Located at the doorstep of Dijon, Marsannay has built its prosperity on its proximity to the ducal city. While other villages have been overtaken by urban expansion, Marsannay has managed to preserve its cultivated land and revive a high-quality viticulture, making it today the true entry point to the Route des Grands Crus.
In addition to its vineyards, the village boasts a charming architectural heritage, including the Saint-Urbain Chapel, founded between the late 9th and early 10th centuries to house the relics of the saint, which were regularly transferred from Dijon to Marsannay. Reinforced in 1142 by Duke Odo II, the chapel was transformed into a monastery as early as 1255. A dovecote, still visible today, was added in the 13th century. Little-known but significant remains, the ducal wine presses still exist. Housed in a historic building from the early 15th century in the heart of old Chenôve, they remained in use until 1926.
Ideally situated, the Marsannay vineyard is ventilated by a wide combe (valley) and planted on gentle slopes between 260 and 320 meters in altitude. After unsuccessfully trying to be incorporated into the Côte de Nuits-Villages appellation, the commune was finally granted its own AOC in 1987: Marsannay red and white (with a delimited area of 312 hectares) and Marsannay rosé (with an extended area of 513 hectares). The appellation area includes the commune of Couchey and part of Chenôve. Uniquely in Burgundy, this appellation covers all three colors of wine; rosé is in fact a village specialty, created in the 1920s. Most often produced using the saignée method, these rosés are highly aromatic, delicate, and long on the palate. They played a major role in the initial renaissance of Marsannay wines. The reds are robust, with aromas of dark berries, spices, and a musky touch with age, reminiscent of those from their illustrious neighbor, Gevrey-Chambertin.
Marsannay: On the road to recognition
Among the most promising climats that deserve to be classified as Premier Cru are Les Longeroies, Les Favières, Les Grasses Têtes, Les Es Chezots in Marsannay, and on Chenôve’s side, the venerable Clos du Roy, originally the private vineyard of the Dukes of Burgundy, where their grapes were pressed on-site. In recent years, the white wines of Marsannay have seen a remarkable rise—especially notable on the Côte de Nuits, where white wines are rare. Characterized by exotic aromas, they are typically rich and full-bodied.
The pioneers of the revival
While Joseph Clair initiated the creation of rosé wine from Pinot Noir, another influential figure in the Beaune wine world, André Boisseaux, contributed to the rise of the Marsannay AOC in the late 1980s by purchasing several parcels and building Château de Marsannay. His work was continued by Olivier Halley, who, since acquiring the estate about a decade ago, has invested significant resources to elevate it to the highest level. A successful endeavor—today, the wines, of remarkable quality, are sold in many countries and featured on some of the world’s finest tables.
