Burgundy, a special wine region.

Deceuninck Patrick, Columniste
20 01 2020

Photo : Cote de Nuits – Clos de Vougeot
© DEC

Many a lover of wine and gastronomy cannot ignore this world-famous region. It is not without reason that the picturesque villages receive many visitors each year. As a wine region with four main geographical regions, Burgundy is mainly divided into numerous sub-regions and appellations. There, breathtaking wines are made: rich red extract wines velvety and deep, next to complex mineral and sumptuous white wines.

In order to guarantee the quality of the red and white wines, a hierarchy is applied. There are four levels: the regional appellations (52% of production from the entire region), the "Villages" (wines from a specific municipality, 37% of production), the excellent Premiers Crus 10% (the better terroirs) and finally at the top the exceptional Grand Crus (1% of production). In Burgundy, the basic quality is high, mainly due to the careful work in the vineyard and the selection of the harvest. The winegrower knows his plot thoroughly, almost every stone. The terroir is and always will be more important than the winemaker or the style of the brand. No matter how good a terroir may be, it is the winegrower who ultimately determines the quality with his skill. A good benchmark for what the winegrower is capable of is his house wine, his generic AC Bourgogne. If it is good, then you know that the same attention was certainly paid to a cru. It is to the winegrower's credit if he manages to make both fine big wines and fine small wines. So this quality has to be paid for. The prices of the Premiers Crus from the Côte de Nuits are perfectly comparable with the Grand Crus from Bordeaux or the Italian top wines from Tuscany and Piemonte.

Red
With one exception, all red Burgundies are 100% Pinot Noir. Only in the Bourgogne Passetoutgrain AOC is some Gamay allowed. In the northern Côte de Nuits which starts with the village of Marsannay-la-Côte, you will find many hidden gems of wine at reasonable prices. What do you want, with the great wines of Nuits-St-Georges, Vosne Romanee. Gevrey Chambertin, Clos Vougeot. and others as neighbours. Just below that is the Cote de Beaune with its top wines Aloxe Corton, Santenay, Corton Bressandes and others. The Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune together form the Côte d'Or. This is the indisputable backbone of the area. An essential quality factor of the Côte d'Or is the soil, formed in the geological Jura period. The subsoil is strongly calcareous, which is ideal for the pinot noir grape variety for the reds and the chardonnay grape variety for the whites. Below the Côte d'Or, we come to the more affordable Côte Chalonnaise with a lot of limestone and marl in the soil where fresh, elegant and aromatic wines are produced. The most famous communes are Givry and Mercurey. Finally, we have the Cote Mâconnaise with its Mâcon, where the gamay grape is used for reds, and which can be drunk young.

White
The best white wines of Burgundy are known and sought after worldwide, and it is thanks to the unique terroir and climate that the Chardonnay grape can develop in all its grandeur and beauty in Burgundy. Only in the wine Bourgogne Aligoté another grape variety, the aligoté, is used. The latter is a very good basis for Kirr (1/3 creme de cassis. 2/3 aligoté).

The region includes here in the north, the region of Chablis, then the Côte de Beaune where the most exclusive and renowned white Burgundies such as Chassagne and Puligny Montrachet, Meursault and the Grand Crus: Corton Charlemagne and Criots Bâtard Montrachet as exceptional, extreme top wines with very small production (1%! ) Finally, even further south, there are the more affordable wines of the Côte Chalonnaise (Montagny 1er Cru, Givry, Rully and Mercurey) and below that the Côte Mâconnaise with the famous Pouilly Fuissés and St. Véran.

Crémant de Bourgogne
When reading about the wines of Burgundy, it is easy to overlook the fact that they also produce bubbly wines. In the Châtillonnais region, 70 km north-west of Dijon and 45 km east of Tonnerre, lies the kingdom of Crémant de Bourgogne. This is mainly due to its geographical location: the northern part of this region lies to the south of the Champagne region and it is there, particularly around the town of Chatillon-sur-Seine, that most Crémants are produced. Nowadays, this region covers about 250 hectares. The climate there is so similar that it influences the acidity of the wine. The cooler the climate, the more likely it is to have nice acidity and that is what makes the wine so fresh and fruity. The vines, which face south-south-east, enjoy good summer and autumn sunshine, which encourages the grapes to ripen. With their roots deep in hard limestone soil, the vines produce wines with subtle aromas.

Crémant de Bourgogne as a refined sparkling wine in both white and rosé is less expensive than champagne. Of all the sparkling wines, Crémant de Bourgogne has the closest taste to champagne. The same two grape varieties are used as in champagne: chardonnay and pinot noir. Finally, the method of making champagne and crémant is the same: the méthode champenoise. This means that the wines undergo two fermentations: the alcoholic fermentation that turns them into wine and as soon as this basic wine is put into the bottle, yeast and sugar are added. This causes carbon dioxide to form in the bottle, the second fermentation. This is how we get a bubbly wine.

Vintage 2018
We are looking forward to the promising vintage 2018, which will be presented during the 15th edition of the De Grands Jours de Bourgogne from 09-13 March 2020. Since 1992, every two years this wine event brings together professionals and key market influencers in the heart of the Burgundian vineyards.

In the press release issued by the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB) in mid-November 2019, we could read that following the recovery in 2017, the wine sector in Burgundy could again enjoy a good harvest in 2018. The volumes will be able to meet market demand, but beyond quantity, the wines also promise exceptional quality.

Everything went smoothly in 2018, even if the vinification of the reds required a little more vigilance due to the possible degree - a little higher than average - of alcohol.

The vines had built up their reserves over the winter and enjoyed a warm, dry spring in early April 2018, and flowering went smoothly. It resulted in abundant, generous bunches. This set a fast pace for those who had to work in the vines. The summer was hot and dry, with a few episodes of hail. However, the damage was minimal and ripening went well. In the last 10 days of August, with good weather, the first grapes were brought in. As the dates for flowering and figures for rainfall and temperature varied greatly from one area to another, harvesting in Burgundy continued until the last week of September.

Many winemakers believe that they will not experience such a favourable year for a long time to come. The general opinion is that a winegrower will probably only experience this once or twice in his life! Quite a few years ago, the 2005 vintage managed to sell itself like hot cakes. The year 2006 was also quite interesting with a changeable August, but a good September. 2007 was a cooler year, not easy to vinify, but praised for its fruitiness and elegance. Just to show that every year is different.

Nature is generous and does things her way. It is up to us to care for it and enjoy all that goodness.

www.grands-jours-bourgogne.fr

Tagged with: France, Bourgogne.