#DiscoverWWWine : Bourgogne
Each wine region in France has its own classification of wine. In Burgundy, the notion of terroir is very important since it is the soil that gives the wine its name (in Alsace, it is the grape variety, in Bordeaux, it is the domain…).
The vineyard terroir in Burgundy is also called “Climat”. It is a parcel of vineyard, carefully delimited and named for centuries, which has its own history and benefits from particular geological and climatic conditions.
- Regional appellations — “Bourgognes”
They exist in every bottle produced in Bourgogne. The word “Bourgogne” is then allowed to be written on the label. Examples of regional appellations : Bourgogne aligoté, Bourgogne Hautes côtes de Beaune, Crémant de Bourgogne…
- Communal appellations — “Village”
There are 44 communal appellations in Bourgogne. The wine bears the name of the village in which it is produced. Examples of communal appellations : Beaune, Savigny les Beaune, Auxey-Duresses, Saint-Romain…
- Appellations “Premiers Crus”
In Burgundy, within a communal appellation area, parcels of land, also called climats, have been determined and classified as premiers crus, notably with regard to the consistency of their quality. For example, the parcel “les Marconnets”, located in the Beaune appellation area is classified as 1er cru. Beaune is the largest appellation (by surface area) in the Côte d’Or and has 42 parcels classified as Premier Cru. On the bottle must appear the mention “Appellation 1er cru contrôlée” with the name of the commune. (example: “Appellation Beaune 1er Cru”). The name of the parcel is not always specified on the label.
- Appellations “Grands Crus” — The greatest wines of Bourgogne
The Grands Crus appellations represent the “elite” of Bourgogne wines. They are produced on the most famous parcels. The same Grand Cru appellation can be cultivated in several communes, such as Corton Grand Cru which is produced in the communes of Aloxe Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand Vergelesses. On the bottle must appear the obligatory mention “Grand Cru”. Only the red Grands Crus can be followed by the name of the climate where the wine comes from (example: Corton Grand Cru — Les Bressandes). In Côte de Beaune, there are 8 Grand Crus: Corton, Corton Charlemagne, Charlemagne, Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Romanée-Conti is certainly the most famous of the Grands Crus of Bourgogne. Only a few privileged people can acquire it because the average production is only 5 980 bottles per year.
As we saw, Grands Crus and Premiers Crus are exceptional wines. For you to see how this things are rare, here is the distribution of Burgundy wines and the volume of each class. Yes, only 2% of the production end up being a Grand Crus, that’s why they are so desired !
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