The Maison Ilan of Côte de Nuits

Discovering the wine region of Côte de Nuits

The Côte de Nuits is the northern half of the Côte d'Or wine region in Burgundy (the Southern half being the Côte de Beaune). It specializes in red wines made from Pinot noir grapes, the most famous and expensive of which come from the grand crus of Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny. About 95% of all wines produced in the Côte de Nuits are made from a single grape variety: Pinot Noir. The district is widely regarded as the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, a reputation strongly reinforced by such high quality wines as the Grand Cru Romanée-Conti.

The remaining 5% of Côte de Nuits wines are white, made from Burgundy's other star grape, Chardonnay. The district is not known for its white wines - the Côte de Beaune is the white wine mecca of Burgundy - but the few wines that are produced there are generally of very high quality. The finest are produced under the Vougeot Premier Cru appellation, but a small number come from the Musigny Grand Cru Vineyard. While the Côte de Beaune, to the south, is larger and more prolific, the Côte de Nuits favours quality over quantity.

It is home to some of the world's finest red wine vineyards and includes 24 of Burgundy's 33 Grand Crus. The main town is Nuits-Saint-Georges, known as Nuits until it adopted the name of its most favoured vineyard, Les Saint-Georges, in the late 19th century. Although located at the southern end of the coast, Nuits-Saint-Georges is less than 16 km from the northernmost vineyard of the Côte de Nuits, at Marsannay, which demonstrates the small Size of the area in question. Tracing the limestone spine of the Côte d'Or escarpment, the Côte de Nuits is Long and thin, measuring only 24 km from end to end and 3.