Champeaux is the northernmost Premier Cru climat in Gevrey-Chambertin, although far from the most famous. Located at around midslope on the Cote d'Or escarpment, the vineyard is planted entirely to Pinot Noir, giving a rich, structured expression of red Burgundy.
The vineyard covers around 17 acres (7ha), rising above the flatter land at the bottom of the escarpment where the land is classified only to make simpler Gevrey-Chambertin AOC wines. The smaller Les Goulots and Combe au Moine vineyards separate Champeaux's boundaries from the treeline above.
Champeaux is one of several vineyards at the northern end of Gevrey-Chambertin that face due east. This is at odds with a number of other vineyards within the commune – there is a fissure in the Cote d'Or here that gives a more southerly aspect to the vines. Champeaux's vines face the morning sunlight but are shaded in the afternoon, giving the climat one of the cooler mesoclimates in this part of the Cote de Nuits.
The vineyard's soils are made up of a mix of clay and limestone. They are considerably rockier and stonier than soils in the vineyards to the south, making for good drainage and low fertility; a useful environment for high-quality viticulture. However, the lean character of the soils here results in wines that are structured but that lack the elegance of those from the Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru vineyards.
