Burgundy Flashcards
Burgundy map
How do hills/aspect/slopes affect ripening potential of a vineyard site?
Warm air rises and cold air drops
Middle of slope “solar panel”
South facing in Northern hemisphere is best, North facing in Southern hemisphere
Wines from lower part of the slopes have heaviest soil and suffer most in rain, wereas wines from the top of the slope had less rain but not enough direct sun. Wines from middle of the slope had perfect sun orientation and rain run-off.
What is Kimmeridgian & Portlandian soil?
- Found in Chablis
- Strata lie flat
- Youngest is Portlandian cap rock
- Kimmeridgian soil underneath - used for Grand and 1er crus.
- Dates back to Upper Jurassic period
- Marine fossils embedded
- Gives wine a nice minerality
Limestone
- What makes a Burgundy a Burgundy
- Consistently alkaline and generally ideal in cool climates - provides nice minerality
- Remenants of ancient seabeds and consists of calcium carbonates.
- Effect on vines: Retains moisture in hot weather and provides drainage in wet weather
Marl
Calcerous clay-based soil that is cool and delays ripening
Results in wines with prominent acidity
Deep and lacking in stone fragments
Schist
Laminated and foliated rock-based soil that is very much like slate.
Seen in Burgundy and Douro Valley (Portugal)
Chalk
A very porous and soft limestone that vine roots can easily penetrate
Made up of marine skeletons
Reflects sunlight
Chablis frost
In both spring and fall
Shortens growing season
Results in crisp, acidic wines
Malo helps soften this acidity
Chablis vs Chard from other parts of Burgundy
- Chablis is “crunchy” and more mineral due to Kimmeridgian soil
- Unique minerality earns it the nickname “gunflint”
- Contains hints of saline and crushed minerals
- Fermented in neautral oak or stainless steel
- Chard from other part of Burgundy grown in slightly warmer climate (Macconais).
Oak usage among grand/1er crus in Chablis
Typically no new oak but a small number of Grand and 1ers will use a bit of new oak because those wines are concentrated enough to stand up to the oak’s imapact.
Oak usage in Macon-Villages vs. Pouilly-Fuisse
Mâcon-Villages is vinified with no oak contact to retain the elegant aromas and clean, fresh character that this region is prized for.
Pouilly Fuissé tends to take advantage of the wines’ natural richness and depth and include at least some oak aging, giving added weight and age-worthiness.
Best Chablis producers
Jean-Marc Brocard
Domaine Laroche
Verget
Pattes Loup
Oak usage in Beajolais
- Typically aged in tuns which are large casks of neutral oak - barely any wine comes in contact with wood to preserve fruit character
- Some crus (Moulin-A-Vent) will age in French oak to enhance tannins and prolong aging.
- Nouveau sees no oak because its not aged
Benefits/consequences of planting density
Planted this way because monks etc used to tend to them by hand, before horses
Benefits: increase competition among vines
Consequences: easier spread of disease, poor air circulation. Not good when there is little rain.
What is Oidium?
Parasitic fungus that attacled French vineyards in mid 1800s.
What is Battonage?
Stirring of the lees
Cold soak/prefermentation maceration
- Prior to fermentation, wine makers can let the juice “cold soak” in the tank for a few hours or days.
- Skins will gentle release a small amount of tannin, aroma, and flavor compounds.
- Effect on wine: makes wine a bit more intense than it would have been had it not been cold soaked
Semi-carbonic maceration
- Enhances fresh fruity aromas
- Entire bunches of grapes (often hand harvested) are into the fermenting tank
- The grapes on the bottom are crushed by weight of grapes on top and release their juices which immediately start fermenting due to the wild yeasts on the grape skins
- CO2 gas that is released bathes the grapes on top triggering intercellular fermentation inside the grapes
- When approx 2% of the alcohol is created, those grapes implode and and yeasts in tank take over and complete fermentation.
Piece barrel size
“Pièce Bourguignonne” of the Côte d’Or holds 228 litres, the 215 litres used in Beaujolais and Mâconnais
Cremant
Chablis and Beajolais are top regions for Cremant de Bourgogne
Chablis vs Petite Chablis
- Typically tucked around the more prestigious vineyards.
- Petit Chablis is a different style because of the soil and sun (less favorable than Chablis)
- Petit Chablis will be fresher, lighter and less complex - made for easy drinking with zesty citrus flavours
Chablis grand crus
Blanchot
Bougros
Grenouilles
Les Clos
Le Preuses
Valmur
Vaudesir
Cote de Nuits villages
- Marsannay (red, white, rose)
- Fixin (red, white)
- Gevrey-Chambertin (red)
- Morey St. Denis (red, white)
- Chambolle-Musigny (red)
- Vougeot (red, white)
- Vosen-Romanee (red)
- Nuits St. Georges (red, white)
Cote de Nuits map
Cote de Beaune villages
- Ladoix-Serrigny (white, red)
- Aloxe-Corton (white, red)
- Pernard-Vergelesses (white, red)
- Beaune (white, red)
- Pommard (red)
- Volnay (red)
- Meursault (white, red)
- Puligny-Montrachet (white, red)
- Chassagne-Montrachet (white, red)
Cote de Beaune map
Gevrey-Chambertin grand crus
- Chambertin Clos-De-Beze
- Chapelle-Chambertin
- Charmes-Chambertin
- Griotte-Chambertin
- Latricieres-Chambertin
- Le Chambertin
- Mazis-Chambertin
- Ruchottes-Chambertin
Morey-St.-Denis grand crus
- Bonnes Mares
- Clos de La Roche
- Clos des Lambrays
- Clos de Tart
- Clos St. Denis
Chambolle-Musigny grand crus
Le Musigny
Bonnes Mares
Vougeot grand cru
Clos de Vougeot
Vosne-Romanee grand crus
- Echezeaux
- Grand Echezeaux
- La Romanee
- La Tache
- La Grand Rue
- Richebourg
- Romanee-Conti
- Romanee-St.-Vivant
Ladoix-Serrigny grand cru
Corton (part)
Corton-Charlemagne (part)
Puligny-Montrachet grand crus
- Batard-Montrachet (part)
- Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet (part)
- Chevalier-Montrachet
- Le Montrachet (part)
Aloxe-Corton grand crus
- Charlemagne (part)
- Corton-Charlemagne (part)
- Corton (part)
Chassagne-Montrachet grand cru
- Criots-Batard-Montrachet
- Le Montrachet (part)
- Batard Montrachet (part)
Beajolais crus (10)
Age worthy:
Chenas
Moulin-a-Vent
Morgon
Lighter body:
Chiroubles
Fleurie
St.-Amour
Fuller body:
Brouilly
Cote de Brouilly
Julienas
Regnie
Beaujolais map
Beaujolais categories
In ascending order of quality
* Beaujolais
* Beaujolais-Villages
* Beaujolais Cru
Lieu-dit
A small area within a cru where grapes are grown
Cote du Py (Morgon lieu-dit)
- Considered most representative of the Morgon Cru
- Located at the highest point in Morgon atop an extinct volcano where hard, black soils produce complex, structured, age-worthy reds.
Cote Chalonnaise villages
- Bouzeron (white - 100% aligote)
- Rully (red, white)
- Mercurey (red, white)
- Givry (red, white)
- Montagny (white)
Maconnais villages
Pouilley-Fuisse (white, 1er cru)
Burgundy Negociants
Chablis:
Dauvissat
Raveneau
Cote d’Or:
DRC
Leroy
Coche-Dury
Domaine Leflaive
Roulot
Larger Negociants:
Louis Jadot
Louis Latour
Albert Bichot
Bouchard Pere et Fils
William-Fevre
Drouhin
Faiveley
Cote de Nuits top vintages
2005
2009
2010
2014
2015
Cote de Beaunne top vintages
2005
2009
2010
2014
2015
Classic Burgundy food pairings
- Maine lobster with butter / grand or 1er cru white burgundy
- Coq au vin / red burgundy
- Escargots stuffed with garlic and cooked in butter / grand or 1er cru white burgundy
