Burgundy
Cool continental
Home of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, where centuries of monastic vineyard mapping produced the world's most terroir-obsessed appellation hierarchy.
Overview
About Burgundy
Burgundy (Bourgogne) runs from Chablis in the north through the Côte d'Or — its Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune — and the Côte Chalonnaise to the Mâconnais in the south. Its reds are Pinot Noir and its whites Chardonnay, with Aligoté as a minor third. Benedictine and Cistercian monks spent centuries observing how different plots ripened and tasted, and their work underpins today's ranking of Grand Cru, Premier Cru, village and regional wines by vineyard rather than by producer.
The Climats — the named vineyard parcels of the Côte d'Or and their ranking — were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015. Inheritance under the Napoleonic code has since split holdings into tiny parcels, so a single vineyard may have dozens of owners, and négociants and growers often bottle wines from the same site.
Where is a grape grown?
Hover a marker to see what's grown there, and click it to open that place. On a touch screen, tap once to preview and again to open. Bigger markers have more grapes linked to them.
France
Shaded: Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool continental
A cool, semi-continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. Hail, spring frost and harvest-time rain make vintage variation a defining feature, and the best vineyards sit on east-facing slopes that catch the morning sun.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Jurassic limestones and marls in narrow bands, so that neighbouring vineyards can have distinct soils. The finest sites lie mid-slope, where drainage is good and the exposure is eastern; Chablis, farther north, is planted on Kimmeridgian marl.
Side by side
The Burgundy côtes
North
Côte de Nuits
- Soil
- Limestone and clay-limestone on a narrow, steep slope
- Dominant grapes
- Pinot Noir
- Typical style
- Structured, dark-fruited and long-lived; the home of red Grand Cru
Centre
Côte de Beaune
- Soil
- Limestone with more marl, suiting Chardonnay
- Dominant grapes
- Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
- Typical style
- Softer, perfumed reds and the great white Burgundies
South
Côte Chalonnaise
- Soil
- Limestone and marl in gentler hills
- Dominant grapes
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté
- Typical style
- Lighter, more affordable reds and whites; home of Bouzeron
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Burgundy ranks vineyards, not producers. A given plot has the same rank whoever farms it, and the pyramid narrows as the place gets more specific.
Grand Cru
About 33 named vineyards, such as Romanée-Conti, Chambertin and Montrachet. The vineyard name stands alone on the label.
Premier Cru
Named vineyards a step below Grand Cru. The label shows the village, then the vineyard and 'Premier Cru'.
Village
Wine from a named village such as Meursault or Gevrey-Chambertin, blended from that village's vineyards.
Regional
Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté and Crémant de Bourgogne, from anywhere in the region.
Within Burgundy
Subregions
Chablis
Burgundy's northernmost outpost, making steely, mineral Chardonnay on Kimmeridgian limestone marl.
Côte Chalonnaise
Burgundy's gentler southern hills: more affordable Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Bouzeron, the home of Aligoté.
Côte de Beaune
The southern half of the Côte d'Or, home to the great white Burgundies of Meursault, Puligny and Montrachet, and softer, perfumed reds.
Côte de Nuits
The northern half of the Côte d'Or, a thin ribbon of limestone slope that holds nearly all of Burgundy's red Grand Cru vineyards.
What's grown here
Grapes
Grapes linked to Burgundy or to a place within it. Each grape's page links back here.