AOC/AOP Regulations
Département
- Côte d’Or
Communes of Production
- Pernand-Vergelesses
Styles and Encépagement
- Blanc: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, plus a max. 10% Pinot Gris
- Rouge: Pinot Noir, plus a max. 15% mixed plantings of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay
- Blanc/Rouge „Premier Cru“
- Rouge wines may be additionally labeled „Côte de Beaune“
Assemblage
- For blanc wines, Pinot Blanc may not exceed 30% of the blend.
Minimum Potential Alcohol
- Blanc: 11%
- Rouge: 10.5%
- Blanc „Premier Cru“: 11.5%
- Rouge „Premier Cru“: 11%
Minimum Must Weights
- Blanc: 178 g/l (170 g/l prior to 2011)
- Rouge: 180 g/l (171 g/l prior to 2011)
- Blanc „Premier Cru“: 187 g/l (178 g/l prior to 2011)
- Rouge „Premier Cru“: 189 g/l (180 g/l prior to 2011)
Maximum Residual Sugar
- Blanc: 3 g/l
- Rouge: 2 g/l
Élevage
- Village wines may not be released until March 31 of the year following the harvest
- „Premier Cru“ Wines may not be released until June 30 of the year following the harvest
Minimum Planting Density
- 9,000 vines per hectare
Maximum Yield (Rendement de Base)
- Blanc: 57 hl/ha (45 hl/ha prior to 2011)
- Rouge: 50 hl/ha (40 hl/ha prior to 2011)
- Blanc „Premier Cru“: 55 hl/ha (45 hl/ha prior to 2011)
- Rouge „Premier Cru“: 48 hl/ha (40 hl/ha prior to 2011)
AOC Established
- 1936 (last updated 2011)
Links
Grand Cru Vineyards of Pernand-Vergelesses (3)
| Vineyard | Size* | Major Producers | Notes |
| Corton | 95.61 ha | Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Pousse d’Or, Dubreuil-Fontaine, Edmond Cornu, de Montille, Tollot-Beaut, Chandon de Briailles (blanc and rouge) | Both red and white wines are produced under this AOP. |
| Origin of Name: Some suggest that „Corton“ may be a contraction of Curtis d’Othon, a Germanic Emperor of the late Roman era who ruled the area. Others suggest „Corton“ derives from the Latin cortis, indicating a parcel of property. | |||
| Corton-Charlemagne | 56.61 ha | Louis Latour, Bonneau du Martray, Rapet, Dufouleur, Coche-Dury, Chandon de Briailles, Faiveley | Only white wines may be produced under this AOP. In Ladoix, only the highest part of the Corton slope qualifies as Corton-Charlemagne. |
| Origin of Name: „Charlemagne“ refers to Charles the Great, King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor in the late 6th century. According to legend, he ordered the planting of white grapes in this vineyard as his wife preferred that he did not stain his white beard red with wine. However, Chardonnay only appeared in the vineyard in the 19th century. | |||
| Charlemagne | 62.94 ha | The Le Charlemagne, Les Pougets, Les Languettes, and Le Corton parcels in Aloxe are included in this appellation (along with En Charlemagne in Pernand). | |
| * https://www.bourgogne-wines.com, August 2019 | |||
Premier Cru Vineyards of Aloxe-Corton (14)
| Vineyard | Size** | Major Producers | Notes |
| Clos Berthet | 1.0 ha | Dubreuil-Fontaine, monopole | Clos Berthet produces only white wines, and gained Premier Cru status in 2001. |
| Origin of Name: „Berthet“ was a historic owner of the site. | |||
| Creux de la Net | 3.44 ha | Roger Jaffelin | |
| Origin of Name: „Creux“ = „hole“; the name is possibly a reference to a small valley. | |||
| En Caradeux | 11.58 ha | Régis Pavelot | En Caradeux contains the lieu-dit Clos de la Croix de Pierre, a vineyard owned by Louis Jadot. While not an „official“ Premier Cru, Jadot is permitted to use the name on their labels. The upper part of En Caradeux is classified as village rather than premier cru. |
| Origin of Name: „Caradeaux“ may be derived from car („stone“). However, a 19th-century spelling (En Quart à Deux) suggests that its name may instead derive from its shape. | |||
| Ile des Vergelesses | 9.41 ha | Chandon de Briailles, R. Rapet, Rollin, Domaine Denis | Ile des Vergelesses is located mid-slope between Pernand’s Les Vergelesses and Savingy’s Vergelesses. |
| Origin of Name: „Ile“ indicates „best“; in this case, the vineyard has a highly favorable exposure and is generally considered the best Premier Cru site for Pinot Noir in the commune. Another source suggests that the vineyard itself is an island („ile“) of sorts, bordered on all sides by path roads. „Vergelesses“ stems from the Middle French verge, meaning „rod,“ a reference to the parcel’s long shape. | |||
| Les Fichots | 11.23 ha | Roger Jaffelin, Rollin | |
| Origin of Name: „Fichots“ was a historic owner of the site. | |||
| Sous Frétille | 6.22 ha | Deux Montille, Rollin, R. Rapet, Jaffelin, Pierre Marey | The vineyard produces only white wines, and gained Premier Cru status in 2001. Sous Frétille is located above village AOC vineyards La Morand and Les Quartiers, overlooking the town itself. |
| Origin of Name: One theory holds that „Frétille“ derives from forestelle, meaning „small forest“; another has it deriving from the Old French freste, meaning „ridge.“ | |||
| Vergelesses | 18.06 ha | R. Rapet, Jean-Marc Pavelot | „Vergelesses“ was appended to Pernand in 1922. This vineyard is also known as Les Basses Vergelesses. |
| Origin of Name: See „Ile de Vergelesses“ above. | |||
| Village de Pernand | 0.57 ha | R. Rapet, monopole | The vineyard produces only white wines, and gained Premier Cru status in 2001. |
| Origin of Name: „Pernand“ is derived from the Celtic per-nan, the „spring that disappears.“ | |||
| **Coates, Clive. The Wines of Burgundy. Rev. ed. Berkeley: The University of California Press, 2008. | |||