Marsannay (wine)

Marsannay wine is produced in the communes of Marsannay-la-Côte, Couchey and Chenôve in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Marsannay may be used for red and rosé wine with Pinot noir, as well as white wine with Chardonnay as the main grape variety. Red wine accounts for the largest part of the production, around two-thirds. Marsannay is the only village-level appellation which may produce rosé wines, under the designation Marsannay rosé. All other Burgundy rosés are restricted to the regional appellation Bourgogne. There are no Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. The Marsannay AOC was created in 1987, and is the most recent addition to the Côte de Nuits.

The edict issued by the Roman emperor Domitian in 92AD prevented the planting of new vines outside Italy. He had the vines partially torn in Burgundy to avoid competition. The resulting vineyard was enough to meet the locals’ needs. But Probus revoked the edict in 280. In 312, a disciple of Eumène wrote the first description of the Côte d'Or vineyard.

From the early 6th century, the introduction of Christianity had encouraged vineyard expansion with large areas attached to the abbeys dedicated to this. Thus the Cîteaux Abbey (founded in 1098) with plantations in Côte d'Or. In the year 1395, Philip the Bold decided to improve the quality of wines and prohibited the cultivation of the Gamay grape on his land in favor of Pinot noir. Finally in 1416, Charles VI issued a decree which fixed a limit on the production of Burgundy wine. In 1422, according to the records, the harvest took place in August in Côte de Nuits. Upon the death of Charles the Bold, the Burgundy vineyard was annexed back to France during the reign of Louis XI.

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