Lieu-dit

Last updated August 26, 2024 • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Lieu-dit (French pronunciation: [ljø.di] ^ⓘ; plural: lieux-dits) (literally location-said, "named place") is a French toponymic term for a small geographical area bearing a traditional name. The name usually refers to some characteristic of the place, its former use, a past event, etc. A lieu-dit may be uninhabited, which distinguishes it from an hameau (hamlet), which is inhabited. In Burgundy, the term climat is used interchangeably with lieu-dit.

Etymology

English speakers seem to have discovered the concept through oenology and have considered it as a wine term which in its typical usage translates as "vineyard name" or "named vineyard".^[1] Typically, a lieu-dit is the smallest piece of land which has a traditional vineyard name assigned to it.^[2] In most cases, this means that a lieu-dit is smaller than an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC).

Use in France

In some cases, lieux-dits appear on wine labels, in addition to the AOC name. This is most commonly seen for Alsace wine and Burgundy wine. It may not always be easy for consumers to tell if a name on a wine label is a lieu-dit or a cuvée name created by the producer.

The only case of mandatory mention of a lieu-dit is in Alsace, for Alsace Grand Cru AOC. The Grand Cru designation may only be used if a lieu-dit is indicated. Lieux-dits may also be indicated on regular Alsace AOC wines, but is not mandatory.

In Burgundy, the term climat is used interchangeably with lieu-dit. The use of the lieu-dit varies with the level of classification of the wine. Although the Grand Cru burgundies are generally considered to be classified on the vineyard level and defined as separate AOCs (with the exception of Chablis Grand Cru), some Burgundy Grand Crus are in fact divided into several lieux-dits. An example is Corton, where it is fairly common to see lieux-dits such as Les Bressandes, Le Clos de Roi and Les Renardes indicated. For village level burgundies, the lieu-dit may only be indicated in smaller print than the village name to avoid confusion with Premier Cru burgundies, where the village and vineyard name are indicated in the same size print.

In Rhône, lieux-dits are most commonly seen for some of the top wines of the region. Two examples are the lieu-dit La Landonne or La Chatillonne within Côte-Rôtie. Not all sites have been registered as lieux-dits. For example La Mouline and Les Jumelles are les marques of individual producers.^[3]

Outside France

In the United States, the labeling of vineyard designated wines follows the similar practice of highlighting the particular vineyard that the grapes are sourced from.

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Volnay wine is produced in the commune of Volnay in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy, and in some vineyards in the commune of Meursault. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Volnay is only used for red wine with pinot noir as the main grape variety. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Volnay, but several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards. The AOC was created in 1937.

Santenay wine is produced in the communes of Santenay and Remigny in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Santenay may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The production consists of almost 85% red wine, and a little over 15% of white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within the Santenay AOC.

The wine region of Alsace produces wines under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées (AOCs): Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards and Crémant d'Alsace AOC for sparkling wines. This region is the only French wine region allowed to label its wines based on variety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vosne-Romanée wine</span>

Vosne-Romanée wine is produced in the commune of Vosne-Romanée in Côte de Nuits of Burgundy as well as in the neighbouring commune of Flagey-Échezeaux. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Vosne-Romanée may only be used for red wine with Pinot noir as the main grape. There are a total of 15 Premier Cru vineyards in the two communes, as well as six Grand Cru vineyards in Vosne-Romanée and two in Flagey-Échezeaux. These Grand Cru vineyards include Burgundy's most iconic, sought-after and expensive red wines, with Romanée-Conti of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at the pinnacle: "There can be little doubt that in the firmament of the Cote de nuits, Vosne-Romanée is the brightest star."

Meursault wine is produced in the commune of Meursault in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Meursault may be used for white wine and red with respectively Chardonnay and Pinot noir as the main grape varieties. The production of white Meursault dominates, with around 98 per cent. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Meursault, but several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards.

Pommard wine is produced in the commune of Pommard in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Pommard is only used for red wine with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Pommard, but several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards. The AOC was created in 1937.

Auxey-Duresses wine is produced in the commune of Auxey-Duresses in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Auxey-Duresses may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The production consists of around two-thirds red wine, and one-third white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Auxey-Duresses. The AOC Auxey-Duresses was created in 1970. Before the introduction of the appellation system in the 1930s, wines from this village were probably sold under the names of the more famous neighbors Volnay and Meursault. Later, the wines have been sold as Côte de Beaune-Villages, but it has progressively become more common to actually use the Auxey-Duresses AOC for the wines.

Savigny-lès-Beaune wine is produced in the commune of Savigny-lès-Beaune in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Savigny-lès-Beaune may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The name of the appellation is sometimes written simply as Savigny, without the -lès-Beaune suffix. The production consists of slightly over 85 per cent red wine, and slightly less than 15 per cent white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Savigny-lès-Beaune.

Gevrey-Chambertin wine is produced in the communes of Gevrey-Chambertin and Brochon in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Gevrey-Chambertin may be used only for red wine with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. There are nine Grand Cru vineyards within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambertin and eight others called Chambertin in combination with something else, such as Chapelle-Chambertin. While Gevrey-Chambertin also has several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards, it has a particularly large amount of vineyards at the village level for a Côte de Nuits appellation. This is because the vineyards of the AOC stretch further to the east than in most neighbouring AOCs.

References

↑ Outside its wine usage, the term lieu-dit can refer to any type of traditional place name.
↑ Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Lieu-dit". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 401. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
↑ Livingstone-Learmonth, John (1992). The Wines of the Rhône (Second ed.). London: Farber and Farbe. p. 11. ISBN 0-571-15111-6.

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[1] Outside its wine usage, the term lieu-dit can refer to any type of traditional place name.

[2] Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Lieu-dit". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 401. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.

[3] Livingstone-Learmonth, John (1992). The Wines of the Rhône (Second ed.). London: Farber and Farbe. p. 11. ISBN 0-571-15111-6.

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