Burgundy

Burgundy is an eastern French region producing some of the world's most sought-after Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Almost every wine is made from one of those two grapes alone, and the label names a place rather than a variety.

Where Burgundy is and how it is organised

Burgundy runs south from Dijon in a narrow strip. The heart is the Côte d'Or — literally the golden slope — split into the Côte de Nuits in the north, which makes the greatest reds, and the Côte de Beaune in the south, home to the greatest whites. Further south lie the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais, both better value, and detached to the north sits Chablis, making steely unoaked Chardonnay.

The climate is continental and marginal. Both grapes ripen only just in time, which is why vintage variation matters here more than almost anywhere, and why the wines keep their acidity.

The classification pyramid

Burgundy grades vineyards, not producers, and the hierarchy is the key to the whole region.

1. Regional — labelled Bourgogne. Fruit from anywhere in the region. The entry point.
2. Village — named for a commune such as Meursault, Pommard or Gevrey-Chambertin. A clear step up in concentration.
3. Premier Cru — a named vineyard within a village, printed after the village name.
4. Grand Cru — the top tier, roughly one percent of production. These name the vineyard alone: Chambertin, Montrachet, Corton.

The higher you climb, the smaller and better-sited the parcel. The catch is that a single vineyard is usually divided between many owners, each making their own wine from it. Producer matters as much as the classification — a fine grower's village wine will routinely beat a poor grower's Premier Cru.

The two grapes

Pinot Noir makes all the serious red. It is thin-skinned, pale, and low in tannin, giving a light to medium-bodied wine with high acidity, red cherry and raspberry fruit, and a savoury undertow of forest floor, mushroom and game that grows with age.

Chardonnay makes the white, and Burgundy is its birthplace. Its expression here ranges from the lean, flinty, unoaked style of Chablis, through the nutty, oatmeal-rich wines of Meursault, to the concentrated, long-lived whites of Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet.

Small amounts of Aligoté (a sharp white) and Gamay (in Beaujolais, to the south) are also grown.

What it tastes like

Red Burgundy is paler and lighter than most people expect from a famous red. Look for red cherry, cranberry and rose, medium-minus tannin, high acidity, and a distinctly earthy, savoury quality. It is a wine of perfume and texture rather than power.

White Burgundy is dry, medium to full-bodied, with high acidity and flavours running from green apple and citrus in the north to peach, hazelnut and butter further south. Oak, where used, is a seasoning rather than a headline.

Food pairings

• Roast chicken — the classic partner for both colours.
• Mushroom dishes — red Burgundy's earthiness is a direct echo.
• Duck and game birds — enough flavour without overwhelming the wine's frame.
• Fish in butter or cream sauce — white Burgundy's acidity cuts the richness.
• Soft cheeses — Époisses with red, Comté with white.

What to buy

Burgundy is the most expensive fine wine region relative to volume, and the top tiers have moved beyond most budgets. The value strategy is to go sideways rather than down: buy village wines from good growers, and look to the Côte Chalonnaise (Rully, Mercurey, Givry) and the Mâconnais for Chardonnay at a fraction of Côte de Beaune prices.

Learn a handful of producer names rather than chasing appellations. In Burgundy that is the shortcut that actually works.

Serve reds at 15 to 17°C — cooler than most reds, or the perfume disappears. Whites at 10 to 12°C.