Chassagne-Montrachet Grandes Ruchottes
Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Grandes Ruchottes is a highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards in the commune of Chassagne-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune. The vineyard is adjacent to the Premiers Crus of Champgains, En Cailleret, Les Petites Fairendes and La Romanée – all similarly well-regarded. Both red and white wines are produced in Grandes Ruchottes, however the wines which enjoy the most renown are the Chardonnays, which tend to be rich, powerful and complex, with excellent ageing potential.
The relatively steep slope of Grandes Ruchottes is composed of thin, stony marly limestone which tend to confer concentration and pronounced minerality on the Chardonnays made here. Ruchottes is the plural form of the French word ‘roche’ and is though to be a reference to the mass of rock which fell from the adjoining climat of La Grand Montagne of which, officially, Grandes Ruchottes is a sub-division.
