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Beaune 1er Cru AOC, the ultimate Bourgogne wine.
The appellation Beaune 1er Cru AOC stands for the communal appellation of wines produced in the vineyards of the Côte de Beaune situated around the city of Beaune in the Côte D’or. It is an appellation used for the wines produced in this defined region since 1936. Wineyards classified as Beaune Premier Cru are those with a location on the hills and an excellent exposure to the sun.
The city of Beaune has at its disposal almost 407 ha of wineyards. The city is well-known as the capital of wine of Bourgogne thanks to the quantity and quality of its wines. Besides, Beaune attracts the attention of all the wine-lovers around the world during the wine auction of the Hospice.
The most important trump of the region is its unique limestone-soil, which spreads out over all the hills. The wineyards in this region start from the bottom of the hills (the vines generally have a southern exposure) and extend to the top of the hills. Beaune Premier Cru exists mainly as a red wine : almost two thirds of the production is red wine, the rest is white wine.
The grapes coming from the Beaune Premier Cru are Pinot Noir for the red wines and Chardonnay for the white wines. The red Beaune Premier Cru wines are famous for their fruit flavour with velvet but powerful tannins. The taste of the white Beaune Premier Cru is marked by the powerful Chardonnay-grape, which possesses a mean acidity. The latter is very appreciated by wine-lovers. The Maison Bouchard Père et Fils, the Domaine de la Vougeraie, the Domaine Chanson Père et Fils, the Maison Joseph Drouhin and the ineluctable Domaine Dominique Laurent are exemples of top quality Beaune Premier Cru wines.