Burgundy Wine Tasting Basics: Grapes, Crus, Climats and Labels

Burgundy wine tasting basics come down to two main grapes, four appellation levels and the Climats, the named vineyard plots that Premier Cru and Grand Cru labels carry in Burgundy. At La Chablisienne in Chablis, a 45-minute tasting covers all four levels, from Petit Chablis to Grand Cru.

This page covers how to reach the cellars from Paris, when estates receive visitors, the grapes, the appellation pyramid, the Climats, reading a label, how a tasting runs and what it costs.

Getting there

The fastest train is the direct TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon to Mâcon-Loché TGV, in 1 hour 30 minutes, for the Mâconnais. Direct TGVs to Dijon take 1 hour 35 minutes, and the fastest trip to Beaune takes 2 hours 15 minutes with a change at Dijon.

The fastest TER from Dijon to Beaune takes 18 minutes, and the Dijon–Mâcon line also stops at Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges. See Paris to Beaune by train and Burgundy without a car.

Chablis has no railway station. Get off at Auxerre, 20 km away, Tonnerre, 17 km, or Laroche-Migennes, 32 km. Getting to Chablis covers the last stretch.

By car, Beaune is 312 km from Paris on the A6 highway, exit 24, and 45 km from Dijon.

When to go

Estates receive visitors all year, and the Beaune tourist office names no single best season. Spring brings fewer visitors, while summer brings crowds and heat.

In the fall some estates are less available because of the harvest and the work in the cellars. In winter fewer wineries are open, the weather is colder and the days are shorter.

• Château de Meursault opens every day, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from May to September and 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from October to April. From mid-November to March it closes on Sunday afternoons, Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Marché aux Vins in Beaune opens every day, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from April to November and 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. from December to March. It closes on December 24 and 25 and January 1.

The grapes

Chardonnay covers 57% of the Bourgogne vineyard and pinot noir 34%. Aligoté covers 6%, and other varieties, including gamay, sauvignon and césar, share the remaining 3%.

White wines make up 62% of production, red wines 29%, Crémant de Bourgogne 8% and rosé 1%.

Chardonnay grows in the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise, the Mâconnais and Chablis. Pinot noir built the reputation of Burgundy's great reds. Its juice is clear and takes on color only when the grapes macerate with their skins.

Aligoté makes Bourgogne Aligoté, a regional appellation. Gamay, named after a hamlet in Saint-Aubin, is a popular red in the Mâconnais. Sauvignon makes Saint-Bris in the Auxerrois, and césar is blended with pinot noir in Irancy reds.

The appellation pyramid

Burgundy has 84 appellations (AOCs) in four levels, from Régionale at the base to Grand Cru at the top. The figure of about 100 that is often quoted also counts additional geographical names within them.

• Régionale: 7 appellations harvested across the whole region, such as Bourgogne Aligoté, Mâcon Village, Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant de Bourgogne.
• Village: 44 appellations named after the commune where the grapes grew, such as Mercurey, Pommard or Nuits-Saint-Georges.
• Premier Cru: single named plots within a Village appellation.
• Grand Cru: 33 appellations. Grand Cru wines make up only 1% of Burgundy's production.

In Gevrey-Chambertin, the village appellation, red only from pinot noir, includes 26 Premier Cru climats, and the commune also has 9 Grand Cru appellations. The village itself sits below the Premiers Crus, and the Grands Crus Chambertin and Clos de Bèze crown the slope.

Chablis has its own four steps: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru.

Climats

A Climat is a plot of vines, precisely marked out and named over centuries, with its own microclimate and geology. The word has nothing to do with the weather. It first appeared in writing in the 16th century as a place-name and comes from the Greek klima, the angle between a place and the sun.

Each Climat keeps its place in the hierarchy, from regional to Grand Cru. Each is vinified separately from a single grape variety, and the wine takes the Climat's name. Chambertin, Romanée-Conti, Clos de Vougeot, Montrachet, Corton and Musigny are all Climats.

UNESCO inscribed the Climats of the Burgundy vineyards on the World Heritage List on July 4, 2015. The listed area covers 1,247 named parcels along the Côte from Dijon to Santenay, plus the town of Beaune and the historic center of Dijon.

Reading a label

The appellation line gives the level. A Village wine carries the name of its commune, such as Pommard. On a Premier Cru, the commune is followed by the Climat, as in Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre. On a Grand Cru, the Climat replaces the village name: Corton, Montrachet, Romanée Saint-Vivant or Clos de Tart.

Since 2002, every Bourgogne label must carry "Vin de Bourgogne," or "Grand Vin de Bourgogne" for Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines. The label also shows the appellation with Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée or Protégée, the bottler, often after "Mis en bouteille par," the alcohol content and the volume.

Other terms are optional:

• Vintage: at least 85% of the grapes come from that year.
• Grape variety: a single variety can be named if it makes up at least 85% of the wine.
• Château, Clos or Cru: reserved for wines with an Appellation d'Origine.
• Vieilles vignes: old vines.
• Vendanges manuelles: picked by hand.

On the Hospices de Beaune auction weekend, November 13 to 15, the Vins d'Exception tasting at Château de Meursault pours wines labeled Bourgogne Terroir d'Exception, Meursault Clos des Grands Charrons, Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes-Dessus and Corton Grand Cru.

Visiting the estates

Burgundy has more than 260 tourist cellars with the Vignobles & Découvertes label. Certified estates display a sign at the entrance, and the BIVB's online cellar search filters by village, dates, activity, languages spoken, including English, and wheelchair access.

A cellar visit covers the winery and the barrel cellar, with the winemaking and aging explained. Tastings come in four kinds:

• Simple: one or two wines.
• Themed: for example Grand Cru or Climats wines.
• Horizontal: several wines from the same appellation and vintage.
• Vertical: the same wine across different vintages.

For appointments, fees and opening days in more detail, see Booking Burgundy domaine visits.

Domaines in the Côte de Nuits

• Domaine René Leclerc, Gevrey-Chambertin: a visit and tasting of four of the domaine's wines, by appointment, at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m.
• Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits-Saint-Georges: visits preferably by appointment, Monday afternoon to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., with tastings of three, five or six wines.
• Jean-Claude Boisset – Les Ursulines, Nuits-Saint-Georges: a daily guided tour and tasting by appointment only, 1 hour 30 minutes, with commentary in French and English, for 12 people at most.

Houses and estates in the Côte de Beaune and Chablis

• Caves Patriarche, Beaune: a self-guided cellar tour, then six wines tasted with sommeliers, in about 1 hour. No reservation is needed, with 10 people per departure.
• Marché aux Vins, Beaune: self-guided cellar tours with five or seven wines, departing every day from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Château de Pommard: the 45-minute Discover Burgundy Tasting of four wines covers the region's five subregions and its classifications, for up to 8 people, in English or French. The cellars are closed for renovation.
• Château de Meursault: booked tours of the château and cellars in English or French, and tastings without reservation in the lounges and on the terrace. The Grands Terroirs tour pours seven wines, reds and whites, in 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, for 12 people at most.
• La Chablisienne, Chablis: every tasting is booked ahead, in French or English. The Initiation to wine tasting pours Petit Chablis, Chablis, two Premiers Crus and a Grand Cru over about 1 hour 30 minutes, for 8 people at most.

Learning to taste in Beaune

The Cité des Climats et Vins de Bourgogne runs the Atelier dégustation, a tasting of three Burgundy wines guided by a trainer, in French and English, at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. No prior knowledge is needed, and it is for people 18 and over. Its fundamentals course runs from 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

How to taste

The BIVB's method runs in three steps: sight, smell, then taste.

1. Look. Place the glass on a white surface and note the color and clarity. Younger wines tend to be more crystalline and bright than older ones, and a deposit in an aged wine is natural. Swirl the glass: the thickness of the tears shows the degree of alcohol.
2. Smell. Smell once before swirling, the first nose, and again after, the second nose.
3. Taste. Take a small sip and draw in a little air. In Burgundy this is called grumage, and it oxygenates the wine in the mouth. The first impression is the attack, and the finish lets you judge the wine as a whole.

Spitting is normal at a tasting. Use the spittoon, take small sips, and leave what you don't want in the glass.

What it costs

Entry-level tastings at the estates on this page cost €6.50–59 ($7–64), and longer tastings run to €175 ($189).

• La Chablisienne, Chablis: The Discovery €6.50 ($7), Initiation to wine tasting €12 ($13).
• Jean-Claude Boisset, Nuits-Saint-Georges: tasting €15 ($16).
• Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits-Saint-Georges: Découverte €20 ($22), Terroir €45 ($49), Authenticité €75 ($81).
• Domaine René Leclerc, Gevrey-Chambertin: €20 ($22).
• Caves Patriarche, Beaune: €25 ($27).
• Marché aux Vins, Beaune: Découverte €25 ($27) online or €29 ($31) on site. Prestige, with two Grands Crus, €49 ($53) online or €59 ($64) on site.
• Château de Pommard: €30 ($32).
• Château de Meursault: Grands Terroirs €59 ($64) and Exclusive €175 ($189), with eight Premiers Crus and Grands Crus. The Vins d'Exception auction-weekend tasting costs €99 ($107).

At the Cité in Beaune, the fundamentals course costs €95 ($103).

Before you go

• Book ahead. The Beaune tourist office advises booking activities in advance, and only some estates accept visits without booking.
• In the vineyards, stay on the edges of the rows without walking between the vines, especially after treatments. Give farm machinery priority on vineyard paths, and don't touch the grapes or vines.
• The legal driving limit in France is 0.5 g of alcohol per liter of blood, and 0.2 g per liter on a probationary license.