Burgundy Wine
Burgundy with its many vineyards, villages and appellation systems both split among numerous land owners and wine growers provides a complicated region to grasp. Great Burgundy wine can be both red, made with Pinot Noir, and white which tend to be un-blended wines made from single grape varieties, mostly Chardonnay and occasionally Aligoté. Burgundy wine is only produced in small quantities compared to other regions, with production excluding the Beaujolais region representing 1/5th of Bordeaux's total porduction. The Burgundy region runs from Auxerre in the north down to Macon in the South, including the the Beaujolais area, which is technically part of Burgundy however represents a region on its own as all it wines are made from Gamay grapes. In the rest of Burgundy wine of quality from the best producers are both hard to find and expensive.
Burgundy Wine Classification System
- 70-80 % of Burgundy wine is classified as "Bourgogne"- Grapes can be assembled from anywhere.
- Next level is the Hautes Cotes-de-Nuits and Hautes-Cotes-de- Beaune - This literally translates as "higher up the hill" - where a better quality production is often found.
- The third tier wines use the village or commune name found in Burgundy - for example Volnay / Gevrey Chambertin.
- This is folowed by Premier Cru, a label of which will follow the following formula: Premier Cru / Village Name / Producers Name - For example "Premier Cru Volnay Buffet". There are only approximately 560 vineyards that have attained this level.
- Finally we have the Grand Cru, these are the top wines in Burgundy and represent 1% of Burgundy's production. The labels will only have the name of the vineyard for example "Charmes Chambertin" - There are only approximately 30 vineyards that have attained this level and have the luxury to be part of the appellation system.
