The wine raod and the Couchois

Brief history

Antiquity

The Roman emperor Domitian’s edict in 92 prohibited the planting of new vines outside Italy; he had vines partially uprooted in Burgundy to avoid competition. But Probus rescinded this edict in 280.

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Brief history

Middle Ages

Since the early 6th century, the spread of Christianity had encouraged the expansion of vineyards through the creation of large estates attached to abbeys. In 1395, Philippe le Hardi decided to improve wine quality and banned the cultivation of Gamay in favor of Pinot Noir in his lands. Finally, in 1416, Charles VI issued an edict setting production limits for Burgundy wine. In 1477, on the death of Charles the Bold, Burgundy’s vineyards were annexed to France, under the reign of Louis XI.

Brief history

XIXth century

In the decades between 1830 and 1840, the vine borer appeared and attacked the leaves of the vine. It was followed by a fungal disease, powdery mildew. Then came two new vine scourges. The first was mildew, another fungal disease, and the second was phylloxera. This devastating insect from America took a heavy toll on Burgundy’s vineyards. After lengthy research, it was finally discovered that only grafting would enable vines to grow in the presence of phylloxera.

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Brief history
XXth century

As early as 1952, Édouard Dessendre and a few other winegrowers revived Pinot Noir production, which had never been totally abandoned. Interest in quality viticulture was a family tradition (even before the phylloxera crisis, his grandfather Jules knew how to graft, and was able to pass on his knowledge to his colleagues; he was also the first to introduce the vineyard plough to Burgundy, having seen it in use in Anjou during his military service). Édouard Dessendre selected one hundred and eleven of the healthiest Pinot Noir vines in his vineyard. From these plants, he developed a clone that reached veraison 24 days ahead of the others. The young winegrowers of Saint-Maurice, determined to pursue a policy of quality, began planting pinot noir, a little gamay à jus blanc and aligoté on the best south- and southeast-facing terroirs.

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Brief history
XXth century

The introduction of the straddle carrier in the 1960s-70s, replacing the horse. Viticulture and oenology techniques have evolved considerably over the last 50 years (green harvesting, sorting table, stainless steel vats, electric and pneumatic presses, etc.). Appellation created in 2000.

Brief history
XXIst century

With the heatwave of 2003, harvesting began for some estates that year in mid-August, a month ahead of schedule, very early harvests not seen since 1422 and 1865 according to archives.

The planted vineyard area is 5.90 hectares in 2008, 8 hectares in 2019. The total potential production area represents 250 hectares.