From Dijon to Gevrey Chambertin
What was special?
This was my first wine walk after returning to live in Paris in November 2021. It felt like a personal renaissance, or rebirth, to come back to my very favourite of France’s wine regions, Burgundy or as the French say, Bourgogne. This is the very beginning of the Côte de Nuits of Burgundy.
If you were driving quickly, you may not even notice this area. Gently undulating and rolling vineyard areas, overlooked by a limestone ridge. The landscape is punctuated by nice villages which must be savoured to appreciate their beauty. Their quiet modesty must be studied deeply, as you walk. Remember that Gevrey Chambertin has archeological evidence of vines dating back to the Roman Empire, in 1st Century BC.
The Chateau of Gevrey Chambertin is such a wonderfully modest medieval chateau that it feels real, unlike many spruced up chateaux elsewhere in France. Its construction began in the 11th century, and was finished in the 13th century. In 2012, it was bought by businessman Louis Ng of Macao, for $10 million.
Other architectural highlights are the Fixey Church, built in 10th and 12th century, which stands in the middle of the vineyards, Fixin’s Church of St Martin of the 12th century, and a washhouse from the 19th century. It’s easy to sense that these areas were ruled by the church after the fall of the Roman empire.
Today, Gevrey Chambertin and Fixin produce almost entirely red wines made from the Pinot Noir grape. These wines may not be quite as prized as some of those a few kilometres further south. But they are still excellent wines.
Links
Gevrey-Chambertin
Fixin
Côte de Nuits
Logistics
TGV Train from Paris to Dijon. Taxi to Fixin. Walk from Fixin to Gevrey Chambertin. Just a few kilometres as the crow flies. But with lots of zigzagging, I made it 10 km. Stayed overnight in Gevrey, and then walked back