Criots-Batard-Montrachet

The Grand Cru vineyard of Criots-Batard-Montrachet is tiny – at little more than 1.5ha, it is one of the smallest appellations in France. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in reputation. The Chardonnay wines produced from this vineyard are some of the most renowned and sought-after in the world: rich, endlessly complex and capable of long, graceful ageing.

Criots-Batard-Montrachet is unusual in being the only one of the four Grands Crus in the south of Côte de Beaune that is situated entirely in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet. The vineyard‘s easterly and south-easterly exposure guarantees optimum ripeness of the grapes,. while the soil is made of relatively free-draining gravel with a subsoil of chalky limestone with outcrops of clay. The name ‘Criots’ derives from an old French dialect word for chalk – a key factor in the extraordinary limestone terroir signature of the wines made here.