Burgundy

Considering its the third Thursday of November and the night of the Beuajolais Nouveau, lets start with Burgundy wines.
A little bit of HISTORY- All the region confusion began post the French revolution when the huge aristocratic and church estates became extremely fragmented. The beginnings, however, were with the Romans and then further expansion of the vineyard area by the Church abbeys of Cluny, Citeaux and Pontigny. In the fifteenth century was founded the Hospice of Beaune.
The GRAPES are some of my favourites. In the whites, Chardonnay and Aligote (the giver of acidity to their wine) rule. In the reds, its the Pinot Noir and the Gamay.
The APPELLATIONS:
Au commencement, c'est Les GRAND Cru A.O.C. About 3% of both reds and whites grown in the region, the wines only mention the 'climat' or the vineyard site. 32 in the Cote d'or and 7 in Chablis (we'll talk the locations a little later).
Then follows the PREMIER Cru A.O.C. They are about 11% of the wines and situated in the best 'climats' of each village. The vineyard name is shown on the label in addition to the village name.
COMMUNAL A.O.C. is 30% of the wines produced around a village, with only the village name on their labels.
And finally the GENERIC A.O.C. which is 56% of the wine from anywhere within the Burgundy Appellations. They can be grouped by grape variety or by sub region - Macon Villages, Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune etc.
That brings us to the LOCATIONS, which are various parts of the Burgundy region. I'll try and give some of the wines from each of these regions (affordable or not).
We start with my absolute favourite - CHABLIS and the YONNE
As I said before, there are 7 Grand CRUs - Blanchots, Burgos, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Les Preuses, Valmur and Vaudesir.
In the Premier CRU, there are 40 names climats e.g. Fourchaume, Vaucoupin.
Wines from specified parcels in 19 communes are called Chablis.
Anywhere else in the Chablis region is the Petit Chablis.
One of the reasons I want to drive down to Chablis before leaving is that the Caves Cooperative (La Chablisienne) produces one-third of all the wines, a large part of which is sold to the negociant elevers and the rest is bottled by the growers. I want to see this Cave - what is it?
Next we come to the COTE D'OR - which is the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune.
COTE DE NUITS produces full red wines with a great bouquet.
The relatively affordable ones are:
Maarsannay - with a deep red colour, tannic and supple. Their whites are long lasting, rich and...fat.
Fixin - Solid, dark reds, tannic structure and need time to age.
Morey-St-Denis - Reds. They have 5 Grand CRUs, several Premier CRUs and the wines age slowly, 5-10 years.
Nuits-Saint-Georges - This is the largest comune, with no grands but several Premiers, and a few whites too.
and then...
Chambole-Musigny - Red only with 2 Grands, 22 Premiers and a small amount of extremely rare whites.
Vougeot - The famous Grand CRU - Clos Vougeot. 3 Premiers of which one is a white.
Flagey-Echezeaux - 2 Grand CRUs. Super expensive.
Vosne-Romanee - Ahem! 5 Grands and 'THE' Romanee-Conti.
COTE DE BEAUNE specialises in lighter more delicate wines than the Cote de Nuits. In order of affordabillity:
Ladoix - Reds and whites. The Grand CRUs are CRU Corton-Charlemagne and Corton. In terms of aging, the whites need 3-6 years, reds 3-4 years or else after maturing 8-12 years.
Pernand-Vergelesses - Once again reds and whites. And these guys also share the Corton and the Corton-C status.
Savigny-Les Beaunes - Brilliant reds and whites. And no grands and premiers.
Chorey-Les-Beaune - Mainly reds, no premiers, to be drunk young.
Beaune - Largely red. To my eternal happiness, cheapest and most reliable of the Cote d'Or wines. Small amount of Premier white.
Monthelie - Red, whites, several Premiers. Good value for money whch means you cant afford it but it would be a good investment.
Auxey-Duresses - Reds, whites, 8 Premier vineyards. Whites 3-5 years, reds 5-10 years.
Saint Romain - Great value again. No Premiers.
Saint Aubin - as above but with some Premiers.
Santenay - Largely red, some Premier. Good value.
Maranges - AC status only in '89. Several red Premiers. Rich, well balanced whites which can be aged 6-8 years.
And then, those where you wont see the words excellent value for money. They leave the throat wet and the wallet dry.
Aloxe-Corton - Here half the hillside is planted with Pinot Noir giving the famous Grand CRU Corton and the other half is planted with Chardonnay producing the Grand CRU Corton-Charlemagne. Can you imagine the insurance premium paid for this hill!
Pommard - Reds, No grands, Can be drunk at 5-8 years, Vintages will be 20-25 years.
Volney - Reds, some premiers which age well.
Meursault - Enfin, mainly whites which are excellent when oak-aged. Reds are light in character. Both can be Premier CRU. The whites age slowly in about 8-15 years, the reds can be drunk well in 5-10 years.
Puligny-Montrachet - Mostly white again. 13 Premiers and 4 grands! Reds, good value. Whites peak at 6-8 years, good at 15. The Grands and Premiers at 10-15 years.
Chassagne-Montrachet - All grands are white, premiers covers reds and whites.
Pommard and Volnay are heavier and darker Cote D'Or wines, exceptions to the regular Burgundy wines.
I'm getting tired. Just a few more...
LA COTE CHALONNAISE
The AOC Controlee(s) are:
Regional-Bourgogne, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, Bourgogne Aligote, Cremand de Bourgogne, Bourgogne Cotes Chalonnaise, Bourgogne Cotes du Couchois.
Commune-Bouzeron, Mercurey, Rully, Givry, Montagny
Premier CRU-The villages of Mercurey, Rully, Givry, Montagny
Rully - Several Premiers. Whites 3-12 years, Reds 5-12 years.
Mercurey - mainly red, several Premiers, reds 5-12 years, whites 3-12 years.
Givry - Red is rich and full-bodied, often compared to volnay. Whites improve with age.
Montagny - Only whites. Dry, delicate bouquet, 3-8 years.
MACONNAIS
The AOC Controlee(s) are:
Regional-Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligote, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, Macon, Macon Superior, Macon-Village, Macon+village name (Macon-Prisse, Macon-Vire). 43 villages can add their names to Macon.
Commune-Saint Veran, Pouilly-Fuisse, Pouilly-Vinzelles, Pouilly-Loche
GRAPE Varieties-Pinot Noir (Bourgogne Rouge), Gamay (Macon Rouge), Chardonnay
Saint Veran - Soft, quick maturing, white best at 3-8 years
Pouilly-Fuisse - White, if oak aged has characteristics of a good Meursault.
Pouilly-Vinzelles - White, delicate bouquet, develops over 5-12 years
Pouilly-Loche - White, dry, fruity to be drunk young or will develop over time
And then the reason why we are here today - BEAUJOLAIS
The AOC Controlee(s) are: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Superieur, Beaujolais villages - 39 villages can use this title.
Commune-CRU Beaujolais, the top 10 villages
GRAPE Varieties-Red is gamay, White is Chardonnay
CRU Villages
Brouilly - light wine matures to be drunk in 6 months to a year
Cote de Brouilly - fuller, fatter than Brouilly, to be drunk in 1-2 years
Regnie - good, easy, drink young
Morgon - traditional need several years to mature. lighter, quicker, maturing also made.
Chiroubles - light, fruity, easy drinking
Fleurie - popular CRU, quick maturing
Moulin-a-vent - Solid, strong, need 3-5 years for aging
Chenas - Can be drunk young but is tough, better to age
Julienas - Better young but not popular
Saint-Amour - Best when young
And finally the Beaujolais Nouveau........