Burgundy : Cote D'OR , Cote Chalonnaise and Maconnais Flashcards

1
Q

CO, CC, Mac : Climate

A
  • moderate continental climate
  • Dijon in the north is 500 km from the Mediterranaean with cold winters and warm summers
  • Short summers
  • Annual rainfall is 700mm
  • Early autum is dry but rain can be a threat
  • Maconnais is drier and warmer in the south
  • Promoting ripeness in the skin and seeds is super important for Pinot Noir
  • Marked vintage variation
  • Frost in the north is a challenge
  • Spring frost may reduce bud burst
  • Warmer weather is also encourageing earlier harvests
  • HAIL is a major problem esp in April -May— Limited hail nets are allowed since 2018
  • Hail can damage buds and fruit leading to loss of crops
  • **Common is to seed thunderclouds with silver iodide to induce predcipitation away from the vineyards **
  • Volnay and Cote de Beaune had lots of hail during 2012 and 2015
  • Sorting for grey rot is common
  • Rain in spring can affect fruit set and threat of fungal disease , too much rain at harvest can dilute the fruit or uptake of water can cause rot
  • Drought stress is also problem in recent years with hot dry summers causing berries to shrivel and vines to shut down
  • IRRIGATION is not permitted
  • Better to plant on clay sites
  • *
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2
Q

CD, CC, Mac : Topography

A
  • Aspect and elevation are the most cirtical in the various vineyards in Burgundy
  • Cote D’Or - range of hills N-S and 200-400 m
  • Side valleys are more E-W direction along main slopes
  • Main ridge is East Facing with many S and SE aspects / Mid slope
  • Well draining soils, good sunlight interception for ripening and frost portection
  • Top of the slope are thin soils , free draining but exposed to cool winds / bottom of the slope are deeper soils but more vulnerable to frost - these usually have Aligote planted for Cremant
  • Aspects in Cote Chalonnais and Maconnais are more varied -
  • Bouzeron and Rouilly are SE facing
  • Pouilly Fuisse is S facing
  • *
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3
Q

CD, CC, Mac : Soils

A
  • Limstone and clay is most common
  • Cote de Nuits more limestone -best for the PN
  • Cote de Beaune has deeper soils with more clay and Chardonnay is most planted
  • Cote Chalonnais and Maconnais: mix of limestone and clay - depth fo the soil abov the bedrock varies due to the movement of soils during erosion
  • eg. Clos de Vougeot is thinning greatly at the top -hard for vines to thrive
  • Bottom is deeper, creating vigour leading to shading and less ripening
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4
Q

Burgundy: Chardonnay

A
  • Chardonnay: versatile suited to a range of cliamtes
  • Buds early so prone to spring frosts
  • Ripens early avoiding autumn rains
  • High yielding without loss of quality
  • Prone to grey rot and powdery mildew, millerandage and grapevine yellows
  • Wide range of soils =style variations but top examples are grown on limstone and clay
  • COOL - apple, pear and lemon with lime fruit and wet stones, light to med body , high acid (Chablis)
  • MODERATE: Ripe citrus, melon and stone fruit, med to med + body, Med+to high Acid ( Cote D’Or )
  • Summer thinning of the canopy is needed to ensure ripening
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5
Q

Burgundy: Pinot Noir

A
  • buds early
  • ripens early
  • Yields must be limited to produce quality wines
  • Delicate, small berries prone to millerandage, powdery mildew, bunch rot, fan and leaf roll
  • Warm climates tend to ripen too fast leading to low intensity of fruit and also sunburn and bunch shrivel
  • Burgund has issues with ripening
  • Dijon clone widely used - most producers plant one clone to gain more uniform fruit profile,
  • Mixing clones leads to variety but also can be more resitant to disease
  • Mass selection is common
  • Typical- stawberry, raspberry and red cherry for village wines and light oak , clove and smoke , low to med tannins
  • , med alcohol and high acid
  • Grand cru Medium plus tannins
  • in bottle over time, develop game, mushroom and forest floor
    *
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6
Q
A
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7
Q

CD, CC and Mac : Vineyard Management

A
  • Cordon training systems eg. Cordon de Royat
  • Limits disease and vigour
  • Softer can pruning known as Poussard -Guyot maintains the the same sap route from one year to the next with only wounds on the upper part of the cordon
  • Less cuts reduces Esca and trunk disease esp. in old wood
  • Requires skilled workers =$$$
  • Planting densities 8,000-10,000 vines per hec
  • Denser thought to encourage root competions leading to better fruit = smaller berries = better concentration
  • winter pruning, de budding before flowering and green harvesting in summer can help with ripening
  • ADV /DIS- good balance in the vine , reduces potential yield early in the season but damage inflicted by hail frost or fungal disease can have a drastic effect on yield
  • Bud rubbing - substantially reduced yields
  • Green harvesting allows gorwers to assess the size , shape and position of bunches before sacrifice -late decisions mean hail has usually passed DIS can lead to changes in the vines development through compensation via excessive growth in the remaining bunches =dilution
  • Regional appellations :
  • MAX YiELD : 60hl/hc for reds and 75hl/hc for whites
  • Village Level : 40-45hl/hc for reds and 45-47hl/hc for whites
  • Grand Crus: 35 hl/hc for reds and 40hl/hc for whitees
  • Leading growers leaning towards organic and bio grape growing but must be practised by neighbour vineyards to be successful
  • Grape moths are now contraolled by pheremone capsules
  • Common fungal disease managed through canopy management and sprays
  • Grapevine yellows and Esca are problems today that are closely monitored
  • Timing of the harvest is critical - judgements are made - harvest early,=less ripe, harvest late =softer style but weather concernes
  • Hand picked fruit is most common = need skilled workers
  • *
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8
Q

CD,CC and Mac : White Winemaking

A
  • Acidification is permitted in EU but rarely used
  • When must has insufficiet sugar, winemakers will chaptalise ( warmer climate means less )
  • Max enrichment is 1.5-2 %
  • Hand Harvest grapes are sorted on tables to remove disease, underripe or damaged fruit
  • Whole bunch pressed with the aid of the stems
  • Pressed immediately to avoid tannins
  • Must for high quallity wine is clarified by sedimentation : the levels of solids remaining in the juice vary
  • Must for less expensive juice is clarified by quicker cheaper methodfs
  • To produce a wine less prone to oxidation, winemakers will hyperoxygenate. Protecting the must leads to prem oxidation
  • Fermenation by ambient yeats is common to maintain the terroir and monitoring of the ferment is a full time job
  • Large companies will inoculate
  • Inexpensive wines will get SS tanks and concrete - Temps are around 16-18o C to preserve primary fruite and avoid banana flavours -Wines are ages in SS or old oak
  • More expenisve wines will aged in barrel for a rounder more creamy style with Ferment temps closer to 20oC
  • These wines are aged in barrel for 8-12 months on lees -new oak will lead to vanilla, clove and spice
  • Regional -SS and old oak
  • Village level - 20-25 %
  • PC level 30-50%
  • GC level 50-100%
  • Piece barrel or barriques 228L are commonly used and some are using 500-600 L for a more subtle oak effect
  • Most go through MLFC - but for fresher styles this is blocked
  • During maturation , batonnage is common to reduce reductive flavours and add texture
  • Wines are most always filtered
    *
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9
Q

Burgundy: Premature Oxidation

A
  • In the early 2000’s reports of vintages showing very advanced flavours and colours after a short time in bottles
  • **PREMOX
  • **Causes : **
  • changes in vineyard practic leading to higher yields ,
  • different chemical composition of the grape
  • wartmer vintages, later picking times
  • the use of over clean must from pneumatic presses
  • overzealous batonnage
  • lower levels of SO2at bottling
  • Quality and treatment of corks
  • problem remains but at lower levels
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10
Q

CD,CC and Mac : Red Wine Making

A
  • PN must be vinified carefully
  • Maintain primary fruit, not too overwhelm delicate fruit with the oak
  • Sorting of the fruit is common except for inexpensive wines
  • Whole bunch or destemmed
  • Most practice whole bunch in Burgundy
  • 1980;s Jayer preferreed destemmed fruit but since has returned to the style of PN ‘s
  • Whole bunches aerate the must and add perfumed ,freshness and fine tannins
  • Unripe stems must be removed to avoid green flavours
  • Cold soaking for hours - days is common to max the extraction of colour - PN is low in anthocyanins
  • Most producers rely on ambient yeast
  • Ferment in small open top fermenters
  • to faciliate pumping over ( remontage
  • )and punching down (pigeage)
  • Cap must be broken up to introduce oxygen =yeast metabolism , avoid reduction and production of sulphur compounds - PN is prone to this
  • avoid acetic acid, extract colour and tanning and to regulate temperature in the must ( 30oC )
  • Post ferment maceration depends on ripeness of fruit with periods no longer than 2-3 weeks
  • Wines are pressed off in pneumatic or vertical basket presses
  • Free run wine and press wine are kept seperate but may be blended at the end
  • 228L Oak for maturation of 12-20 months for prem and super prem , less than one year for $$
  • New oak varies acorss producers with higher amounts in PC and GC wines - varies from no oak to 100%
  • MLFC is spontaneous and takes place in the spring following harvest when cellars warm up
  • Mid priced wiens are fined and lightly filtered but many high level are not
  • *
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11
Q

Burgundy: Vineyard Classification

A

1930’s formalised the lieux-dits into 4 tier hierachy based on aspect, soil ad microclimate :

1. regional or generic AOC’s eg. Beaune AOC , Bourgogne AOC
2. communal or village AOC’s eg. Mersault AOC , Gevrey-Chambertin AOC
3. Premier Cru eg. Pommard Premier Cru AOC Les Rugiens
4. Grand Cru in the Cote D’Or the labelling is the name of the grand cru not related village
eg. Richebourg Grand Cru AOC, Batard- Montrachet AOC

Volumes :
1% GC
47% PC and Village
52% regional AOCS

In the Cote Chalonnais and Maconnais there are no GC’s

Across Burgundy there are 84 AOC’s , 33 GC’s, 44 Village and 7 regional AOC’s
Chablis Grand Crus includes all the climats in the appellation
640 PC’s are additonal denominations related to the village , not appellations in their own right
GC’s are appellations in their own right ( within the Cote D’Or )

Examples of appellations:
eg. Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune AOC - regional
eg. Mersault AOC Perrieres - Village plus PC vineyard
eg. Macon AOC Verze - village name
eg. Chablis Grand Cru Valmur AOC - GC plus Climat

Clos de Vougeot GRand Cru is 50 ha whereas La Romanee Grand Cru is only 0.84 ha and one of the most expensive wines in the world

Not a guarantee of quality as the majority of vineyards are owned by more that one domaine and the range of quality from one AOC can affect the repuation. The skill and repuation of the Domaine is key.
eg. Clos de Vougeot has wine from top of the hill and bottom of the hill under the same name AOC -
Look for Haute ( higher )
Grand crus are found on the mid slop to promote riper fuller wines - poor but adequate drainage , protection from winds and good sunlight interception = concentration , balance and length
Village level wines are found at the bottom of the slope

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12
Q

Burgundy: Principal Appellations in the Cotes de Nuits

A

From North to South :

Gevrey-Chambertin AOC - Red wine only . Largest village in the Cote de Nuits . Grand Crus : Charmes Chambertin AOC and Chambertin Clos de Beze AOC -

**Morey St. Denis - Red wine.
**Grand Cru Clos de Tart AOC and Clos de Roche AOC

**Chambolle-Musigny AOC - Red wines for village wines.
**Grand Crus: Bonnes Mares AOC and Musigny AOC

Vougeot AOC - Red and white. Tiny village,.
Grand Cru: Clos de Vougeot AOC

**Vosne- Romanee AOC - red wine only **
Grand Cru: La Tache AOC and Romanee-Conti AOC

**Nuits-St-George AOC - red wines **
There are no Grand Crus but important PC’s such as Les Saint -Georges and Les Vaucrains

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13
Q

Burgundy: Principal appellations in the Cote de Beaune

A

From North to South :

**Aloxe- Corton AOC, Pernard -Vergelesses AOC , Ladoix-Serrigny AOC **
Three village cluster around the village of Corton - mostly red and PC’s
Most famous Grand Cru : Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru AOC is white
Corton Grand Cru AOC is mostly PN

No Grand Crus but important PC’s :

**Beaune AOC - mostly red wines
**Le Clos des Mouches

**Pommard AOC- Red wines only
**Les Rugiens and Clos des Epeneaux

**Volnay AOC : Red wines only.
**Clos de Chienes

**Mersault AOC : Mostly whites
**Perrieres and Genevrieres

**Puligny- Montrachet AOC and Chassagne -Montrachet AOC :
**White wine grand crus :
Le Montrachet AOC and Batard -Montrachet AOC

**Saint-Aubin AOC - moslty whites
**Sur le Sentier du Clou

Also noteworthy : Santenay AOC, St Romain AOC , Auxey- Duresses AOC

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14
Q

Burgundy: The Cote Chalonnaise

A

More red than white :
No Grand crus: PC’s tend to be on the warmest, south E and East facing slopes with good sunlight interception and drained limestone soils

Bouzeron AOC: 100% Aligote - second white grape of the region

**Rully AOC **: More whites with PC’s fpor both
Over 1/4 is PC’s
Cremant de Bourgogne

Mercurey AOC: more red than white
1/4 of the vineyard area is PC

Givry AOC : mostly red. 40% PC

Montagny AOC : White wines only
2/3 PC wines

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15
Q

Burgundy: The Maconnais

A
  • Mostly whites. Inexpensive regional wines are labelled Bourgogne AOC
  • Macon AOC : white mostly
  • Macon -Villages - white wines only
  • Macon + named villages eg. Macon-Fuisse - white wines
  • Macon +named villages eg. Macon-Lugny - white, red or rose
  • Named Villages - Pouilly Fuisse AOC , in 2020, PC status awarded to 22 climats
  • Saint Veran AOC , all whites
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16
Q

Burgundy : Wine Business

A
  • Trade is complex: Large negociants would buy grapes , must or finsihed wine from gorwers.
  • Since 1980, more domaine are bottling their own wine
  • Very well know negociants:
  • Albert Bichot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot, Bouchard Pere and Fils
  • The 2000’s has seen a rise in the domaines who act as negociants such as Dujac- bottle their own wine from thier vineyards
  • GRowers: - vineyard holdings that sell their grapes to negociants . Thousands of growers - different parcels and villages
  • Domaines - own vineyards, make wine, and sell under their label
  • Negociants: large businesses that buy grapes or wine, finish them, bottle them and sell under their own name
  • Micro- Negociants - small business that buy grapes from very good to top vineyards and sell them under their own name eg. Benjamin Leroux
  • Co-ops - less important in the Cote D;’Or but important in Chablis and the Maconnais
  • There has been a significant rise in quality due to young winemakers who are better trained and have travelled for vintages
  • The route to market is varied from cellar door, producer to consumer, negociant to distributor
  • Direct sales are on the increase as are producer to retalier direct
  • 50 % is exported to USA , UK and Canaa
  • Name of Domaine and AOC is very important in driving prices
  • Village names act a subtle style differences (see map)
  • Wines may be sold en primeur, specialist wine shops, fine dining and in superm markets and hospo for regional and village wines
  • Land prices are increasing , scarcity of supply, climate change and highly sought after vineyards = $$$$$
  • Production is only 1/4 of Bordeaux
  • Steep prices on the trading market - Liv ex Burgundy 150 index shows prices rose 200% between 2003-2016
    *