It has been said by many, "There are no shortcuts to understanding the region of Burgundy...." If you want to become a Burgundy expert,
be prepared to memorize 1,000 names, take a course in French pronunciation and dig through a maze of appellations."
Of course, after reading this, you'll be an expert in under 5 minutes! :)
Burgundy's reputation for winemaking dates as far back as 51 B.C.!! (No wonder they are good at it, they've had over 2000 years to get it right!) :)
The main wine regions in Burgundy proper are the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune (collectively known as the Côte d'Or or "golden slope") and further south the Côte Chalonnaise. The Route des Grands Crus (which loosely translates as the "road of great vineyards") traverses the Burgundy wine region.
The area is made up of tiny villages surrounded by flat and sloped vineyards. The sloped vineyards have the most exposure to sunshine and the greatest drainage. The best wines (Grand Cru) from this region are usually grown from the middle part of the slopes while the "Premier Cru" come from a little less favourably exposed slopes. The relatively ordinary "Village" wines are produced from the flat territory nearer the villages.
Burgundy experiences a continental climate characterized by very cold winters and hot summers. The weather is very unpredictable with rains, hail, and frost all possible around harvest time. Because of this climate, there is a lot of variation between vintages from Burgundy. The 2005 Vintage is already considered by many experts to be excellent, and one of the best vintages in decades!
Burgundy is in some ways the most terroir-oriented region in France; 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. As opposed to Bordeaux, where classifications are producer-driven and awarded to individual chateaux, Burgundy classifications are geographically-focused. A specific vineyard or region will bear a given classification, regardless of the wine's producer. This focus is reflected on the wine's labels where appellations are most prominent and producer's names often appear at the bottom in much smaller text.
Burgundy classifications, in descending order of quality, are: grand crus, premier crus, Commune or village, and finally generic Bourgogne.
- Grand Cru refers to wines produced from the small number of the best vineyard sites in the Cote d'Or. Grand Cru wines make up 2% of the production at 35 hectoliters/hectare. These wines need to be aged a minimum of 5-7 years and the best examples can be kept for more than 15 years. Very few Chardonnays or Pinot Noirs in the world can be aged and continue to improve as well as these wines. Grand Cru wines will only list the name of the vineyard as the appellation - such as Corton or Montrachet - on the wine label.
- Premier Cru wines are produced from specific vineyard sites that are still considered to be of high quality, but not as well regarded as the Grand Cru sites. Premier Cru wines make up 12% of production at 45 hectoliters/hectare. These wines need to be aged 3-5 years, and again the best wines can keep for much longer. Premier Cru wines will usually list both the name of the village of origin - together with the status of the vineyard - eg "Volnay 1er Cru" as the appellation, and then the name of the individual vineyard (eg "Les Caillerets") on the wine label.
- Village wines can be a blend of wines from supposedly lesser vineyard sites within the boundaries of an individual village, or from one individual but non-classified vineyard. Wines from each different village are considered to have their own specific qualities and characteristics. Village wines make up 36% of production at 50 hectoliters/hectare. These wines can be consumed 2-4 years after the release date, although again some examples will keep for longer. Village wines will show the village name on the wine label, eg "Pommard", and sometimes - if applicable - the name of the single vineyard where it was sourced. Several villages in Burgundy have appended the names of their Grand Cru vineyards to the original village name - hence "Puligny-Montrachet" and "Aloxe-Corton".
- The AOC Bourgogne classification refers to wines that can be sourced or blended from anywhere in the Burgundy region. These wines make up the rest of production at 55 hectoliters/hectare. These wines can be consumed up to 3 years after the vintage date. Appellations between generic "Bourgogne" and individual Village wines are also found, such as "Macon-Villages" or "Cote de Beaune-Villages", where the wines can come from a wide but defined area which will include several individual villages.
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