Bouzeron is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC) for white wine produced in the communes of Bouzeron

Bouzeron

Bouzeron is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.- Wine :Bouzeron is also an appellation d'origine contrôlée in the Cote Chalonnaise sub-region of Burgundy for a white wine made exclusively from the Aligoté grape, created in 1998...

 and Chassey-le-Camp

Chassey-le-Camp

Chassey-le-Camp is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.- Wine :Vineyards of Chassey-le-Camp form part of the Bouzeron appellation d'origine contrôlée in the Cote Chalonnaise sub-region of Burgundy. Bouzeron is an appellation for white wine made...

 in the Côte Chalonnaise

Côte Chalonnaise

Côte Chalonnaise is a subregion of the Burgundy wine region of France. Côte Chalonnaise lies to the south of the Côte d'Or continuing the same geology southward. It is still in the main area of Burgundy wine production but it includes no Grand cru vineyards...

 subregion of Burgundy

Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...

. Bouzeron wine is produced from the grape variety Aligoté

Aligoté

Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. With , it was the 22nd most planted vine variety in the world in 2004...

, and Bouzeron AOC is therefore the only communal-level Burgundy appellation for Aligoté-based wines. Other Aligoté wines from Burgundy are restricted to the regional appellation Bourgogne Aligoté AOC

Bourgogne Aligoté AOC

Bourgogne Aligoté is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for white wine produced from the Aligoté grape variety in the region of Burgundy in France...

, and all other white Burgundy wines from communal appellations are Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

-based (although with Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

 technically allowed as well).

The Bouzeron AOC was created in 1998, and at this time replaced the Bourgogne Aligoté de Bouzeron AOC, which had been introduced in 1979 within the Bourgogne Aligoté AOC. There are no Premier Cru vineyards in the Bouzeron AOC. The move towards an own appellation for Bouzeron and its Aligoté was spearheaded by the efforts of Aubert de Villaine

Aubert de Villaine

Aubert de Villaine is co-owner and co-director of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Some of the world's most expensive wines are produced on its vineyard. He was originally co-director with Lalou Bize-Leroy, both having inherited their ownership...

, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world's greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world's most expensive...

. Together with his wife Pamela de Villaine he owns Domaine A & P de Villaine in Bouzeron.

Wine style

The wines of this appellation are more similar in style and fruit characteristics to Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 than to Chardonnay. The wines tend to be light bodied with subtle spice notes that are usually most vibrant up to five years after vintage.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

- and Chardonnay-based wine are also grown in the same geographical area but are typically sold under the regional appellations Bourgogne Rouge and Bourgogne Blanc. They could also be sold as Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise AOC, but not as Bouzeron AOC.

Production

In 2008, 47.05 hectares (116.3 acre) of vineyard surface was in production for Bouzeron AOC, and 2,459 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to just under 330,000 bottles of white wine.

AOC regulations

The AOC regulations require 100% Aligoté for Bouzeron, and a planting density of at least 8,000 vines per hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

. The allowed base yield

Yield (wine)

In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

 is 55 hectoliter per hectare, and the grapes must reach a maturity of at least 9.5 per cent potential alcohol.