AmericanWinery.com

A significant village in the southern part of the côte de beune in France’s Burgundy region. Although best known for its chardonnay-based white wines, until the late 1980s the 800-plus acres in Chassagne-Montrachet actually produced more red wines, which are made from Pinot Noir. The popularity of these white wines reversed this situation. Chassagne-Montrachet has one grand cru vineyard (Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet) and nearly half of each of two others (le montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet). Many consider Le Montrachet’s top white wines the best in the world, and those from the other two grand cru aren’t far behind. Wines from the Chassagne-Montrachet AC and the village’s thirteen premier cru vineyards are of generally high quality, and, because the Chassagne-Montrachet doesn’t have the notoriety of the neighboring village of Puligny-Montrachet, prices are somewhat less. The best premier cru vineyards for white wines include En Caillerets, Les Embrazées, Morgeot, Les Grandes Ruchottes, and Les Vergers. Because of the attention focused on the white wines, the red wines are sometimes overlooked. There are no grand cru red wines, but the red wines from the Chassagne-Montrachet AC and the premier cru vineyards can be quite good and reasonably priced relative to other red Burgundies. The best premier cru vineyards for red wines include Clos Saint-Jean, La Boudriotte, La Maltroie, and Morgeot.