Travel Guide Saint-Aubin

Saint-Aubin is a charming wine-growing village in the Côte de Beaune, thanks in particular to its emblematic Romanesque church. Its 12th-century stone bell tower gives it a certain cachet. Look out for the pierced limestone rocks decorating its flank, as well as some of the village houses in the little streets all around. In Saint-Aubin, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown with excellence and quality, producing Premier Cru wines that have nothing to envy the famous Puligny-montrachet or Chassagne-montrachet, its neighbors. Saint-Aubin enjoys a generous, well-protected climate at the bottom of the valley. Its terroir is rich in the sediments deposited by ancient glaciers that have slid down to this point, giving the wine all the aromas particular to the appellation. Nearby is the hamlet of Gamay and its slightly hidden château, a fortified house that appears to have remained intact since the 12th century. This hamlet was the birthplace of the famous grape variety which took its name and which is no longer planted in the region since Philippe le Hardi, in 1395, ordered it to be replaced by pinot noir, less resistant but of better quality. As you make your way up the Saint-Aubin valley through the vineyards, you'll come across a lovely renovated cabotte, a small dry-stone shelter at the junction of two roads, once used by winegrowers to protect themselves from the elements and store their equipment. Hiking trails allow you to venture into the undergrowth and enjoy the view over the vines.