Winemaker Notes
The Chateau de Marsannay is named after the town that houses it. It has 28 hectares of the best climates of the appellation Marsannay who made a request for classification in first growths to 13 of his lieudits. The Chateau de Marsannay has a wealth of land with plots in Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Bel-Air and Champeaux, Vosne-Romanée in Orveaux ... It also operates exclusive vineyards that Hospices have Dijon Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Olivier Halley, owner of Chateau de Marsannay and passionate Burgundy wine is one of the great founding patrons of Burgundy Climates Association classified as Unesco World Heritage 4 July 2015.
Perched up in the northernmost position in the Côte de Nuits, Marsannay is the only appellation village of Burgundy to produce classified wines of all three colors: red, white— and rosé. The official Rosé de Marsannay earned its high reputation in the early 1900s.
Its reds, made of Pinot Noir, burst with red and black fruit and are consistently long on the palate. Chardonnays from Marsannay are charming, floral and full of citrus fruit and mineral. Top Marsannay vineyards include Clos du Roy and Les Longeroies.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”