Explore the region & wines of Burgundy
Burgundy is a region in eastern France celebrated for its Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Within it sit the following subregions from north to south: Chablis, the Cote d’Or, the Cote Chalonnaise, and the Maconnais. The four share not only a continental climate, with cold and dry winter months, heavy rainfalls in May and June as well as October, and a relatively short and variable summer, which is why early ripening varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are grown in Burgundy. The four subregions also share a similar soil profile based on limestone, a boon for vines enduring Burgundy’s cool and wet climate. Limestone soils store and release heat, thereby encouraging the vines to ripen, and drain away excess water. In Chablis we see chalk-rich hills, in the Cote d’Or we find an escarpment of limestone, and in the Cote Chalonnaise and the Maconnais outcrops of limestone.
Unlike Bordeaux’s 1855 Classification, where 61 wine estates are ranked, Burgundy ranks its precisely delimited vineyard parcels whose wines consistently display distinct and telltale flavors irrespective of vintage. There are four tiers:
- Bourgogne Blanc & Rouge (or Petit Chablis),
- Commune or Village (as in Chambolle-Musigny),
- 1er (Premier) Cru, in which the vineyard name will be appended to the village name (e.g., Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses), and
- Grand Cru, in which the village name is entirely dropped in favor of the vineyard itself (e.g., Le Musigny).
There are 33 Grand Crus in Bourgogne, responsible for just 1% of production.
REGIONS OF NOTE
Chablis
Chablis is the northernmost subregion in Burgundy. In fact, its vineyards are much closer to the southernmost vineyards of Champagne, and more than any other area in Burgundy can suffer from spring frosts. Proprietors have deployed extraordinary measures (smudge pots, electric cables, and aspersion) to safeguard their Chardonnay vines - the sole varietal in Chablis - against frost. Which begs the question: why grow Chardonnay in this frigid place? Because no Chardonnay from anywhere else, no matter how good, can match the exquisite purity, racy intensity, and mineral-driven character of a glass of Chablis.
There are 7 Grand Crus and 40 Premier Crus in Chablis. Chardonnay vines rooted upon those prime sites enjoy the advantages of limestone soils mentioned above but also the advantages of hillsides. Vines rooted upon hillsides that face the sun enjoy a more luminous and fuller exposure, favorable for photosynthesis - a boon for Chardonnay vines rooted in the vineyards of Chablis.
Cote d’Or
The name Cote d’Or can be translated as The Golden Slope, and for many avid wine enthusiasts its wines are liquid gold. Here, some of the world’s greatest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are made. The vineyards of the Cote d’Or are rooted on a narrow, east-facing limestone escarpment that runs south and a touch west from Dijon to Chagny. This limestone escarpment was cut through by streams that left in their wake alluvial deposits and small valleys, creating a variety of soils as well as northerly and southerly aspects. Over time growers discovered that these subtle geologic and pedologic distinctions yielded wines from one vineyard that tasted perceptibly different from even its immediate neighbor. Today those subtle distinctions - or differences in terroir - are officially codified with vineyard designations.
The best vineyards rest mid-slope, where the topsoil is neither too shallow as at the top of the slope, nor too fertile as at the foot. Along this mid-slope are the Premier and Grands Crus, while wines produced at the top or the bottom of the slope are limited to village appellation status. Vineyards approaching the plain beyond the north-south running RN74 are generally limited to Bourgogne Rouge or Blanc.
The Cote d’Or can be divided into two sections: to the north is the Cote de Nuits, where (though there are a scattering of Chardonnay vines) Pinot Noir flourishes, and to the south is the Cote de Beaune, where (though Pinot Noir vines are grown there) Chardonnay takes center stage. The Cote de Nuits has 24 Grand Cru vineyards and 135 Premier Cru vineyards, while the Cote de Beaune has 8 Grand Crus and 42 Premier Crus. Along both the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune are a number of prominent villages that rest along this escarpment.
Some of the most significant villages in the Cote de Nuits are:
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Morey-St-Denis
- Chambolle-Musigny
- Vougeot
- Vosne-Romanee
- Nuits-St-Georges
Some of the most prominent villages in the Cote de Beaune are:
- Aloxe-Corton
- Pommard
- Volnay
- Meursault
- Puligny-Montrachet
- Chassagne-Montrachet
Cote Chalonnaise
Rooted between the Cote d’Or and the Maconnais, the Cote Chalonnaise covers 5 village appellations. They are, from north to south:
- Bouzeron
- Rully
- Mercurey
- Givry
- Montagny
Rully, Mercurey, and Givry produce both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; Rully offers only Chardonnay; and Bouzeron stands apart from all of Burgundy in its production of Aligote. Though there are no Grand Cru vineyards in the Cote Chalonnaise, this subregion includes over 140 Premier Crus. Unlike the Cote d’Or with its fairly consistent limestone slope, the vineyards of the Cote Chalonnaise are more scattered for lack of an extended escarpment. They offer some of the best values that you will find from Burgundy.
Maconnais
Sandwiched between the Cote d’Or to the north and Beaujolais to the south and barely 50km long and 15km wide, the Maconnais is easy to overlook - you’d pass it before you knew it if you were traveling on the high-speed rail from Paris to the Mediterranean. Though reds are produced in the Maconnais, here Chardonnay vines dominate, yielding wines worthy of your interest. Like Chablis, the Cote d’or, and the Cote Chalonnaise, all to the north, the Maconnais is blessed with limestone soils. What distinguishes the Maconnais from its northern cousins is its warmer climate. Though winters can be frigid, spring frosts a problem, and hail a constant threat throughout June and July, August and September can be delightfully sunny and warm - meaning a harvest of ripe and healthy fruit with vivacious and balanced flavors. Though cooperatives still dominate the wine scene in the Maconnais, family estates abound. Legendary winemakers Dominique Lafon and the late Anne-Claude Leflaive have put down roots and established thriving estates in the Maconnais. And in recent years and in acknowledgement of the excellence of choice sites, 22 vineyards in Pouilly-Fuisse (a subregion of the Maconnais) are now formally recognized as Premier Cru vineyards.
