Stage 3
Wines by Region
Burgundy
Wine production in Burgundy can be traced back to Roman times and it continued throughout many other occupations. The church dominated the production of wine in Burgundy for hundreds of years. Monks and monasteries had the ability to keep records, store wine to age and were able to bring about improvements in wine growing and making. The Benedictines of Cluny in Burgundy, acquired vineyards on a large scale many of which are still famous today such as Romanée-Conti, La Romaine, La Tache and Pommard.
The Cistercians were formed in 1098 and were responsible for producing Chablis and later they established a vineyard in the Côte d’Or commune of Vougeot and built a wall around it. This is the famous Clos de Vougeot.
In the 17th century many of the vineyards were sold to the bourgeoisie of Dijon and the vineyards remained in the hands of the church and the nobility until the French revolution. Afterwards they were sold and became even more fragmented with the inheritance laws of the Napoleon code. The inheritance laws require the land to be divided equally amongst the children when the owner dies. This has caused the vineyards to be divided extremely thinly amongst many people and made it very difficult for vineyard owners to make a living.
Due to the fragmented vineyards much of the wine produced in Burgundy was sold through négociant houses. The négociant buys the wine or grapes from the grower and will blend the wine, age it and then bottle and sell it under the house name. Négociants are often growers also.
Grape Varieties
Burgundy is the home of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes are responsible for some of the most sought after wines in the world such as white wines such as Chablis, Meursault and Puligny Montrachet and red wines such as Gevry Chambertin and Nuits St Georges. Burgundy is divided into 5 areas – Chablis, the Côte d’Or, the Côtes Chalonnaise the Maconnais and Beaujolais.
Chablis
This appellation is the most northerly of the 5 Burgundy areas. There can be long hard winters and often the summers are hot. Therefore there is a lot of vintage variation in terms of quality and quantity. Frost is a key determining factor and can cause a lot of damage and the vineyards are vulnerable from the end of March into May. Heaters/smudge pots are used to ward off the frost, which is expensive but efficient. Sprinklers are increasingly being adopted which spray a fine mist of water over the vines. When this freezes it protects the vine from the frost. Chablis is a white wine made from the Chardonnay grape. The wines from this area often have less body than those from the more southerly areas of Burgundy.
The Côte d’Or
The Côtes d’Or is divided into 2 distinct areas, the Côtes de Nuits in the north and the Côtes de Beaune in the south. Although red and white wines are made in both areas the Côtes de Nuits is renowned for it’s reds made from Pinot Noir and the Côtes de Beaune for whites made from Chardonnay. These areas produces the most famous Burgundy wines in the world such as Gevry Chambertin and Nuits Saint George from the Côtes de Nuits and Puligny Montrachet and Meursault from the Côtes de Beaune.
Côtes Chalonnaise
Côtes Chalonnaise wines are grown in a warmer climate than the Côtes d’Or but the vineyards are at a higher altitude. Therefore these wines are lighter and shorter in length and are delicate and elegant rather than weighty and concentrated. Famous wines include Mercury and Givry.
Maconnais
As you travel further south the architecture becomes more southern and so does the climate. It is warmer, less rain and little frost risk. The area has rolling limestone hills interspersed with pasture and arable land. This area is home to the famous Pouilly Fuissé wine made from the Chardonnay grape.
Beaujolais
Beaujolais is responsible for 49% of the total Burgundy production. It stands apart from the rest of Burgundy in terms of climate and grape variety as most of the wines are made from the Gamay grape although there are blends of Gamay and Pinot Noir. Beaujolais wines are light and fruity and mostly red although a few whites produced from Chardonnay can be found.
The Beaujolais Appellations
- Beaujolais AC– made from grapes grown in any part of the area
- Beaujolais Village AC– made from grapes grown in villages included in the appellation
- 10 cru village ACs - each have their own appellation such as Fleurie AC, Brouilly AC, Morgon AC and Moulin-a Vent AC
Burgundy Appellations
- Generic Burgundy - This is the most basic appellation. The wine can come from any where within the Burgundy region and can be red, rosé and white
- District AC– These wines come from a named region such as The Maconnais or Beaujolais and can be red or white
- Commune AC - The wine label will carry the name of the village where it has been grown such as Fleurie AC, Gevry-Chambertin AC, Givry AC and the wine will have been grown in the delimited area. These wines are generally more intense than Generic or District wines and can be complex with a long finish
- Premier Cru AC - The label will carry the name of the village where the grapes were grown and the words Premier Cru and/or the name of the vineyard. These wines are made from grapes grown on better aspects, which produce riper fruit with high flavours and are more complex then village wines
- Grand Cru AC– These are the highest quality wines in Burgundy and the labels will carry the name of the vineyard. The wines are the most powerful and ling lived of the region such as Le Chambertin and Clos de Vougeot which is complex, rich and powerful with flavours of raspberry, violets with chocolate and liquorice on the finish
Key Regional Grape Varieties
- Pinot Noir
- Gamay
- Chardonnay
- Aligoté