Morey-Saint-Denis [maw-ray san duh-NEE]
The vineyards surrounding the small village of Morey-Saint-Denis include all or part of five grand cru vineyards and twenty premier cru vineyards. Even so, this village is not as well known as its neighboring villages, Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, in the Côte de Nuits area of France’s Burgundy region. This is largely because, until the 1950s, most wines were sold under the labels of these two neighboring villages. The grands crus located in Morey-Saint-Denis are bonnes-mares, Clos de la Roche, Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, and Clos Saint-Denis. The village of Morey added the name of this last grand cru to its own in 1927. The better premier cru vineyards include Clos des Ormes, Les Monts Luisants, Les Millandes, and La Bussière. Because of the high number of quality producers, the village wines (labeled Morey-Saint-Denis AC) can generally be relied on to be of very high quality. Almost all the Morey-Saint-Denis wines are red and made from Pinot Noir, although a few hundred cases of white wine are produced each year.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.