Burgundy

Overview

While Bordeaux is known for its history of commercial success, world renowned chateaux, and bold, age-worthy wines, Burgundy elicits a more emotional response from its admirers. Beyond their fabulously complex, delicious taste, there is a definite sensuality to Burgundian wines.

Apart from that, there are a few key differences between the regions. The first is ownership. While most Chateaux in Bordeaux are owned by single families, most Burgundy vineyards are divided among several owners. Thanks to inheritance laws dating from Napoleon, small vineyards in extreme cases may have as many as a hundred owners. The result is an appellation system of such labyrinthine complexity that even learning how to read a Burgundy wine label can be quite a challenge.

The second key difference in scarcity. Not counting Beaujolais, Burgundy produces only a quarter as much wine as Bordeaux. And since the landholdings are so divided, a typical Burgundy winemaker may produce 500 cases of a given wine, compared with 15,000 for a typical Bordeaux. Burgundy wine is in perpetually short supply, and getting your hands on select bottles can prove near impossible.

The third major difference lies in blending. Where Bordeaux wines are almost exclusively blends, Burgundy wines are just the opposite. A Burgundy red is always Pinot Noir; a white is always Chardonnay. Part of the reason Burgundy wines are so impressive is that they manage to coax such subtlety and complex flavors from a single grape.

History

Burgundy is a region with hundreds of appellations with extremely fragmented ownership. There have been vineyards in Burgundy since before 300 B.C. The Celts were already growing grapes before the Romans conquered Gaul in 51 B.C. After the fall of Rome, the area was retaken by barbarians, and throughout the Dark and Middle Ages, the Burgundian winemaking tradition was carried on by monks. The viticultural contributions of the Benedictine and Cistercian monks went much farther than the cultivation of Burgundian vineyards. They became wealthy and important landowners with resources that other growers lacked. They had money, education, storerooms and cellars. These monks were the first to write down what they learned over the years, and their organization led to steady improvement. Based on the terroir of various small plots of land, the monks defined the sites that were to become some of the most famous vineyards in the world.

Another important period in Burgundys history was the French Revolution. Until then, most vineyards in Burgundy remained in the hands of the Church or nobility, but they were all sold off and divided in the late 18th century. In the Napoleonic Code that was drafted in the early 1800s, there was a Law of Succession that required land owners to divide their holdings equally amongst their sons. Many of Frances other regions were already shared amongst family members at the time of the Revolution and were spared from state control. Bordeaux, for example was not impacted in the way Burgundy was, and many of the estates there have large holdings.

Because of the Napoleonic Law of Succession, the vineyards of Burgundy are extremely fragmented to this date, and they are owned by scores of growers. Many grape growers own tiny pieces of land in different locations, and often do not grow enough grapes in any given appellation to bottle their own wine. For this reason, the négociant plays a very important role in Burgundy. Négociants are merchants who purchase wine or grapes from different growers and bottle the wine under their own labels. The town of Beaune houses a high concentration of négociants.

For much of the 19th century, Burgundy thrived. Vineyard lands were widespread, and prices were relatively low - even for the best vineyard sites. Then, in the 1870s, they were all devastated by phylloxera. There was a great deal of conflict during this period, and when it was discovered that American vine rootstocks were resistant to the phylloxera louse, the problem was solved. One fortunate side effect of this calamity was that only the best vineyards were replanted and Burgundy came back better than before.

Because the terroir in Burgundy is so distinct and varied, the vineyards were ranked into three classes in 1861 by the Beaune Committee of Agriculture. At the top of the hierarchy are the Grand Cru vineyards. Grands Crus are generally labeled only with the name of the vineyard they are sourced from. The next best vineyards are classified as Premiers Crus. These wines are labeled with the name of the commune and the vineyard. Below Premier Cru is the village level, where only the name of the commune is listed, not the vineyard site. The most generic wines are labeled as Bourgogne. Unlike the chateau classifications of Bordeaux, these distinctions were put into appellation law when the AOC was established in the 1930s.

Geography

Burgundy is a relatively small region in central eastern France. Its vineyards occupy the three départements of Yonne, Côte dOr, and Saône et Loire, and it is divided into six appellations Chablis, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais, Baujolais, Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, with the last two often grouped together as Côte dOr.

Temperature

Unlike many of the worlds other great winemaking regions, Burgundy isnt influenced by a significant body of water or river. Its climate is continental with hot summers, cool autumns, and cold winters. Common viticultural problems are hail in the summer and frost in the spring, and there is always a rush to get the harvest in before rains begin.

Topography

One positive effect of the phylloxera infestation was that only the best vineyard sites were replanted on grafted American rootstock. Today Burgundy is not a densely planted region, as vineyards are generally located on hillsides sloping up out of the river valley. The tops of the hillsides are too cold for grapes production and wouldnt offer the crop enough protection from wind and frost, while the river lowlands below the vineyards are too marshy.

Terroir

Burgundys chalky, mineral soil gives its wines intensely distinctive, yet subtle flavors and aromas. Burgundys Chardonnay is elegant, complex and dry, with hints of nuts, butterscotch, flowers, fruit, minerals, and wet stone. Its Pinot Noir is medium-bodied and elegant, with aromas of earth and dark fruit flavors.