This village appellation is divided into two parts: one to the north, in the communes of Fixin and Brochon; the other, further south, in the villages of Premeaux-Prissey, Comblanchien and Corgoloin. Corgoloin thus marks the border between the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune vineyards.
It covers 165 hectares, with only 10 hectares planted with white grapes.
The slopes of Comblanchien and Corgoloin are cut into the hard limestone of the Upper Bathonian. They do not rest on the edge of the plateau but follow a regular, gentle slope. At the top are brown soils with little limestone. Thick scree forms the slope. At the base of the hillside, brown soils cover the accumulated silts. Fixin and Brochon, on the other hand, lie on the brown-red soil of the foothills: silt that has come down from the slopes and is mixed with limestone pebbles.
Our dearest Burgundy region could be the embodiment of that famous motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur...because for several years now it’s been suffering the whims of the weather and has always been capable of producing great wines out of it. Once again, the vintage 2016 will be a tangible proof!
Everything started from a very mild winter...maybe too mild to be honest. Actually, we should have been more wary of that sign for it was the warmest winter the region was going through since 1900. Sometimes the gap in the temperatures compared to the seasonal norms exceeded a 100%. In addition, the rain fell in excess particularly in Côte d’Or and as a consequence the lack of sun was really important.
Winter really came 3 months late, in March, but didn’t settle as the bursting of the first buds appeared at the beginning of April. So, as spring really settled, it also brought its share of climatic disasters: first, it was a hail storm that hit the South of the Mâconnais region; then, the most tragic freezing night in April, 26th stroke almost all the region from the Grand Auxerrois to Côte Chalonnaise; and finally, 2 more hail storms on the 13th and 27th May lashed over Chablis, leaving the region with almost no hope of harvest.
This year, until summer, we went through very difficult times and had to hope for the vines to find the strength to grow again. Somehow our wish was granted, and the vegetative cycle started again, with great gaps from one plot to another. Due to all the climatic events, the flowering came late (mid-June) but didn’t last long thanks to hot temperatures.
From the month of July, the extremes reversed: the temperatures as well as the amount of sunshine exceeded the seasonal norms. Fortunately for the grape, it lasted until the end of October, allowing for a good maturity.
Harvest began on September, 20th and spread over a month thanks to the great weather conditions, leaving us the opportunity to harvest each plot at its best.
Finally, the grapes we harvested were of great quality and although the plots hit by hail or frost gave almost nothing, the other had good yields.
During the vinifications, the vintage quickly revealed its high quality. We are expecting the wines to be well-balanced, with a good structure and a lot of freshness as well as finesse.