Burgundy

Burgundy is located in east-central France, south of Champagne and southwest of Alsace. Within its boundaries lie the four distinct areas of Chablis, the Côte d’Or, the Côte Chalonnaise, and the Mâconnais.

Chablis is about 80 miles north from the Côte d’Or and is actually closer to the Aube district of Champagne than it is to Burgundy. The weather in Chablis is essentially the same as that in Champagne: cold winters and cool summers. Chablis produces exclusively white wines using Chardonnay. Its prime land comprises the grand cru sites of Chablis, which around it are 40 different premier crus, plus the general Chablis AOC region as well as Petit Chablis AOC. Irancy is a small appellation near the Yonne River, south of Chablis which produces some high-acid Pinot Noirs.

The Côte d’Or encompasses the most prestigious vineyard sites in Burgundy, if not in all of France. It is divided in half with Côte de Nuits to the north and Côte de Beaune to the south. 32 of Burgundy’s grand crus exist here (in addition to Chablis Grand Cru). Within the Côte d’Or, the Côte de Nuits is home to primarily Pinot Noir production with Marsannay up north, stretching all the way to Corgoloin. Some of the best known grand crus of this part of the Côte d’Or are Chambertin, Musigny, Clos de Vougeot, and Romanée-Conti. The Côte de Beaune is known as a white wine region, although there are some serious reds coming from this area. The primary communes of the Côte de Beaune are Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet.

South of Côte d’Or is the Côte Chalonnaise – most known for producing value Pinot Noir from Mercurey and Aligoté from Bouzeron.

The Mâconnais lies north of Beaujolais and is known for Chardonnays of extreme value. The soil type here is concentrated in limestone, which lends opulence to the style of wine. There are also some plantings of Gamay. In Burgundy, there is a special designation for Pinot Noir which is blended with Gamay – also known as Passetoutgrains.