I was completely incorrect when I thought I was “punishing” myself with Bordeaux. Its hard, true, to remember all the appellations and especially all the various classifications systems. And there are more grape varieties allowed. But next up is Burgundy, and its complexities make Bordeaux seems like child’s play. I have a pretty good memory and a knack for memorization (at least in the short term), but there’s just simply no way I *need* to memorize everything about Burgundy. Not to mention learning how to pronounce everything!


So, I’m going to do the abbreviated version. Burgundy For Dummies, if you will. Luckily I’m far more excited about these wines. I think I’m really gonna like Burgundy.

So, first, the basics. Burgundy ( in French) makes both red and white wine and they one make one of each. Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir and White Burgundy is Chardonnay. (Ok, this isn’t entirely true. Beaujolais is part of Burgundy and they grow and make wine from the gamay grape. But, no one calls wine from Beaujolais Burgundy, they call it Beaujolais, so I doubt this will cause any confusion). Easy enough, right?

Burgundy is in Eastern Central France and made up of several sub-regions. Chablis is actually fairly removed from the rest of the region, closer to Paris, and makes only white wine. The Côte d’Or, the most famous area of Burgundy, which is actually divided into two regions, Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, and makes a mix of red and white wine, Côte Châlonnaise which makes red and white wine, Mâconnais which makes almost all white wine and Beaujolais, 99% red wine, and I will not be covering it in this upcoming series. I have my limits.

Next big difference between Bordeaux and Burgundy is that in Bordeaux wines were always from “Château French-Word” and it was the château themselves that were classified in all the various systems. Burgundy is far less glamorous, there are no sprawling mansions. This is farmland. In Burgundy it is all about terroir, so naturally it is the vineyards that are classified. And thanks to our friend Napoleon, who after the French Revolution called for a law of equal inheritance for children, there are a TON of vineyards. In general, it seems that quality is highest from vineyards at the top of the hill, and it goes down from there to the base.

There are two classifications for Burgundy, Grand Cru and Premier Cru (often written 1er cru on labels). All Grand Cru Burgundies must say “Grand Cru” on the label and there are only 32 of them, so when you see one you know it’s the real thing. There are 400+ Premier Cru vineyards, so we won’t be discussing those in detail.


So, since there are more than 110 appellations and 1,000 vineyard names one must know in order to be an expert, I turned to my buddy Kevin Zraly and his book for my following “Graphique de Bourgogne” (that would be Chart of Burgundy). Memorize this and you may pass for a somewhat intelligent life-form when it comes to the wines of Burgundy. (Pronunciations provided when available).

Côte d’Or:

Côte de Beaune (70% red wines 30% white wines) 8 Grand Cru Vineyards
Important Red Villages:
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Pommard
Volnay

Important White Villages:
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Meursault
Puligny-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet
Best recent white vintages: 1996*, 2000*, 2002*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

Côte de Nuits (95% red wine) 24 Grand Cru Vineyards
Important Red Villages:
Gevrey-Chambertin
Morey-St-Denis
Chambolle-Musigny
Vougeot
Flagey-Échézeaux
Vosne-Romanée
Nuits-St-Georges

Best recent red vintages for Côte d’Or: 1999*, 2002*, 2003*, 2005**, 2006

Côte Châlonnaise
Important Villages:
Mercurey
Givry
Rully

Chablis (white wine)
Best recent vintages: 2002*, 2004, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

Mâconnais (white wine)
Quality levels, basic to best:
Mâcon Blanc
Mâcon Supérieur
Mâcon-Villages
St-Véran
Pouilly-Vinzelles
Pouilly-Fuissé
Best recent vintages: 2004*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

And here’s what I picked up for this little jaunt through the ‘Gold Coast’ (Côte d’Or translated, by the way). I realize these following wine names may be largely unintelligible, I promise to get more detailed in each wine’s post!

From K&L:

2008 Domaine Delarche Corton-Renardes Grand Cru $54.99
2007 Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru "Goutte d'Or" $39.95
2009 Château de Maligny Chablis 1er Cru "Montee de Tonnerre" $26.99
2007 Antonin Rodet Chateau de Mercey Mercurey Rouge $18.99
2008 Domaine Louis Jadot Côte de Nuits-Villages "Le Vaucrain" $23.99

And, since they have such a good selection, though not better prices, I also picked up a few things at Draeger’s, an upscale grocery store in downtown San Mateo with an amazing wine department.

2008 Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages (half bottle) $8.99
2007 Hervé AZO Chablis (half bottle) $13.99
2006 Domaine Anne-Marie Gille Vosne-Romanée $37.99
2008 Vincent Girardin Les Vieilles Vignes Volnay $38.99 (wow click the link to see how much better prices are at K&L!