Bon Merde: A Guide to Burgundy
The Cote d’Or is a stretch of land either side of Beaune which is in Burgundy France. The Cote is divided into two parts, to the north of Beaune lies the Cote de Nuits stretching for roughly twenty-five miles towards Dijon, famous for its moutarde. To the south of Beaune there is the aptly named Cote de Beaune. The reds come from the northern half and the whites come from the southern half. There is an exception, on the southern half there are reds from Volnay and Pommard too, Volnay reds have a reputation of being especially fine. However, there are no Grand Cru reds on the southern part, only 1er Cru and there are no whites made of any recognition on the northern half. The reds are made from Pinot Noir, the whites are made from Chardonnay and without exaggerating these wines are good. The weather in this part of France can vary. It is said that this is the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay growing territory in the world. Both grapes are delicate and have a precocious nature. The slightest upset can ruin the whole crop. Mildews and fungi are easily fostered in these lands and rain after flowering is the enemy. The main reason why these wines are so extraordinarily expensive is because of the premium quality and there simply is not enough wine made on any given vintage. The demand curve well exceeds the supply curve. The average family owned winery and business is roughly six hectares which is about twelve acres. Yields have decreased over the last five years by about thirty percent. Acknowledgement and acclaim for these wines dates back to the Cistercian monks who were making wines at Clos Vougeot since 1109 and the reputation has increased annually since then. Even to someone in the know these wines have a mystery to them, making the right choice when it comes to buying is not as straightforward as it would seem. So here is a short overview of the Cote d’Or.
Entry level wines in Burgundy are called Villages wines. On the complicated labels there is a great deal of information such as the vintage and also the name of the village from where the wine came from such as Aloxe Corton. The producers name, lets say Drouhin, is usually to be found at the bottom of the label in smaller print. The entry level wines or villages wines are made from grapes that are grown more or less on the plains situated beside the Nationale D974 Road which runs through the Cote d’Or. Cote d’Or means the golden coast, named as such as after the harvest the leaves decay and turn a beautiful shade of gold. These entry level vineyards are mostly situated on the plains which tend to gather moisture on a wet year leading to a wine that can be guilty of a watery mid-palate. On warm dry years the quality can range from good to excellent for the price range. The next level up is a Villages wine that has a name in italics under the appellation. So looking at the label you have the appellation Nuits-Saint-Georges for example (another well know village on the Cote) which we now know is the entry level wine, then underneath in italics is a name of a town-land or something incomprehensible to most earthlings such as Les Argilats or Les Marchais. These italicized lettered names are names given to specific plots of land and only that plot can use that name. The name given to one of these special plots is called a Lieu-Dit. ‘Place-said’ is the literary translation and these special plots can find themselves mixed in between 1er Cru plots. Alas, they are still Villages wines but there are definite bragging rights attached to these labels.
Moving up the scale, we come to the next and higher level which is 1er Cru. Now the land of the 1er crus is all on the right hand side of the road going towards Lyon from Dijon. Premier Cru land is in the hills, it tends to face south easterly getting the sunshine first thing in the morning not forgetting that being situated on the slopes the land drains very well which is essential to making great wines. The 1er Crus all have Lieux-Dits printed on their labels. For example Morey St Denis which is the village name and appellation will be a constant, then the Lieu-Dit, Clos des Ormes is placed directly beneath the village name, and finally the jet propulsion 1er Cru title has its own special berth adding kudos. Clos is an enclosed piece of property usually surrounded by four walls and that too has a specific value. Finally we have Grand Cru. The Grand Cru thing is pretty confusing. All of these villages that you have heard of, Gevrey-Chambertain, Aloxe-Corton, Chambolle-Musingy, Morey St Denis are appellations. Some of the Grand Cru labels do not carry the name of the village. Echezeaux for example is a Grand Cru wine and the plot is situated it the village of Vougeot. Another well known Grand Cru is that of Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet which is the name of the plot and that is what we see on the label instead of the village name of Puligny-Montrachet. Thats pretty confusing and how do you know where it comes from if they just have the Lieu-Dit on the label ? Bonnes-Mares is another that comes to mind. It just takes time and research, or you can read my blog and I’ll tell you. There is another even higher echelon in Grand Cru territory and that is the coveted Monopole title. Clos de Tart is a famous example. Clos de Tart is a Lieu-Dit having only one owner situated in the village of Morey St Denis. Now the snob value is greater as there is only one plot with this name and one owner, as opposed to other Grand Cru plots such as Richebourg which is split up between several different producers. Therefore there is a definite cachet attached to Monopole wines.
Each village differs naturally enough from the next and makes their own style of wine according to the natural surroundings. I’m now of course talking about ‘Terroir’. Soil types differ greatly from one plot to the next and also there are micro climates to be considered. There are chalky soil types, quartz and limestone, sand and clay, so many different criteria to be considered. One village differs to the next as in Bordeaux or any other wine region. Each one tends to think the next village over has more effeminate type wines or more masculine wines. More fruit, less fruit , etc. You have to get to know the people first and then attack the juice. I doubt someone can really say they know these wines unless they know the people. How would you ? The wines do vary greatly. For example Volnay reds are known for their finesse, very sleek in the mouth and to my mind they were the best that I tasted. There are only 1er Cru reds in Volnay and Pommard. Now, here is me thinking that these wines are the best and they are not even Grand Cru. Imagine what the comparison is like in a head to head Volnay 1er Cru Les Fremiets versus a Latricieres-Chambertin Grand Cru ? Both of them 2009s. Who wins ? That is a question I am not yet qualified to answer, I can tell you this though, I was standing beside a very flamboyant American buyer from New York at the recent tastings of the 2012 vintage in Clos Vougeot. I am pretty confident the guy knew what he was doing and everyone seemed to know who he was. He had presence. When he tasted the wines a certain look came across his face if the wine was to his liking. So anyway we were tasting this particular wine and indeed it looked like it raised itself to the occasion, he liked it. After swallowing the wine he turned to the proprietor and said in a deep American French accent “thats bon merde”. No stress on the language, just plain and simple, no frills. He made me laugh as he seemed to parody yet at the same time humanize the tasting business. No diatribe about this fruit and that fruit and all of the extravagant colorful expressions that are thrown about, just “thats bon merde”. Need I say more ?
