Burgundy Wines – Part 3 of 4: Burgundy Proper

By Alex Russell on May 22, 2013 in Other

Last month I touched on the levels of Burgundy at the end of my article. If you haven’t read it, check it out – it’ll help your understanding of this article.

The ‘main bit’ (very technical term) of Burgundy consists of the Côte d’Or (which is split into the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits), Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais. Here, the majority of wines are made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There is a little bit of other stuff, notably a sort of ‘poor man’s Chardonnay’ in Aligoté, but if you’re drinking Burgundy you might as well drink the real stuff.

Mâconnais
This is where you go when you want decent value white wines. Pouilly-Fuissé is the most well known sub-region here. The wines are almost entirely Chardonnay (this is certainly the case in Pouilly-Fuissé). There’s a slight overlap with Beaujolais and there is some red wine here, which can be decent value, but if you’re drinking Mâconnais, you might as well stick with the whites. Look for the word Mâcon on the label – it’s the village that the region is named after.

Côte Chalonnaise
As we venture north from Mâconnais it gets a bit cooler, so we see more Pinot Noir here – Pinot likes a cooler climate. There are some great little villages here, notably Mercurey, Givry (both mostly red), Montagny (only white) and Rully (a bit of both). They don’t have a structure that allows for longer-term aging, but you could get a decade out of them if you’re lucky. Aim for about five years from vintage, as a rule of thumb.

Côte de Beaune
Now we’re starting to get serious. If you ever get the chance, stay in Beaune. It’s a really pretty little place with a great history. Here you’ll find both whites and reds, including some of the biggest names for whites in Burgundy. Grand Crus include Corton-Charlemagne (now I’m drooling), Le Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet. Surprisingly, the famous village of Mearsault has 21 Premier Crus, but no Grand Crus. The Grand Cru known as Corton is the only one that produces Grand Cru reds in Côte de Beaune (although it also produces some whites).

Côte de Nuits
You may have heard of some of the really famous vineyards here: Échezeaux, Richebourg, La Tâche, etc. Some of the most amazing wines I’ve ever drunk have been from here. They also come with a bloody huge price tag. They’re mostly reds, and what sensational reds they are. The most sought after wine here comes from the famous producer called Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which produces six main reds and one white. The red from the famous Romanée-Conti vineyard has been described by Clive Coates (famous wine critic) as, “The scarcest, most expensive – and frequently the best – wine in the world.”

But you don’t need to spend crazy amounts of money to get really good wine from Burgundy. Check out next month’s article for my tips to buying decent Burgundy at non-ridiculous prices.