Wset Advanced: Section 3/16 Burgundy

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Climate and Soils

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- Northern continental climate, with severe winters and hot summers.
- Autumn are cold and reinfalls are frequent at vintage time. Anual rainfalls are 650 mm.
- Spring frost are often problem especially in Chablis region (May)
- Summer rains affect to gray root and localised hailstorms.
- Most vineyards lie on east side of Massif Central which acts as protective barrier.
- Soil can be calcareous-clayey (Chardonnay) or limy-marl (Pinot Noir).
- Best sites are on mid-slope which catch the deepest layer of slope-wash and act as sun-traps. Even hire soil are shalow (rare more than a 1m)
- Features as steepness, direction of slopes, drainage, heat retention and mireral content can vary dramatically between small areas, so both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are so sensitive to the terroir.

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Pinot Noir

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- Classic black grape variety of Burgundy, succeeds here better than anywhere else in the world.
- Very old variety and its affinity to mutate results with new versions of its variety (clones) which can be very diferent i aspect of yield, time of ripen, different flavours ...
- Classic Burgundian Pinot Noir has red fruit flavours, (cherry, raspberry, srtawberry) in youth that develop in vegetal and savory, gamey notes.
- Tannins and acidity vary from medium to high, depend of vintage and vineyards. Full-body, rearly astringent tannins.
- 1/3 of production in Burgundy

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Chardonnay

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- provides great white wine of Burgundy
- long and less compact bunch decrease prone to rot and ensure ability to rich, ripe, creamy-buttery wines.
- affinity to oak and agening with contact of lees.
- vary dramaticly in character as we move from Chablis (lean, steely and high acid), via the often fabulosly complex, expressive wines of the Cote d'Or to south full-bodied, riper-fruited wines of Macon.
- 1/2 of wine production on Burgundy

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Aligote

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- grown for making Burgogne Aligote and sparkling wines.
- although best Aligote wines are recently produced, they have no more than two-dimensional flavour
- 5% of Burgundy production

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Gamay

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- easy to grow, high yield, early maturing wines.
- its contributes is humbie at Bourgogne Grand Ordinarie and * Bourgogne Passetoutgrains AC wines and red wines ov Maconnais.
- 1/10 od Burgundy productions

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Vinifications Red Wines

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tehniques vary as you move to the south
- Cote d'Or , has been vogue cold-soaking before fermentation
- Traditional, open vat fermentation wit pumping over or punch down the cap.
- destemming is allowed, some winemakers retain part of stems to increase tannins or permeability of the cap.
- Top quality wines ageing 16-18 months. better wines in new oak barels.

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Vinification White Wines

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- Burgundy winemakers are pioners in all tehniques for Chardonnay wines productions which is used now worldwide .
- Oak Barrel Ageing 6-9 months
- Malolactic Fermentation (proces was first understood for Bordeaux reds)
- Use Lees during maturation.
- FIRM ACID BASED STRUCTURE ENABLING WINES TO DEVCELOP FOR DECADE OR MORE
Burgundy is important for cooperages too.

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Regional ACs

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- base of hierarchy, account for a half of the production
- exception of Maconnas all regional ACs have word Bourgogne in their title
*Bourgogne Aligote AC, high acidity low in acohol, Chablis and some villages in Cote d'Or (Pernand-Vergelesses, Puligny-Montrachet) and Cote Chalonnaise (village of Bouzeron has its own appellation for Aligote)
*Bourgogne Rouge AC / Bourgogne Blanc AC - must be made from best grape varieties in the area. This usualy means Pinot Noir for red and Chardonnay for white.
-under regional appellations also are restricted areas of :
Bourgogne Hautes Cote de Nuits
Bourgogne Hautes Cote de Beaune
Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise

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Commune ACs

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next step in hierarchy is that of village appelation (communal) as Chabis, Giviry or Giviri-Chambertin.
- 1/3 of production
- if the wine comes all from one vineyard and that is NOT Premier Cru than can be labeled the name of the vineyard, but it must smaller printet than village.

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Single Vineyards ACs: Premier and Grand Crus

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- a vineyard name is attached to specific plot of land which is registred in each town hall. Its size rarely alters.
- each commune with Premier Cru vineyards has separate AC for these, and each individual Grand Cru vineyard has its own AC. Because of that Burgundy have 100 ACs although its only 1/3 of Bordeaux wine production.
- In Bordeaux one team of workers will tend to give all yields to one chateau, and one team of winemakers can produced more quality different wines with consistency in style. In Burgundy just one owner of vineyard is exeptions, most will have number of different owners, each with individual parcel of vines and making wines in their different style.
* PREMIER CRU - sites have more pontential to produce better wines than ordinary village sites do.
There more than 600 Premier Crus spread from Chablis through Cote d'Or to Cote Chalonnaise and participate with 1/10 of Burgundy's production.
- Labeling
[COMMUNE]
[VIINEYARD] [PREMIER CRU(optional)]
Appellation [Commune] Premier Cru Controlee
- Alowed blending from different Premier Crus
[COMMUNE] 1er Cru
Appellation [Commune] Premier Cru Controlee
* GRAND CRU - sites, have greatest potential of all for long-lasting, expressive, complex wines. There are 33 of these on the Cote d'Or and can recognised that vineyard name stands alone on the label.
[Vineyard]
Grand Cru
Apelation [Vineyard] Controle
- Chablis has similar Grand Cru status, there is one Grand Cru spread over seven adjoing plots.
Labeling
Chablis Les Clos
Appellation Chablis Gran Cru Contole

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Yonne Region

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- centred at Chablis appellation
- soil have an important efect on the wine, in the best sites it is limestone with Kimmeridgian clay which is very rich with marine fossils and orginaly vineyards need to be at this soil if thay want to be under Chablis AC, but appellation was extends to some well-sited vineyards on similar Portlandian clay who can bear Pettit Chablis AC.
- spring frost, sprinkler
- only grape permitet is Chardonnay.
- Basic Chablis AC is austere, green plum fruit and high acidity, better wines can show hint of stone and smoky characteristic which is more market to Premier and Grand Cru wines.
*40 Cahblis Premier Cru AC, best known names are
Montre de Tonnerre, Vaillons and Fourchaume
more ripen citrus fruit, more body and softer creamy texture than basic Chablis
* 7 vineyards together in Chablis Grand Cru AC
these are: Les Clos, Vaudesir, Valmur, Les Preuses, Bougras, Blanchot and Grenouilles. Brand name La Moutonne also has Grand Cru status.
- need bottle age to show their best
- develop to smoky complex aromas with long mouth-watering finish
- some producers ferment or age a portion of their best wines in oak, oak i rarely major flavour component.

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Cote d'Or Region

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- Cote d'Or viticultural heartland of Burgundy.
- vineyards lie on narrow band with E or SE orientation, hills of the Morvan protect vineyards.
- Soil mix of limestone and marl
- Puring method Guyot
- split on two, Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune
* Cote de Nuits
- fullest-bodied, longest-lives reds
- All red Grand Crus except one are from here
- Famous Grand Crus are:
^Gevery Chabertin AC (Chambertin AC, Chambertin Clos de Beze AC) ,
^Vougeot AC (Clos de Vougeot AC) ,
^Vosne-Romanee (Romanee-Conti AC, La Tache AC and La Romanee AC)
^Nuits-Saint-Georges AC
*Cote se Nuits Villages AC - can be red or white wine and is produced from vineyards which lie on the Cote, but don't have right on famous villages appellations.
*Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits AC - it refer to vineyards on hills behind Cote.
- one week later vintage
- majority wines are co-operative produced in cellar at Beaune
- lighter in body than main villages at Cote de Nuits.
* Cote de Beaune
- litlle lighter reds but finest dry white wine in the world.
- All whites Grand Crus except one (rare Musigny Blanc) are from here.
- Important Grand Crus are:
^Aloxe-Corton AC (Corton AC, Corton Charlemagne AC)
^Beaune AC
^Pommard AC
^Volnay AC
^Meursault AC [WW]
^Puligny-Montrachet AC (Le Montrachet AC) [WW]
^Chassagne-Montrachet AC [WW]
all except Volnay produced white and red wine.
- all white wine are produced from Chardonnay, low yield and good soil.
- this wines can take decade to rich their pick and when they do, they are most complex white wines in the world.
* Cote de Beaune Villages AC - is an important wines for negociants as it can be blended in large quantities.
- It must be red and it can come from any one od villages on teh Cote de Beaune, except Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard and Volnay,
*Burgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune AC - paralel to Burgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits

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Saone et Loire

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- coverage both regions, Cote de Chalonnaise and Maconnais.
- same soil, same garpe varieties, lower price than Cot d'Or wines.
COTE DE CHALONNAISE
*Burgogne Cote Chalonnaise AC - applies to all Cote wines it calsified as regional appellation.
*Rully AC - more whites than reds wines, important for sparkling wines.
*Mercurey AC - red wines enjoy higest reputation and price.
*Givry AC - smalest village appellation , red wines are exceptionally good.
*Montagny AC - produces only white wines.
MACONNAIS
- two important local economies winemaking and dairy farming.
- In past there was production of red wines from Gamay, now only 6% of production are red wines from Pinot Noir.
*Macon AC - can be produced from anywhere , white from chardonnay, red from Gamay or Pinot Noir.
*Macon Superieur AC - min ripeness is little higher than Macon AC, good balance of fresh apple or citrus fruit, crisp acidity and medium to full body. Hint of creaminess from malolactic f.
*Macon Villages AC or Macon + Village name AC
- value for money, soft Chardonnay
- Lugny, considerable build up their wines
- Chardonnay village, from where grape take name
* PouIlly-Fuisse AC - most famous, amphiteatre slopes (natural sun-trap)
- can rich 14% abv , higest in Burgundy
- from all wines in Maconnais benefit more from barrel ageing.
- taste very ripe and full, bodied, peach, melon, nutty flavours from new oak. Some wines can even taste as New World style.

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The Trade in Burgundy Wines

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*Domaine wine - when grower produce wine from own vineyards and account 1/3 of production in Burgundy
- grower can sell own wine in bulk to negociant or co-operative
- negociant buy smaler quantities from a number of growers and than blends various wines, usualy thay rely to number of courtiers (brokers).
- half of Burgundy wine sales goes through negociants
*co-operative cellars at Yonne and Maconnais have important role on sale
- incrising domaine bottling is problem for merchants and some close their doors or was take over.