The Vineyards and Wine of the Area

Burgundy is arguably the best and most famous wine-growing area of France.  It contains three main areas, the Cote d’Or, with the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits, the Cote Chalonnaise and the Maconnais.  The area around Orches contains many well-known wines and beautiful wine villages.  In fact, the road from Beaune to Orches runs through a succession of famous villages containing priceless vineyards – Pommard, Volnay, Monthelie, Meursault, Auxey-Duresses and St Romain.  Orches itself lies at the top of the vineyards of the Hautes Cotes de Beaune. There are hundreds of local vinerons delighted to let you sample their products and buy them if you like.  The “Guide Hachette du Vin” in the House gives names and addresses of many of the local producers with approximate prices. It is best to phone first to arrange an appointment but you can always stop, if passing. Some whom we would recommend are:   DOMAINE PRUNIER MICHEL ET FILLE Route de Beaune 21190 AUXEY-DURESSES Tel.: 03 80 21 21 05 Fax: 03 80 21 64 73 domainemichelprunier-fille@wanadoo.fr Michel Prunier and his daughter Estelle produce a range of superb wines from Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge up to their Meursault Village and their Beaune and Volnay 1er Crus, as well as a really exceptional sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne. M. Prunier also owns the excellent restuarant "La Cremailliere", directly across the road from his home in Auxey-Duresses. DOMAINE ROCAULT FRANCOIS ET BLANDINE Orches 21340 BAUBIGNY Tel.: 03 80 21 78 72 Fax: 03 80 21 85 95 francois.blandine.rocault@wanadoo.fr http://www.bourgogne-rocault.com Francois and Blandine Rocault are located in Orches Village, under the cliffs. They are extremely hospitable and have a marvelous selection of wines from many appelations in the area. They also run a beautiful "Gite".   DOMAINE CARRE DENIS Rue du Puit Bourret 21190 MELOISEY Tel.: 03 80 26 02 21 Fax: 03 80 26 04 64     For more information on Cote d'Or wine and Burgundy wines in general:

Geology

The most striking feature of the Orches area is the cliffs (falaises) behind the village.  These are Jurassic in age (Bajocian; Calcaires à entroques) formed by prograding, shallow-marine carbonate dunes.  The plateau at the top of the cliffs has a thin covering of Upper Bajocian shales (“Marnes à Ostrea acuminata”).  The slopes below the cliffs to the south/east of the village are made up of Lower Jurassic (Liassic) shales and marnes.  There is a large fault (Faille de St Romain) at the foot of the slope (between Orches and the village of Melin) which downthrows the Jurassic to the East such that the majority of the vineyards in the Auxey-Durresse to Pommard area rest on younger, mainly Callovian-Oxfordian strata.

The Bajocian (“Calcaires à entroques”, “Marnes à Ostrea acuminata”) form the substrate for much of the Grand Cru vineyards of the Cote de Nuit, further north.  The vineyards of the Cote de Beaune lie mainly on the calcareous shales and limestones of the middle and Upper Oxfordian, resting on the ferruginous oolite and hard limestones of the Collovian-Oxfordian (“Dalle nacrée”).  In many places, cones or sheets of gravel derived from the Upper Oxfordian have been deposited on the lower slopes and permit the vineyards to extend to the east, across the younger, Tertiary deposits of the Bresse Graben.