BURGUNDY WINES - COTE DE BEAUNE

The Côte de Beaune is the more southerly part of the Côte d'Or. The northernmost tip abuts onto the Côte de Nuits, and the region extends south to the Côte Chalonnaise. The geology is more variable than that of the Côte de Nuits. The region sits on a combination of Callovian, Argovian and Rauracian limestones, with much intervening marlstone. Obviously, the climate is the same as for the Côte de Nuits - continental, with a wide annual temperature difference. Spring rains and frost, and Autumn rains, which may interfere with the harvest, can also be a problem here. The vineyards face south-east on the slope between the plain to the south-east, and the hills to the north-west, the easterly aspect aiding exposure to the sun. 

Pernand-Vergelesses can be a source of some good value Burgundy, but no great wines. Nearby, however, we start to see some of the more serious wines of the Côte de Beaune at Aloxe-Corton. The wines of this village, as well as a number of other villages nearby, are red as well as white. Red Corton should be a muscular, savoury wine, whereas the white is a rich, intense, buttery drink. Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune and Chorey-les-Beaune are all best known for their red wines. The wines produced here are well fruited, tasty, sometimes quite elegant affairs, although they are somewhat lighter (and less expensive) when from the latter two villages. 

Pommard can make wonderful red Burgundy, well structured and meaty, whereas Volnay is better known for it's heady, perfumed and delicately textured wines.

Towards the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, however, are the Côte d'Or's most famous white wine villages. Meursault produces rich, complex, intense yet elegant wines, but it is Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet that lead the pack. The former bears a wonderful combination of richness with mineral complexities, the latter are sometimes broader and more open, although both are lovely, and words cannot really do them justice. Nearby are the villages of St-Romain, St-Aubin, Santenay and Auxey-Duresses. All are responsible for some value Burgundy. 

The appellations of the Côte de Beaune are as follows:

Grands Crus: As with the Côte de Nuits, such wines are not required to bear the village name. The Grands Crus are as follows:

Aloxe-Corton: Corton (the largest Grand Cru in Burgundy, with a number of subdivisions, eg Corton-Bressandes), Corton-Charlemagne.

Puligny-Montrachet: Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.

Chassagne-Montrachet: Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.

As with the Côtes de Nuits, some vineyards lie in more than one village. Here, the Grands Crus Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet lie in both Puligny and Chassagne-Montrachet. Most villages of the Côte de Beaune have no Grands Crus.

Premiers Crus: As with the Côtes de Nuits, these are too numerous to name. As with Chablis and the Côtes de Nuits, a wine blended from several such sites will be labelled as Premier Cru, whereas a wine from an individual vineyard will bear the vineyard name, eg Pommard Premier Cru Les Petits Epenots.

Village Wines: The villages of the Côte de Beaune are Ladoix, Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Chorey-lès-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Monthelie, St-Romain, Auxey-Duresses, Meursault, Blagny, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, St-Aubin and Santenay. Blagny is a small hamlet close to the Premier Cru vineyards of Meursault.

Sub-Village Appellations: These include Côte de Beaune Villages (may be applied to declassified wine from fourteen villages of the Côte de Beaune not including Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Volnay or Pommard), Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits (applies to a large number of communes to the west of the Côte d'Or), and basic Bourgogne. There is also the confusing appellation Côte de Beaune, which refers to wines from the commune of Beaune not deemed worthy of the appellation Beaune.

The Côte d'Or - My top wines. As many producers have vineyards in so many different sites, I have grouped together the good names in Burgundy here. This is a personal list (in alphabetical order), so it doesn't include great but hardly affordable domaines such as Romanée-Conti. My list of top estates and producers includes Domaine d'Arlot, Simon Bize, Robert Chevillon, Bruno Clair, Michel Colin-Deléger, Drouhin, René Engel, Faiveley, Jacques Gagnard-Delagrange, Jean-Marc Blain-Gagnard, Richard Fontaine-Gagnard, Jean Grivot, Hudelot-Noëllat, Jadot, Jaffelin, Henri Jayer, Leroy, Méo-Camuzet, Albert Morot, Daniel Rion, Domaine des Perdrix, and Etienne Sauzet. 

BURGUNDY WINES - COTE DE NUIT

The Côte d'Or is divided into two main viticultural regions, the Côte de Nuits being the more northerly of the two. The northernmost tip lies just south of Dijon, and the region extends down to the Côte de Beaune, onto which it abuts. Named after the town of Nuits-St-Georges, it is most widely reknowned for it's red wines, although there are a few worthy white wines made here also. Geologically, the region sits on a combination of Bajocian, Bathonian, Callovian and Argovian limestones, with some Liassic marlstone. The climate is continental, with a wide annual temperature difference. Spring rains and frost can be a problem, as can Autumn rain, which may interfere with the harvest. This is true for the whole Côte d'Or. The vineyards lie on the slope between the plain to the east, and the hills to the west. Soils on the plain, to the east of the N74 (not illustrated), are too fertile for quality wine, and on the hills it is too sparse. The easterly aspect also aids exposure to the sun. 

The most northerly village of note is Marsannay, an up and coming wine region for the production of value Burgundy. Next is Fixin, a village which can produce some good value wines, although they never achieve greatness.

Further south come the villages of the Côte de Nuits that produce some of the great wines of Burgundy. Firstly, Gevrey-Chambertin, which impresses with the combination of its muscular, weighty attitude and paradoxical perfumed edge. Morey-St-Denis is a meaty, intense wine which can be superb, but like many of these famous names overcropping and poor vinification techniques can result in some very weak wines. Chambolle-Musigny may be marked by a wonderful, floral, fragrant bouquet, whereas at Vougeot we have an unusual situation. Much of the wine is classified as Grand Cru as it lies within the walled vineyard of the Clos de Vougeot, but only a small part of this wine is truly of Grand Cru quality. At best it can be a tasty, full-bodied, richly fruited wine, although it is not one of the great Grands Crus.

Flagey-Echézeaux is unusual as it lies to the east of all the other vineyards. The wines can be quite fine. Next is Vosne-Romaneé, a fine set of vineyards which can produce some superb wines. Vosne-Romaneé can have a rich, creamy, sensuous texture, even in the village wines from a good producer. Other than Nuits-St-Georges, there are no other villages of huge significance.

The appellations of the Côte de Nuits are as follows:

Grands Crus: Such wines are not required to bear the village name. Thus wines produced, for example, from the Grand Cru Chambertin Clos de Bèze would not include the village name of Gevrey-Chambertin, where it is situated. These are as follows:

Gevrey-Chambertin: Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Charmes-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Griotte- Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin.

Morey-St-Denis: Bonnes Mares, Clos Saint-Denis, Clos de Tart, Clos de la Roche, Clos des Lambrays.

Chambolle-Musigny: Musigny, Bonnes Mares.

Vougeot: Clos de Vougeot.

Vosne-Romanée: La Romanée, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-Conti, Romanée-St-Vivant, La Grande Rue.

Flagey-Echézeaux: Grands-Echézeaux, Echézeaux.

The Grand Cru Bonnes Mares straddles the villages of Morey-St-Denis and Chambole-Musigny. Nuits-St-Georges has no Grands Crus.

Premiers Crus: These are too numerous to name here. As with Chablis, a wine blended from several such sites will be labelled as Premier Cru, whereas a wine from an individual vineyard will bear the vineyard name, eg. Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos Saint-Jacques.

Village Wines: The villages of the Côte de Nuits are Marsannay (La-Côte), Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle Musigny, Vougeot (although anything other than Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot is rare), Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St-Georges. Village wines from Flagey-Echézeaux are sold under the Vosne-Romanée appellation.

Sub-Village Appellations: These include Côte de Nuits Villages (may be applied to wine from Corgoloin, Comblanchien, Prémeaux, Brochon, and declassified wine from Fixin), Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits (applies to a large number of communes to the west of the Côte d'Or), and basic Bourgogne.

BURGUNDY WINES - BEAUJOLAIS

The Beaujolais is a French AOC wine, almost all Beaujolais wines are reds of the Gamay grape but like most AOC wines are not labelled varietally. Whites from the region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made with Chardonnay grapes. Beaujolais tends to be a very light bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity which makes it less a casual sipping wine and one more suited to food.

Most Beaujolais should be drunk within the first three years of its life. Only the best examples of the ten "crus" listed below - and produced by the best vintners - improve with age for up to ten years.

Wines labeled simply "Beaujolais" account for 50% of the production. Beaujolais Villages makes up 25% of the region's production, and comes from better vineyard sites in and around the ten "crus" in the north part of Beaujolais. Wine from these individual crus, which make up the balance, can be more full-bodied, darker in color, and significantly longer lived. Unfortunately for the unknowing wine drinker, these wines do not usually use the word "Beaujolais" on the label, leaving one with little recourse but to memorize the list. The ten crus are: Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Saint-Amour, Chiroubles, Chénas, Fleurie, Juliénas, and most recently, Régnié.

By far, the largest production comes from the négoçiant Georges Duboeuf, who makes the well-known "flower labels".

Tourism

Some of the major tourist attractions are the Gothic abbey church of Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye and the Romanesque abbey church at Saulieu, as well the Château de Bussy Rabutin at Bussy-le-Grand. The Abbey of Cîteaux, headquarters of the Cistercian Order, lies to the east of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south of the département.

BURGUNDY WINES - COTE D'OR

The département is part of the current région of Bourgogne. It is surrounded by the départements of Yonne, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Aube, and Haute-Marne.

A chain of hills called the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to south-west through the département to the north of Dijon and continues south-westwards as the Côte d'Or escarpment, after which the département is named. It is the south-east facing slope of the escarpment which is the site of the celebrated Burgundy vineyards. To the west of the Plateau de Langres, towards Champagne, lies the densely wooded district of Châtillonais. To the south-east of the plateau and escarpment, the département lies in the broad, flat-bottomed valley of the middle course of the Saône.

Rivers include:

* The Saône 

* The Seine rises in he southern end of the Plateau de Langres. 

* The Ouche rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows to the Saône via Dijon. 

* The Armançon rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows north-westward. 

* The Arroux rises on the dip slope of the escarpment at the southern end of the département. 

Climate

The climate of the département is temperate, with abundant rain on the west side of the central range.

Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a historical province and a wine-producing region in France. It is now part of the Burgundy région for administrative purposes. The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, and more recently for the enormously popular Beaujolais nouveau.

BURGUNDY WINES - THE GEOGRAPHY

Highest point: Haut-Folin (901m) in the Morvan. The Canal of Burgundy joins the Rivers Yonne and Saône, allowing barges to navigate from the north to south of France. Construction began in 1765 and was completed in 1832. At the summit there is a tunnel 3.333 kilometers long in a straight line. The canal is 242 kilometers long, with a total 209 locks and crosses two counties of Burgundy, the Yonne and Cote d'Or. The canal is now mostly used for riverboat tourism; Dijon, the most important city along the canal, has a harbor for leisure boats.

BURGUNDY WINES - THE WINE

Chardonnay vineyards in the south of the Côte de Beaune surrounding the town of Meursault. 

Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) is the name given to certain wines made in the Burgundy region of France.

Red Burgundy wines are usually made with the Pinot Noir grape, and white Burgundy wines are usually made with Chardonnay grapes, as dictated by the AOC. Geographically, the wine region starts just south of Dijon and runs southward to just short of the city of Lyon. The area of Chablis stands on its own to the west of Dijon, about as close to Paris as it is to the heart of Burgundy. The main wine regions in Burgundy proper (those that are entitled to the AOC Bourgogne designation) are the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune - which collectively are known as the Côte d'Or - and further south the Côte Chalonnaise. Also viticulturally part of Burgundy are Beaujolais, Chablis, and Mâcon, and they show some similarity. However, a wine from one of these regions would rarely be referred to as a "Burgundy."

Burgundy is home to some of the most sought-after wines in the world, and the most expensive, including those of Domaine de la Romanée Conti. Burgundy is in some ways the most terroir-oriented region on the planet; immense attention is paid to the area of origin, and in which of the region's 400 types of soil a wine's grapes are grown. It has a carefully demarcated quality hierarchy: the grand crus are at the top, followed by premier crus, then village, and finally generic Bourgogne. Bourgogne is where grapes other than Chardonnay and Pinot Noir begin to be introduced, allowing pinot blanc and Pinot Gris, two Pinot Noir mutations that were traditionally grown and now are in decline in the area. Other Burgundy AOCs that are not as often seen are Bourgogne Passetoutgrains (which can contain up to two thirds Gamay (the grape of Beaujolais) in addition to Pinot Noir), Bourgogne Aligoté (which is primarily made with the Aligoté grape), and Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire. The latter is the lowest AOC, and Grand definitely refers to the size of the area eligible to produce it, not its quality. There are certain regions that are allowed to put other grapes in miscellaneous AOCs, but for the most part these rules hold.

From about the year 900 up to the French Revolution, the vineyards of Burgundy were owned by the Church. After the revolution, the vineyards were broken up and sold to the workers who had tended them. The Napoleonic inheritance laws resulted in the continued subdivision of the most precious vineyard holdings, so that some growers hold only a row or two of vines. This led to the emergence of négociants who aggregate the produce of many growers to produce a single wine. It has also led to a profusion of increasingly small family-owned wineries, exemplified by the dozen plus "Gros" family domaines.

BURGUNDY WINES - THE HISTORY

The Burgundians were one of the Germanic peoples who filled the power vacuum left by the collapse of the western half of the Roman empire. In 411, they crossed the Rhine and established a kingdom at Worms. Amidst repeated clashes between the Romans and Huns, the Burgundian kingdom eventually occupied what is today the borderlands between Switzerland, France, and Italy. In 534, the Franks defeated Godomar, the last Burgundian king, and absorbed the territory into their growing empire.

Its modern existence is rooted in the dissolution of the Frankish empire. When the dynastic dust had settled in 880s, there were three Burgundies: the kingdom of Upper Burgundy around Lake Geneva, the kingdom of Lower Burgundy in Provence, and the duchy of Burgundy in France. The two kingdoms of Burgundy were reunited in 937 and absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad II in 1032, while the duchy of Burgundy was annexed by the French throne in 1004.

During the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and monasteries, among them Cluny, Citeaux, and Vézelay.

During the Hundred Years' War, King Jean II of France gave the duchy to his younger son, rather than leaving it to his successor on the throne. The duchy soon became a major rival to the French throne, because the Dukes of Burgundy succeeded in assembling an empire stretching from Switzerland to the North Sea, mostly by marriage. The Burgundian Empire consisted of a number of fiefdoms on both sides of the (then largely symbolical) border between the French kingdom and the German Empire. Its economic heartland was in the Low Countries, particularly Flanders and Brabant. The court in Dijon outshone the French court by far both economically and culturally.

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Burgundy provided a power base for the rise of the Habsburgs, after Maximilian of Austria had married into the ducal family. In 1477 the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle and Burgundy itself taken back by France. His daughter Mary and her husband Maximillian moved the court to Brussels and ruled the remnants of the empire (the Low Countries and Franche-Comté, then still a German fief) from there.