Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine ( or ') is a wine made in the Burgundy region of east-central France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies", are dry red wines made from pinot noir grapes and white wines made from chardonnay grapes.

Red and white wines are also made from other grape varieties, such as gamay and aligoté, respectively. Small amounts of rosé and sparkling wines are also produced in the region. Chardonnay-dominated Chablis and gamay-dominated Beaujolais are recognised as part of the Burgundy wine region, but wines from those subregions are usually referred to by their own names rather than as "Burgundy wines".

Burgundy has a higher number of ' (AOCs) than any other French region, and is often seen as the most '-conscious of the French wine regions. The various Burgundy AOCs are classified from carefully delineated ' vineyards down to more non-specific regional appellations. The practice of delineating vineyards by their ' in Burgundy goes back to medieval times, when various monasteries played a key role in developing the Burgundy wine industry. The historical importance of the Burgundy wine region and its unique climats system led to sites in the region being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy site.

Geography and climate

thumb|Vineyards in the [[Burgundy wine|Burgundy wine region of France.]]

The Burgundy region runs from Auxerre in the north to Mâcon in the south, or to Lyon if the Beaujolais area is included as part of Burgundy. Chablis, a white wine made from Chardonnay grapes, is produced in the area around Auxerre. Other smaller appellations near Chablis include Irancy, which produces red wines and Saint-Bris, which produces white wines from Sauvignon blanc.

There are 100 appellations in Burgundy and these are classified into four quality categories. These are Bourgogne, village, premier cru and grand cru. Eighty-five miles southeast of Chablis is the Côte d'Or, where Burgundy's most famous and most expensive wines originate, and where all Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy (except for chablis grand cru) are situated. The Côte d'Or itself is split into two parts: the Côte de Nuits which starts just south of Dijon and runs till Corgoloin, a few kilometers south of the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and the Côte de Beaune which starts at Ladoix and ends at Dezize-les-Maranges. The wine-growing part of this area in the heart of Burgundy is just long, and in most places less than wide. The area is made up of tiny villages surrounded by a combination of flat and sloped vineyards on the eastern side of a hilly region, providing some rain and weather shelter from the prevailing westerly winds. The best wines - from grand cru vineyards - of this region are usually grown from the middle and higher part of the slopes, where the vineyards have the most exposure to sunshine and the best drainage, 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. The Côte de Nuits contains 24 out of the 25 red grand cru appellations in Burgundy, while all but one of the region's white Grand Cru wines are in the Côte de Beaune (the exception being Musigny blanc). This is explained by the presence of different soils, which favour pinot noir and chardonnay, respectively.

Further south is the Côte Chalonnaise, where again a mix of mostly red and white wines are produced, although the appellations found here such as Mercurey, Rully and Givry are less well-known than their counterparts in the Côte d'Or.

Below the Côte Chalonnaise is the Mâconnais region, known for producing large quantities of easy-drinking and more affordable white wine. Further south again is the Beaujolais region, famous for fruity red wines made from Gamay grapes.

Burgundy's terrain is continental climate characterized by cold winters and hot summers. The weather is unpredictable, with rains, hail, and frost all possible around harvest time. Such a climate results in vintages from Burgundy varying considerably.

History

thumb|left|Harvest time in the Chablis Premier Cru of Fourchaume

Archaeological evidence establishes viticulture in Burgundy as early as the second century AD, although the Celts may have been growing vines in the region previous to the Roman conquest of Gaul in 51 BC. Greek traders, for whom viticulture had been practiced since the late Neolithic period, had founded Massalía in about 600 BC, and traded extensively up the Rhône valley, where the Romans first arrived in the second century BC. The earliest recorded praise of the wines of Burgundy was written in 591 by Gregory of Tours, who compared it to the Roman wine Falernian. It was during this era that the first reliable references to grape varieties in Burgundy were made. Pinot noir was first mentioned in 1370 under the name Noirien, but it was believed to have been cultivated earlier than that, since no other grape variety associated with medieval Burgundy is believed to have been able to produce red wines of a quality able to impress the papal court. On 6 August 1395, Duke Philip the Bold issued a decree concerned with safeguarding the quality of Burgundy wines. The duke declared the "vile and disloyal Gamay"—which was a higher-yielding grape than Pinot noir in the 14th century, as it is today—unfit for human consumption and banned the use of organic fertilizer (manure), which probably increased yields even further to the detriment of quality. High-quality white Burgundy wines of this era were probably made from Fromenteau, which is known as a quality grape in northeastern France in this time. Fromenteau is probably the same variety as today's Pinot gris. Chardonnay is a much later addition to Burgundy's vineyards. Lavalle's classification was formalized in modified form by the Beaune Committee of Agriculture in 1861, and then consisted of three classes. Most of the "first class" vineyards of the 1861 classification were made into Grand Cru appellations d'origine contrôlées when the national AOC legislation was implemented in 1936.

Grand Cru wines are produced by a small number of the best vineyard sites in the Côte d'Or region, as strictly defined by the AOC laws. These Cru wines make up 2% of the production at 35 hl/ha, and are generally produced in a style meant for cellaring, and typically need to be aged a minimum of five to seven years. The best examples can be kept for more than 15 years. Grand Cru wines will only list the name of the vineyard as the appellation - such as Corton or Montrachet - on the wine label, plus the Grand Cru term, but not the village name. Several Grand Cru vineyards have compound names (double-barrelled names), mostly due to adding a more famous vineyard which they neighbor, as in Charmes-Chambertin (adding Chambertin to "Charmes") or Romanée-Saint-Vivant (adding La Romanée to "Saint-Vivant"; these no longer quite neighbor), though other compound names such as Corton-Charlemagne have idiosyncratic histories. There are two triple names of this form: Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, corresponding to vineyards that neighbor Bâtard-Montrachet, which neighbors Montrachet. Compound names using a more famous vineyard are sometimes referred to as "satellites" of the more famous one.
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 hl/ha. These wines often should be aged three to five years, and again the best wines can keep for much longer. Premier Cru wines are labelled with the name of the village of origin, the Premier Cru status, and usually the vineyard name, for example, "Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets". Some Premier Cru wines are produced from several Premier Cru vineyards in the same village, and do not carry the name of an individual vineyard. Blending premier crus is more common in Morey-Saint-Denis than other villages.
Village appellation wines are produced from a blend of wines from supposedly lesser vineyard sites within the boundaries of one of 42 villages, or from one individual but unclassified vineyard. Wines from each different village are considered to have their own specific qualities and characteristics, Several villages in Burgundy have appended the names of their most famous Grand Cru vineyards to the original village name, for marketing reasons, resulting in double-barrelled names, starting with "Gevrey-Chambertin" in 1847 and ending with "Morey-Saint-Denis" in 1927.
Regional appellation wines are wines which are allowed to be produced over the entire region, or over an area significantly larger than that of an individual village. At the village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels, only red and white wines are found, but some of the regional appellations also allow the production of rosé and sparkling wines, as well as wines dominated by grape varieties other than Pinot noir or Chardonnay. While an impressive number, it does not include the several hundred named vineyards (lieux-dits) at the Village and Premier Cru level, which may be displayed on the label, since at these levels, only one set of appellation rules is available per village. The total number of vineyard-differentiated AOCs that may be displayed is well in excess of 500.

Production

thumb|left|One of the main wineries that produces [[Crémant de Bourgogne]]

In 2003, the Burgundy vineyards (including Chablis but excluding Beaujolais) covered a total of .

In 2000, Burgundy had a total of 3,200 wine domaines (compared to 50 in the early 19th century), of which 520 were in the department of Yonne, 1,100 in Côte-d'Or and 1,570 in Saône-et-Loir. Generally, the small growers sell their grapes to larger producers, merchants called négociants, who blend and bottle the wine. Most négociants tend to use the term Mis en bouteille par... (bottled by...).

Grape varieties

thumb|Burgundy vineyards: The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits

Of the white grapes, Chardonnay is the most common. Another grape found in the region, Aligoté, tends to produce cheaper wines which are higher in acidity. Aligoté from Burgundy is the wine traditionally used for the Kir drink, where it is mixed with black currant liqueur. Sauvignon blanc is also grown in the Saint Bris appellation. Chablis, Mâcon wines and the Côte d'Or whites are mostly produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes.

Of the red grapes, the majority of production in the Côte d'Or is focused on the Pinot noir grape, while the Gamay grape is grown in Beaujolais. In the Côte de Nuits region, 90% of the production is red grapes.

Rules for the red Burgundy appellations, from regional to Grand Cru level, generally allow up to 15% of the white grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris to be blended in, but this is not widely practised today.

Reputation and appreciation

thumb|right|[[Romanée-Conti, a Burgundy wine, is among the world's most expensive wines.]]

Burgundy is home to some of the most expensive wines in the world, including those of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, Henri Jayer, Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Armand Rousseau.

Its renown goes back many centuries; in 1522 Erasmus wrote: "O happy Burgundy which merits being called the mother of men since she furnishes from her mammaries such a good milk" This was echoed by Shakespeare, who refers in King Lear to "the vines of France and milk of Burgundy".

British wine critic Jancis Robinson has stated that "price is an extremely unreliable guide" and "what a wine sells for often has more to do with advertising hype and marketing decisions than the quality contained in the bottle". While Grand Crus often command steep prices, village level wines from top producers can be found at lower price points.

In 2010, the Burgundy region experienced a notable increase in internet coverage thanks to official efforts like the online broadcast of the famous Hospices de Beaune, as well as the efforts of independent wine aficionados, such as Bourgogne Live. Some burgundies are also increasingly valued as investment wines.

Fans of Burgundy wine have been organizing events celebrating its virtues for decades. The most famous of these is La Paulée de Meursault.

References

External links

Official Burgundy wines website
The wines of Burgundy - The official website of France (in English)
Burgundy Report
Wine Doctor: The wine geography of the Côte d'Or. (Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune).
Wine Doctor: The wine geography of Chablis, the Côte Chalonnaise, the Mâconais and the Beaujolais.