Location and Terroir
Clos Saint-Jean is a Premier-Cru Climat of the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation Chassagne-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune in Burgundy. The site lies above the village on the mid-slope; a documented parcel is at 270 to 280 metres above sea level. The soils include calcareous marl, limestone, yellow or red clay, slope debris and limestone gravel, and are also described as clay- and limestone-rich.
Designation and History
The permitted designation for wines from the delimited Climat is Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos Saint-Jean. The name refers to the Benedictine abbey Saint-Jean-le-Grand d’Autun, which the land belonged to in earlier times. The history of the Climat is documented as going back to the period before the year 1000.
Grape Varieties and Style of Wine
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru can be produced as a still white or red wine. For white wines, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are permitted; for red wines, predominantly Pinot Noir, as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris as additional varieties up to a combined proportion of 15 percent per parcel. White wines are associated with white blossom, hazelnut, honey and mineral notes; red wines with cherry fruit and a tannin-containing structure.
Cultivation and Maturation
A documented 0.45-hectare parcel, planted in 1992, is worked mechanically and with the horse without herbicides. The appellation rules require at least 9,000 vines per hectare, the prohibition of irrigation and permanent ground cover of the headlands. For a documented white wine cuvée, the grapes are hand-harvested, pressed slowly using pneumatic equipment, fermented in wood and subjected to a biological acid breakdown as well as a 16- to 18-month maturation in oak barrels with about 20 to 25 percent new wood. Another white wine cuvée matures after traditional fermentation and complete biological acid breakdown for 8 to 10 months in barrel, of which 25 percent is in new wood.
