La côte de Nuits - Les Vins de Bourgogne

La côte de Nuits. Les Vins de Bourgogne. Louis Larmat, Paris, 1942. First edition. Size 119.2 x 44.1 cm. Good condition, slight oxidation at the folds. Published in the volume Les Vins de Bourgogne of the Atlas de la France vinicole, the map of the Côte de Nuits produced by Louis Larmat is one of the most precise and most emblematic representations of the Burgundy vineyards in the 20th century. It offers detailed mapping of the prestigious communes and climats of the Côte de Nuits, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée or Chambolle-Musigny, distinguishing the crus by a colour code reflecting their qualitative hierarchy. Through the finesse of its drawing and the richness of its information, this map bears witness to the effort then under way to structure and gain recognition for the appellations d'origine contrôlée. Beyond its own interest, this map belongs to a wider editorial project: Larmat's Atlas de la France vinicole, undertaken between 1941 and 1947, which constitutes one of the first attempts at systematic mapping of the French vineyards. Both a scientific tool and an aesthetic object, this atlas has left a lasting mark on the history of the representation of wine-growing terroirs. Today the maps that make it up, often extracted from their original volume, are particularly sought after for their documentary value as much as for their graphic qualities.