The appellation, officially granted in 1961, comprises of 12 communes of the Hautes Côtes district plus the upper portions of 10 communes lying in the Côte de Beaune. In the Saône-et-Loire, it spreads over four communes of the Hautes Côtes as well as on the heights of three communes of the Côte de Beaune. The boundary between the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits runs through Magny-Iès-Villers.