Wine Club

Burgundy Wines

We start our journey through the Burgundy (aka Bourgogne) wine region in the eastern France city of Dijon. Among France’s many wine regions, and despite being relatively small, Burgundy boasts some of the most precious wines in the world. The red wines are predominately Pinot Noir, and the white wines are mostly from Chardonnay.

Burgundy is known as the most terroir-oriented wine region in France. In short, they pay inordinate attention to the soil, underlying rock, altitude of the vineyards, slope, sun orientation and microclimate. The attention to detail, including soil type and enrichment, wine stock, pruning, grape-picking, wine making and labeling dates back to the Ordinance of 1396. Burgundy wines are classified, in ascending order, regional appellations, village appellations, Premier Cru and the famous Grand Cru. Unlike Bordeaux wines, which receive their classification based on the chateaux or house, Burgundy wines are classified based on their location in the region.

The Burgundy region is divided into four main parts, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte

Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais. Two additional sub-regions of Burgundy include Beaujolais and Chablis. The first two sections of Burgundy, Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune are often referred to as Côte d’Or. The Côte d’Or is home to some of the world’s most expensive wines among its 33 Grand Cru vineyards. A large majority of the wines produced in this region are from Pinot Noir grapes. The Premier and Grand Cru wines have moderate tannins, with flavors of dried cranberry, vanilla, and candied hibiscus. The Chardonnays of the Côte d’Or are generally oaked and have hints of yellow apple, vanilla, and hazelnut.

Moving further south to the Côte Chalonnaise we find Pinot Noirs with earthier notes. The Mâconnais region, including Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran, make a wonderful lighter unoaked style Chardonnay.

There are many ways to enjoy Burgundy wines. If given the opportunity, take a trip to Beaune, home of the famous Hotel-Dieu where wine is auctioned off each November for local and national causes. It is in Beaune where you can find wine cellars as high as churches, storing millions of bottles of Burgundy wines. Of course, our local wine stores also have a good assortment of high-quality Burgundy Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.

Submitted by Jesse D. Young, Corte Bella Resident, Founder CB Wine Tasting Group