|---|---|
| Bedrock | Hard Bajocian and Bathonian limestone | Wide Oxfordian marl outcrops |
| Relief | Cuesta lifted by the Gevrey anticline | Softer slopes |
| Grape on these soils | Pinot Noir | Chardonnay |
What lies under Gevrey-Chambertin
At Gevrey the bedrock includes several Bathonian limestones: Comblanchien, Oolite blanche and the chailles de Prémeaux. Above them lies a grainy limestone from the late Bathonian to the Callovian. A system of faults has shuffled these layers along the slope.1
From the top of the slope to the plain
The studied slopes face east. On the upper slope, shallow rendosols form directly over hard limestone. Lower down, deeper soils develop on colluvial and alluvial material that has moved downhill.1
Rendzinas and calcareous brown soils on Jurassic outcrops lie on slopes of 3 to 20 percent. The grand cru rendosols sit on gradients of about 16 to 20 percent.1
Next in the atlas: a Pinot Noir page. Meanwhile, compare with a grape from another region: Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sources
- Approche pédologique de la distinction des AOC : étude de deux toposéquences en Côte viticole bourguignonne. Leveque J., Toulemonde E., Andreux F. VIth International Terroir Congress, 2006. level 3 · checked 2026-10-13