Terroir Insight: Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois

I have spend a lot of time looking at different Burgundian maps during the last five years and still it never cease to amaze me how many for me rather unknown terroirs I can find when I just take a quick glance at one of the appellation.

And once in a while I stumble across beautiful wines produced from totally overlooked terroirs that are located a few meters from prominent Grand Crus. This is the magic of Burgundy … and sometimes this also show that the classification from the 1930s have its weaknesses and vineyards oddities. That being said .. in general it’s amazing that the borders defined hundreds of years back still hold as quality and style guidelines for the terroirs.

Some of these terroirs are perhaps not producing unique wines, but most have a signature that in the right setting – style and producer – can create a delightful wine.

One of these vineyards is Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois – a rather unique vineyard as it as a village wine share some characteristics from the neighbouring Grand Cru – Griotte-Chambertin.

So I think Aux Etelois should qualify for a terroir insight .. so here we go!

Below and south of Griotte-Chambertin

The vineyard Aux Etelois is located below Griotte-Chambertin going all the way down to N974 – the main road running from north to south in Burgundy.

There is however a special ting about Aux Etelois, as it continues up alongside Griotte-Chambertin almost up to Route des Grand Crus that separates Griotte-Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bezé – see map below.

So while the bottom part of Aux Etelois is more straight forward Gevrey village – the top part is special – as in why is this not 1er cru .. or even why is this not a part of Griotte-Chambertin.

And by the top part I mean the plot located just south of Griotte-Chambertin as a wedge between this vineyard and Charmes Chambertin.


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