Burgundy Bites: Blagny, a Unique Côte de Beaune Commune

All Burgundy communes are unique in their own way, but Blagny in particular has its own set of eccentricities:

(1) In Burgundy, a village generally refers to an area encompassing a group of buildings that includes a church, and almost all of the Côte d'Or communal appellations are centered around one of more villages. The Blagny communal appellation is unusual for being centered around only a hamlet (a smaller group of buildings/residences lacking a church) with no village attached to it.

(2) Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet are renowned for their white wines, and as a result, the area is often affectionately called the Côte des Blancs. Within this area, Blagny is nestled in the conjunction of Meursault to the north and Puligny-Montrachet to the south and is an appellation for red wine only. The white wines produced from this hamlet are named after Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet, depending on the location. One of the unique features of Blagny is the capacity of its terroir to produce quality red and white wines within a small area.

(3) Blagny is tiny and covers only 54.11 hectares, although it is not the smallest wine commune in the Côte d'Or. That distinction goes to the commune of Vougeot in the Côte de Nuits!

(4) Almost all red wines labeled as Blagny are, by default, Premier Cru. Blagny comprises 7 Premier Cru climats taking up 82% of the delimited area, with the tiniest little piece, Le Bois de Blagny, classified at the communal/village level.

This 2015 Blagny La Pièce Sous le Bois Premier Cru from @domaine_matrot was my first time having a Blagny wine, and this one was round and fruit-driven, not particularly sharp or tannic but unquestionably red Burgundy.

Paired with sous vide duck with a thyme, Asian pepper and orange sauce and duck fat potatoes, it was a banger of a classic food and wine pairing on a Tuesday night.

Have you had a Blagny wine?