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Marsannay is the northernmost commune of the Côte d'Or, lying virtually on the outskirts of the city of Dijon, three miles north of Gevrey-Chambertin and one mile north of Fixin. Vineyards once proliferated in this area, and in the early 1700s the wines of Marsannay commanded prices equal to those of Gevrey. But as Dijon grew, two related effects were set in motion. First, the population's growing demand for ordinary table wines increased such that, as in the nearby communes of Couchey, Chenôve and Marsannay-la-Côte, of which some of the vineyards fall under the Marsannay appellation, the growers realized much greater profits by producing Gamay rather than Pinot Noir despite the detriment to quality. Then, as Dijon continued to expand, vineyards were uprooted by urban development simultaneously with the onset of heated competition from Rhône Valley wines. As the vineyards disappeared, production slowly evaporated along with growers' profits. The vision of Joseph Clair Daü provided the turning point for Marsannay. Convinced that Marsannay's only future lay in replanting Gamay vineyards with Pinot Noir, he created, in September of 1919, a Rosé de Marsannay from Pinot Noir. The success of this wine returned Marsannay to the spotlight for a time; Dijon's Best restaurant regularly purchased the entire, if small, Daü harvest. By 1929, a small cooperative specializing in Rosé de Marsannay was established, also due to Joseph Clair Daü's initiatives. Yet new plantings of Pinot Noir had progressed insufficiently by 1936, when Burgundy's A.O.C. laws were passed, to give Marsannay distinction greater than the appellation of lowest common denominator, "Bourgogne." After a half century of persistent, unified effort devoted by the growers of Marsannay to the elevation of the quality of their vineyards and wines, the I.N.A.O. granted Marsannay its own A.O.C. appellation. In spring of 1987, it became not only the first new village to be given its own appellation since 1936, but the only one for which the appellation applies to red, white and rosé wines. Today, approximately one tenth of Marsannay's 1,000 acres of classified vineyard area is planted, yielding an average of 9,000 hectolitres (100,000 cases) red, 3,000 hectolitres (33,300 cases) rosé and 1,000 hectolitres (11,100 cases) white wine. Domaine Louis Jadot acquired 19 acres in Marsannay with the 1985 purchase of Domaine Clair Daü. The red wines resemble delicate, straightforward Gevrey-Chambertins; the whites are vigorous, full and earthy; and the rosés are a delicious balance of fresh, dry Pinot Noir fruit and earthiness. |
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