Saint-Aubin
Saint-Aubin is a village in the Côte de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy, nestled between the hillsides of a sub-valley in the Côte d'Or escarpment, known for both red and (mainly) white wines from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties.
While not the most famous of the Côte d'Or villages, Saint-Aubin is one of Burgundy's top performing wine communes in terms of both volume and vineyard quality; nearly three-quarters of its sites have premier cru status. As well, while Saint-Aubin wines are rarely considered to be among the region's finest, they are known for offering excellent value for money and can provide a good introduction to Burgundy wines of both colours.
Even within the past 20 years, the village was known for its rustic red wines made from Pinot Noir. Today, however, with the ever increasing popularity of Côte de Beaune whites, the growers and domaines of Saint-Aubin have rapidly turned to Chardonnay as their grape variety of choice. The success of neighbouring Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet (both dominated by white wines) has been the major driver in this rapid about-turn. Nowadays around 113 hectares (279 acres) of Saint-Aubin vineyards are planted to Chardonnay compared to 44ha (109 acres) of Pinot Noir vines.
The Saint-Aubin appellation was introduced in 1937, at the same time as most of the other Côte d'Or communal titles. It underwent its official premier cru classification in 1977, three years before its more prestigious neighbours just to the east. The premier cru sites marked out in that process remain today and their wines may claim the title Saint-Aubin Premier Cru.
The commune boundaries also include the village of Gamay, which may have Gamay grape variety, which is responsible for the distinctive wines of Beaujolais. In fact, it is around this small village that the best Saint-Aubin vineyards are located.