Replanting at Domaine Grivot
August 11, 2020
By Edouard Bourgeois (pictures from Instagram account @domainegrivot)
A portion of La Combe d'Orveau, replanted earlier this year
Through their Instagram account, Domaine Grivot (@domainegrivot) shared some beautiful pictures of their newly replanted 1er Cru vineyard of “La Combe d’Orveau” in Chambolle-Musigny. This extraordinary climat is literally surrounded by grand crus (see map below) with Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux in the south and the legendary Musigny and Clos Vougeot towards the northeast. The word combe is crucial to understand when talking about Burgundy, and refers to a short valley that cuts perpendicular to the main slope known as “the côte” that runs northeast to southwest (the Côte d’Or and its subdivisions Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune). Often, the vineyards located around the mouth of a combe were identified as superior. La Combe d’Orveaux is the best example of that phenomenon. (see map)
Combe d’Orveau-map
When a producer decides to replant a vineyard, he/she needs to wait a few years before the vines can produce grapes that will bring enough complexity to the wine. Typically, an old vine will produce less grapes but these clusters will provide more concentration and eventually depth and complexity in the wine. Even though there is no legal regulation on the use of the mention “vieilles vignes” (meaning “old vines”) sometimes seen on the wine labels, a vine that’s at least 20 years old can indeed be considered to be “old”.
the same vine, 2 weeks later…
