The red wines of Chassagne-Montrachet are somewhat overshadowed by the reputation of its white wines. However, this was not always the case and they are undoubtedly well worthy of the wine lover's attention.

Indeed, in the 18th century, Chassagne was even more famous for its reds. The Morgeot vineyard was so prestigious that one bottle of Morgeot was worth two bottles of Montrachet.

Appellation: Chassagne-Montrachet "Morgeot" 1ER Cru AOC
Area: 7677m²
Production: 300 cases

Grape variety: 100% Pinot Noir - red wine
Pruning: Cordon de Royat
Training: Trained low - 10000 vines per hectare
Average age of the vines:
Cultivation methods: Ploughing (no herbicides) - Compost as necessary
Vineyard protection: Supervised control

Parcel: Three plots located in the following lieux-dits (named places): "Les Grands Clos," west of the Santenay road, "Les Petits Clos" bordering on Santenay, "Les Boirettes" in the centre of the Morgeot vineyard.
Soil: Relatively stony shallow clay soil, with a ferruginous section in Les Boirettes
Topography: Gentle slopes, steeper in Les Grands Clos
Altitude: Varying from 240 to 260 metres
Exposure: Good exposure, facing south-east.

The grapes are hand-picked and immediately brought to the vat room, where they are sorted (to remove leaves and unripe or damaged grapes) and completely destemmed. Once destemmed, the grapes are left on their skins in temperature-controlled vats for about ten days with daily pigeage (punching down of the cap) and pumping over in order to extract colouring compounds and tannins. The alcoholic content and temperature are carefully monitored throughout the fermentation process. When the time is right, the wine is run off from the vat. If necessary, it is lightly chaptalized prior to devatting in order to obtain a better balance between alcohol and acidity. Nevertheless, chaptalization can never replace natural sugar that comes from sunshine, and must always be used sparingly. After devatting and pressing, the wine is put into barrels.

As soon as alcoholic fermentation in the barrel comes to an end, the secondary, malolactic, fermentation begins. This converts malic acid into lactic acid, thereby reducing overall acidity and ensuring stability. When the malolactic fermentation is finished, the wine is racked and brought down to the underground cellars to continue barrel ageing at a temperature of 10-12°C. The wine ages on its fermentation lees in 228-litre French oak barrels (one quarter of which are renewed every year) where it will spend a total of 12-18 months depending on the vintage.

At the end of barrel ageing, the wine is fined with egg-white to guarantee quality and clarity. A final blend is made from various barrels after the last racking. This blend is lightly filtered and then bottled at the Domaine.