feature / Sarah Marsh MW / Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits can broadly be described as a


Jurassic limestone plateau with gentle undulating hills, where the vineyards are planted on slight slopes with very thin soils just off the Côte, above Vosne-Romanée, for example, but with as much as one meter (1 yard) of topsoil in villages farther west, according to Pierre Gros. On the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, the soil is more mixed, and the marls are of Bajocian origin. The valleys are more likely to run perpendicular to the Côtes, with some vineyards located on steep slopes with limestone scree— for example, Phillipe le Hardi’s Les Foires vineyard by St-Aubin. Jean-Philippe Archambaud—who is managing director and


winemaker at Philippe le Hardi, as well as at his own domaine in Vosne-Romanée—is among the few people producing Bourgogne on both Hautes-Côtes and contrasts the two. “The vineyards of the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune are located at the foot of the limestone cliff on the sunny slopes of a ribbon of valleys perpendicular to the Côte de Beaune,” he says, while “the vines of Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits grow on the south- and southeast-facing slopes of valleys cut into the Jurassic limestone plateau at between 290 and 485m [950–2,000ft] above sea level, 100–200m [330–660ft] higher than the Côte de Beaune, which results in slightly later maturing and harvesting—on average, around one week later. The soil is made up of formations laid down 80 million years ago during the Trias (sandstone and clay) and the Jurassic (marl and limestone). The underlying rock is the same as that of the Côte, but the topsoil is thin or nonexistent.” In typical Burgundian fashion, however, nothing is


straightforward. In this case, it is the strange division of the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. The main section runs from Bouze- lès-Beaune and Nantoux, down to the Maranges, but there is a smaller, quite separate northern part adjacent to the Hautes- Côtes de Nuits, with which it shares a similar terroir profile. Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand is based in Magny-lès-Villers, which sits astride the dividing line between the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Claire Naudin, whose wines are made with minimum intervention and low sulfur, have done much to raise the profile of the appellation, comments, “There is a combe stretching from Ladoix to Magny. The delimitation was continued by using the road to Echevronne. It’s an administrative divide.” One side looks to Nuits (for services including the police) and the other to Beaune (for schools). She says, “The geology was considered, but it’s not precise.” One would suppose the difference in the terroir between the two sections of Hautes-Côtes de Beaune to be quite marked, but surprisingly Laurent Delaunay believes “there is no major geological distinction between either side of the Hautes-Côtes.” Latitude, he asserts, is of much greater significance. Reulle-Vergy, where Laurent’s home and winery is located, is the most northerly village of the Hautes-Côtes on pretty much the same latitude as Chambolle-Musigny. “When the classification was made in the ’60s, the effect of latitude was considered more important than altitude.” Laurent tells me, “Farther north than Reulle-Vergy was considered too cold, but over the past 30 years, the temperature in Burgundy has increased by 1.5°C [2.7°F], making the temperature on the Hautes-Côtes today what it was in the Côte d’Or 20 or 30 years ago.” Claire Naudin agrees it has increased “by 1.5, maybe 2 degrees [2.7–3.6°F].”


Given that 99% of the Côte d’Or is already planted, Laurent argues that the best option for those who want to expand their


112 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025


domaines is the Hautes-Côtes, “where we have similar soil and latitude.” The changing climate has made cultivating vineyards for quality fruit at this altitude not just feasible, but maybe more desirable than the alternatives. “Going north, there is more planting in the Yvonne, but the terroir is not the same,” he remarks. Much closer to home, he mentions the area of Bourgogne southwest of Dijon, likely to be given a regional designation to become Bourgogne Dijon in the near future— but here, there is only 50–60ha (125–150 acres) of land. Meanwhile, there is a total of 4,748ha (11,730 acres) designated as Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes, of which only 2,296ha (5,675 acres) are currently planted. 1,761ha (4,350 acres) are used for Hautes-Côtes, while the balance is planted with unauthorized varieties such as Gamay or used for crémant. This leaves about 50% that is unplanted. To put this in historical perspective, in 1914 a similar area was planted, 2,728ha (6,740 acres), which diminished to just 900ha (2,225 acres) by 1955. The upsurge of planting occurred 20 years ago. Just 258ha (638 acres) have been planted since 2010. Of the 4,748ha (11,730 acres), only 398 (984 acres) are planted to white varieties. There is a little more Hautes-Côtes de Beaune (978ha [2,417 acres]) than Hautes-Côtes de Nuits (783ha [1,935 acres]). “There are many new plantations in the Hautes-Côtes,” says


Nicolas Thevenot, “which are a subject of much discussion. We want to keep a diverse landscape, with forests and protection for the wildlife, particularly the specials birds that live here.” Laurent Delaunay mentions current projects to identify areas in which to concentrate planting and “how we should expand in respect with the environment.” The Hautes-Côtes wine appellation overlaps with the Arrière Côte de Dijon et de Beaune, an ecosystem that is protected within the nature reserve Natura 2000. This is habitat to the great horned owl and short-toed snake eagle, erstwhile known as the Burgundian eagle. The timing of planting or removing vineyards and clearing woodland is restricted to the period after fledglings leave the nest in August. Maybe not everyone complies. Claire Naudin claims that a large tract of forest was cleared outside the permitted season, clandestinely, during the night near her village. Boris Champy, located in Nantoux on the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, remarks, “Our vineyards are located alongside the Arrière Côte de Dijon et de Beaune. We consider this a stroke of good luck, a guarantee that we will remain within a natural environment with a protected ecosystem.” He goes on to explain that it is easier to work biodynamically on the Hautes- Côtes than on the Côte d’Or, because the viticulture is less intensive, and the parcels are larger. “We have great biodiversity, scree slopes, hedges, orchards, grasslands, with numerous orchids and even a few corm trees.”


Managing vineyards on the Hautes-Côtes As a rule of thumb, with every 100m (330ft) increase in altitude, the temperature falls by 1°C (1.8°F), though according to the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB) the highest vineyards on the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits (in a few places reaching 480m [1,575ft]) are 5°C (9°F) cooler than the Côte de Nuits. The lower temperatures were a challenge in the past,


Opposite: Claire Naudin of Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand, “devoted to her vines,” which she manages to suit the conditions of the Hautes-Côtes.


Photography by Jon Wyand


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220