The Volnay Syncline

Here is something I have some trouble understanding.  The Bathonian and Bajocian limestone bedrock that underpins the bulk of the northern part of the Cotes de Nuits dips down around Nuits St Georges so that the line of the slope from that point south has as its bedrock younger strata. Pommard and Volnay for example have Oxfordian limestone bedrock, the older rock strata of the Cote de Nuits being buried far below. But at about the mid point of Meursault the Bathonian/Bajocian rock raises up again and the mid slope bedrock from that point south is once again similar to the Cote de Nuits. That is the explanation normally given why Santenay produces (or at least can produce) firm red wines with real backbone that resemble those of the Cote de Nuits.  But why then is white wine grown in Meursault and Puligny when these villages have bedrock more suitable for making muscular reds ?  

The only answer I can offer is that the soil in Meursault and Puligny has a lot more marl ( i.e. more clay) than the more limestone rich soils of the Cote de Nuits. Chardonnay likes marl whereas Pinot Noir likes limestone. As the deeper rock rose up in Meursault and Puigny it dragged with it more clay, which resulted in more clay being mixed in to the limestone soil. Voila !  I doubt it is so simple.  And even this explanation raises questions regarding the relative influence of soil and bedrock, which seems by this logic to favor the greater significance of soil. This is borne out by Francoise Vonnier Petit's observation in her presentation at the Paulee in New York in 2017 that its a myth vines really penetrate much into the bedrock.