Access reserved for producers
of Maranges wines
Le Croix Moines
Surface area of the locality: 1 ha 06 a 42 ca
To the northwest of the Les Maranges premier cru hillside, the locality of Le Croix Moines extends from 362 to 378 metres in altitude (average 370 m). The slopes are exceptionally steep, (from 11% à 26%) (average 16%)! The Climat has a South, Southwest exposure.
The soil and subsoil
The geological substratum of the Le Croix Moines locality is made up of blue-black marl, locally rich in fossils (belemnite). It is covered with abundant scree and whole sections of the crinoidal limestone cliff that dominates the wine-producing hillside. The displaced chunks of cliff, of which the top occasionally comes to the surface in the vineyards, form numerous topographic projections along the slope of the locality.
On the limestone scree that conceals the marl deposits, the soils are stony, draining, with highly variable thicknesses.
The origin of the name
If the absence of marked determiners is common in the Middle Ages (cf. L’Hôtel-Dieu for “l’hôtel (la maison) de Dieu”), the word croix is never in the masculine, even to designate a crossroads, even more so for a cross of piety. Oddly enough, the article here is masculine.
The monks could be those of the ancient Benedictine priory mentioned by Courtépée.
The wines
Made by only three producers, this plot is nestled in the centre of the Climat. Its tannic intensity with notes of liquorice has the ardour of youth and red fruit pulp. With a little time in the bottle, it gets closer to a Fussière.
