Two thirds of Chorey-lès-Beaune's vineyards are east of the RN74. There are no grand or premier crus, but the village wines have gained reputation of being among the best value for money along the Côte d'Or. It was not until 1970 Chorey-lès-Beaune was granted an appellation of its own. Up until then the wines had been marketed as Côte de Beaune-Villages. This is still a choice for the growers. They can choose whether they want to put Chorey-lès-Beaune or Côte de Beaune-Villages on the label. Today it is usually the negociant wines from Chorey-lès-Beaune that are bottled as Côte de Beaune-Villages. Les Beaumonts (west of the RN74, bordering on both Savigny-lès-Beaune and Aloxe-Corton), les Champs Longs (at the northernmost end of the commune, bordering on Ladoix-Serrigny) and les Bons Ores (west of les Champs Longs) are considered being the best lieu dits. There is also the monopole of Pièce du Chapitre right next to les Champs Longs, owned by Domaine Tollot-Beaut. The vines were planted around 1950 and it covers 1.46 ha.

– We have been making Pièce du Chapitre since the 2001 vintage, explains Nathalie Tollot at Domaine Tollot-Beaut. It is a parcel that we inherited. Since it is a good lieu-dit in Chorey we vinify it on its own, it deserves to be separated from our other parcels.

There are 22 winemakers in the village. In addition to this there are a number of growers outside the village bottling Chorey-lès-Beaune.

The total area under production is 136 ha. The vast majority of this is pinot noir. Chardonnay only accounts for a mere 5 ha. There are at least seven producers offering Chorey-lès-Beaune blanc - Domaine Georges Roy et Fils, Domaine Jean-Luc Dubois, Domaine Maillard, Domaine Michel Gay et Fils (all four in Chorey-lès-Beaune), Domaine Besancenot (in Beaune), Domaine Maurice Chapuis (in Aloxe-Corton), Domaine des Terregelesses (in Beaune). But as one winemaker put it to me; Chorey-lès-Beaune blanc can be good, but never great. The chardonnay vines can be found in the lieu dit Aux Clous, right by the roundabout by the Paris-Lyon motorway.

The village dates back to the 7^th century when it was called Hauriaco. Over the centuries the name then changed from Cariacum, via Cherriacum, Charrère, Charrey, and Cherriey, to Chorrey (with two 'r's) in 1437.

The Château de Chorey has belonged to the Germain family for generations. This is the home of the 17 hectare Domaine du Château de Chorey/Domaine Germain, one of the more well-known domaines in the Chorey-lès-Beaune. The moat and the towers around the chateau are from the 13th century, while the main building is from the 17th century. They also offer chambre d'hôtes at the château. Six rooms in total.

Not far from the chateau, along rue d'Aloxe-Corton, is Domaine Michel Martin, a newish domaine established in 2003 when Michel Martin and his wife Chantal took over 4,5 ha of family vineyards in Chorey-lès-Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune and Beaune. The yearly production is around 10 000 bottles, from generics up to premier crus. As it happens I'm responsible for creating their web site. This came about as we were staying in their gîte for two weeks. The Martins are a very welcoming couple and on top of that they make wine that I find most attractive. One usually have to go up to village level in order to have some real Burgundy character in the wines, but in their case that character is present already in the Bourgogne rouge.

Right across the road is L'Escale des Grands Crus, a small enterprise with five chambre d'hôtes.

The postcard above, showing Maison Girard in Chorey-lès-Beaune, is from around 1900. You find Maison Girard on rue d'Aloxe-Corton, between Château de Chorey and Domaine Michel Martin.

Related reading on Bergman's Bourgogne:
• Interview with Pascal Maillard – Domaine Maillard
• Interview with Chantal and Michel Martin – Domaine Michel Martin

• Next village – Beaune
• Previous village – Savigny-lès-Beaune