Burgundy Flashcards
T/F - Burgundy focuses on the soil and
vineyard, rather than the estate as the source of its
quality.
True
What did the Napoleonic Code (1804) do to land in Burgundy?
Divided all land equally between male heirs. Land was fractured again and again through the generations
Major Burgundy grapes (2 red, 2 white)
Red - Pinot Noir, Gamay
White - Chardonnay, Aligoté
Minor Burgundy grapes (2 white, 3 virtually extinct reds)
White - Pinot Blanc, Beurot (Pinot Gris)
Red - César, Tressot, and Sacy
Burgundy winemaking styles
dry red, dry white, rose, dry to semi-dry sparkling whites and roses, dry sparkling red
sweet wined rarely, do not fall under an AOP
Burgundy location
central/eastern France
northwest of the Alps and 175 miles from Paris
Major Burgundy rivers or bodies of water
Saône River (a tributary of the Rhône)
Burgundy major regions (5 north to south)
Chablis
Côte d’Or
Côte Chalonaise
Mâconnais
Beaujolais
Burgundy generic AOPs and vinification in those AOPs
Bourgogne AOP (red, white, and rose)
Cremant de Bourgogne (traditional method sparkling)
Burgundy climate
Continental with dry, warm summers, and cold, dry winters
Rains come in Spring and Fall with frost being an issue in both seasons
Burgundy general soil types (4) and landscape/aspect
Chalk, calcareous clay, marl, limestone
Rolling hills, best vineyards on east/southeast hillsides
Best chardonnay grows in limestone in Chablis
Beaujolais: granite
About how many years of Burgundy winemaking history?
2,000 years
Benedictine Order in Cluny, Burgundy, promoted winemaking in what centuries?
10th and 11th centuries
Who continued purchasing land and making wine in the 12th century?
Cistercians
1363-1477: what did the Valois dukes including Philippe the Bold order creating an industry out of wine?
ordered all Gamay ripped up in preference to Pinot Noir
1790s: what happened to land owned by the clergy and noblemen after the French Revolution?
the land was auctioned off
this started private ownership of vineyards in Burgundy
18th Century: the rise of the __________ to handle the making and marketing of wines.
Negociants
Either because families held too little land to be profitable or because they had other
careers within the community. They controlled much of Burgundy until the 1920s after
WWI.
Métayage definition
sharecropping
Fermage definition
leasing
Clos definition
plot of vineyard land traditionally surrounded by dry-stone walls
Monopole definition
parcel of land with single ownership
Who created the first classification of Burgundy’s vineyards?
Dr. Jules Lavalle
What is a Domaine and when did they begin bottling in earnest?
Private owners, 1920s
Burgundy classification tiers from highest to lowest (4) and about how many wineries in each %
Grand Cru (33-40, about 2%)
Primer Cru (550-600, about 12%)
Village (30%)
Regional appellations (56% or rest of the total production)
What are Burgundian wines traditionally aged in?
228 liter French oak
Red wines usually see more new barrel use
Whites typically use neutral oak
Average new oak % per Burgundy classification (high to low)
Grand Cru: 50-100% new oak
Each one is a single vineyard with its own AOP and restrictions
Label the bottle with only the vineyard name, not a village
Primer Cru: 30-50% new oak
Both village and vineyard names will be on the label
Different primer crus can be blended and called a primer cru, but no vineyard name on the label
Village: neutral to 20-30% new oak
Malolactic fermentation for reds and whites?
All reds
Most whites
How many months in oak? red and white top wines
White: 12-15 months
Red: 15-18 months
What are two ways producers can control tannin levels?
Whole cluster fermentation for more tannin
Destem grapes for less
Bâtonnage definition
stirring the lees back into the wine
What happens if two grand crus are blended?
Either claim one of the grand crus designations or declassify to any level below
If a grand cru and primer cru are blended, it will be declassified to a basic primer cru label
Major Burgundy villages/cities/boundaries from north to south (6)
Dijon
Nuits-St.-Georges
Beaune
Châlon-sur Sâone
Mâcon
Lyon
Chablis location
Northernmost region in Burgundy
80 miles north of Cote d’Or
Chablis climate
Cool continental
Susceptible to late frosts
Chablis soil
Kimmeridgian clay and limestone
Chablis grape varieties (1) and what kind of flavors
100% chardonnay
Crisp, minerally flavors
Chablis viticultural climate risks
Late frosts, weather can get to freezing
Chablis vinification
No oak on lower tier wines, occasional use on upper tier
Malolactic fermentation
Why does Chablis practice malolactic fermentation?
To reduce the high acidity produced by cool climate
Chablis AOP hierarchy (4)
Chablis AOP
Petit Chablis AOP
Chablis Premier Cru AOP
Chablis Grand Cru AOP
Chablis Premier Cru number of individual vineyards
40
Chablis Premier Cru popular vineyards (6)
Montée de Tonnerre
Fourchaume
Butteaux
Fôrets
Montmains
Vaillons
What is a lieu-dit?
Specific vineyard with a name or “location”
Chablis Grand Cru lieu-dits (7)
Blanchot
Bourgros
Grenouilles
Les Clos
Preuses
Valmur
Vaudesir
Chablis Grand Cru lieu-dits aspect
Southwest
Common Chablis flavor descriptor
gunflint