TERROIR PROFILE

Bourgogne · Couchois

Red limestone at the edge of the Côte Chalonnaise

Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois: firm Pinot from red limestone, Burgundy's smallest sub-area.

Climate, site & wine

The vineyards lie on clays and marls of the Upper Lias and among limestones of the Middle Jurassic. The appellation produces red wine exclusively, from Pinot Noir.

The wines are powerful, with dark cherry fruit and spice, and somewhat more firmly built than in the Côte Chalonnaise. Production takes place in six communes: Couches, Dracy-lès-Couches, Saint-Jean-de-Trézy, Saint-Maurice-lès-Couches, Saint-Pierre-de-Varennes and Saint-Sernin-du-Plain.

WarmthSunDrynessMineralityBodyFreshness

TERROIR PROFILE · Burgundy

Bourgogne · Couchois Red limestone at the edge of the Côte Chalonnaise

Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois: firm Pinot from red limestone, Burgundy's smallest sub-area.

☀ Cool continental⛰ Slope: moderatePinot NoirChardonnayAligoté
What is terroir? →

SOILS

Limestoneprecise, mineral

Limestone delivers tension, structure and a cooler, more mineral character.

Loambody-rich, velvety

Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.

Marlbalanced, structured

Marl is a mix of limestone and clay — yields structured, balanced wines with acidity backbone.

CLIMATE · Cool continental

The Couchois lies on the edge of the Côte Chalonnaise and the Hautes-Côtes landscape; good east and south exposures create favourable conditions for Pinot Noir.

TOPOGRAPHY · moderate

Hills around Couches and Saint-Sernin-du-Plain; vines also grow in communes such as Dracy-lès-Couches, Saint-Maurice-lès-Couches and Saint-Pierre-de-Varennes.

WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS

firmearthyrustic charminsider's pick

Similar terroirs worldwide

Computed from fingerprint similarity

Hattenheim/Eltville

Rheingau

96% similar

  • Minerality (slightly): Bourgogne · Couchois is less mineral → fruit-led, rounder (6 vs. 7).

Bourgogne · Côte Chalonnaise

Burgundy

96% similar

  • Minerality (slightly): Bourgogne · Couchois is less mineral → fruit-led, rounder (6 vs. 7).

Hohenlohe

Württemberg

96% similar

  • Minerality (slightly): Bourgogne · Couchois is less mineral → fruit-led, rounder (6 vs. 7).

This terroir's soils in the glossary

LimestoneLoamMarl