Cote d'Or, Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais Flashcards
Climate
Continental with cold winters and warm summers
Relatively short growing season ideal for early ripening Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Cote d’Or is moderated by the Morvan hills to the west
700 mm rain, early autumn typically dry but rain can be a threat at harvest, flowering and fruit set, mildew
Vintage variation is marked
Maconnais is slightly warmer and drier than Cote d’Or
Factors impacting site quality
Aspect, altitude, degree of slope, soil
promoting ripeness is a priority as at these climates ripening pinot noir is not guaranteed
Hazards
Frost can be a significant issue and decrease yields
Particularly acute as Chard and Pinot are both early budding
Exasperated by recent warm winters which promote early bud break
Hail: early in the season damages early growth and reduces yields, later damages fruit leading to rot
Anti-hail netting allowed since 2018. Also see thunder clouds with silver iodide to induce precipitation away from the vineyards. Careful sorting necessary
Can significantly reduce yields.
Rain (3 ways)
Drought. shriveled berries, stopped photosynthesis. Irrigation not permitted so water stress an issue. high clay soils do better
Topography
Aspect and elevation critical in determining style and quality
Cote d’Or lies on a low range of hills oriented north- south at 200m - 400m
Side valleys run east-west
Leads to many aspects being east, south, or south east
Best sites are on the mid slope (drainage, sunlight, frost)
Top of slope have poor thin soil, and exposed to cool winds
Bottom have deeper soils and exposed to frost
Coolest used for Aligote or Cremant
Soils
Various types of limestone and clay with varying proportions
Cote de Nuits is more dominated by limestone where best Pinot’s are grown
Beaune has more clay and deeper soils, highly regarded Chardonnay
Chalonnaise and Maconnais are a mix of limestone and clay
Depth of soil varies significantly partly due to erosion (even in gently sloping)
Thinner at higher elevations, deeper at lower. Top is too thin for vines, bottom is too fertile and vigorous (shading, no ripeness, no concentration)
Chardonnay
Very versatile and suited to a range of climates and soils for a range of styles
Buds early susceptible to spring frosts
Ripens early suitable to a cool climate
Can produce relatively high yields without a loss of quality
Prone to grey rot, powdery mildew, millerandage, grapevine yellows
Many top quality are grown on limestone / clay as in Burgundy
Chardonnay flavor
Cool: apple, pear, lemon, lime, wet stones, light to med body and high acid
Moderate: ripe citrus, melon, stone fruit, medium to medium plus body, with medium plus to high acid
Pinot Noir
Buds early prone to spring frosts
Ripens early suitable to cool climates
Yields must be limited to produce quality wine
Delicate and prone to millerandage, downy, powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot, and fanleaf and leaf roll viruses
In warm climates it ripens too fast (reducing aroma intensity) and can suffer from sunburn
Sufficient ripening is a key concern in Burgundy
Clones
Many are drawn from the Dijon clone families developed at the Univ of Burgundy in Dijon
Widely used around the world for growing Pinot and Chard
Many in Burgundy use Mass Selection (better diversity and less disease prone but more inconsistent)
Pinot Noir flavor
Strawberry, raspberry, red cherry. village wines and above have light oak derived flavors (smoke, clove), low to med tannin (Grand cru have med plus), med alcohol, and high acid
Earth, game, mushroom with time in bottle
Pruning
Some Cordon like Cordon de Royat which limits yields and vigor though old wood can harbor disease
Traditionally was Guyot and many are now returning to this and to an even softer method known as Poussard-Guyot (maintains the same sap route from one year to the next with pruning wounds only on the upper part of the cordon. Reduces number of pruning wounds to cut down on incidence of trunk diseases like Esca
Requires skilled labor but worth it if it hinders trunk diseases and vigor
Vineyard Management (yields)
Planting density of 8,000 - 10,000 (some higher) to drive competition and and reduce yields
Debudding: but risks like drastically reduced yields if there is frost or other damaging things later
Green harvesting allows you to assess the vine before removing fruit and to take into account any weather. Can result in excessive growth in remaining bunches.
Yields
Regional appellations: 75 white / 69 red
Village level: 45 - 47 white / 40 - 45 red
Some grand crus: white 40 / red 35
Individual levels may differ
Vineyard Management Trends
Organic and biodynamic more popular
But climate makes this challenging
Many vineyards are shared and organic requires a minimum area to be successfully implemented
this can lead to friction between growers who want different practices
Pests
Grape moths are controlled via pheremone traps
Powdery, Downy mildew and bunch rot managed via canopy management and spraying
Recent outbreak of grapevine yellows
Esca and other trunk diseases
Harvest
Very important decision given the marginal climate and potential for autumn rain
Picking early preserves acidity but fruit may not be ripe
Late can result in a softer wine but weather may be an issue
Majority still picked by hand so labor availability is a consideration. Nearly all in Cote d’Or
White winemaking
Chaptalization is practiced but is declining due to recent warmer growing seasons and better canopy management.
Typically grapes are sorted in the winery. Removing diseased, damaged, under ripe fruit is important in this cool climate
Pressed as whole bunches to aid drainage. Pressed immediately as Chard is not aromatic and don’t want tannin
Clarified via sedimentation with solids left depending on winemaker’s desire. Musts for cheaper clarified via quicker methods
Some practice hyperoxidation to produce a more oxygen stable wine
Ambient yeasts are typical except for high volume wines
Inexpensive and mid are in stainless or concrete with mid range to preseve primary fruit but avoid banana.
Expensive and / or high quality are fermented and aged in barrel for a creamier rounder style. Temps can hit 16 - 20C
Usually undergoes malo but a proportion may be blocked for a fresher style
White wine maturation
Inexpensive wines are aged in stainless or older barrels
Expensive / high quality are aged in barrels for 8 - 12 mo and in contact with fine lees.
20 - 25% new oak is common for village, 30 - 35% for premier cru, 50% and above at Grand cru (100% not unheard of)
Standard oak barrel is the 228 liter Burgundy barrel (known as piece)
some using larger 500 - 600 liter barrels for a subtler impact of flavor and oxidation
Lees may be stirred (batonage) to reduce reductive aromas and add creamier texture
Red Winemaking
Sorting for all but least expensive
Whole bunches or destemmed. PN well suited to whole bunch and recently popularity has risen. Henri Jayer in the 80’s moved the region to destemming
whole bunches aid aeration and add perfume, freshness and fine tannins. but if unripe can add astringency and green notes. some use a proportion of whole bunch
Cold soaking for a few days prior to fermentation is common to extract color as PN is low in anthocyanins
Most rely on ambient yeast. Fermentation in small open top vessels
Two most common cap management is pumping over (remontage) and punch down (pigeage). Must do regularly to introduce oxygen (essential for yeast) avoid reduction and reductive compounds (PN is susceptible), avoid production of acetic acid, extract color, tannin, and flavor, regulate temps
Post fermentation maceration varies with wines of concentration and structure receiving 2 - 3 weeks
Horizontal, pneumatic or vertical basket press with free run and press kept separate until blending
Red wine maturation
Typically 228 liter (piece) oak barrels
12 - 20 months for premium and super premium
less than one year for less expensive
Proportion of new oak varies across producers and styles with a higher proporiton used in premier and grand vs regional and village
However, the full spectrum from 0% to 1–% can be found among the best domaines
Malo happens in barrel in spring once the cellars heat up
mid-priced are fined and filtered while higher level may not be
Vineyard Classification
Far more detailed than in other parts of France
Began with medieval monks, but formalized in the 1930’s with a categorization of all lieux-dits into a four tier hierarchy
Based on soil, aspect, and microclimate or terroir
Regional or generic appellations: Bourgogne AOC, Bourgogne Haut Cotes de Beaune
Communal or Village: Meursault AOC, Gevrey-Chambertin AOC
Premier Cru: Pommard Premier Cru Les Rugiens AOC, Vosne Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts AOC
Grand Cru: Richebourg Grand Cru AOC, Batard Montrachet Grand Cru AOC. Note for GC’s in Or the village name does not need to appear
GC is 1%; Village and Prem 47% and regional 52%
In Cote Chalonnaise it stops at Premier and in Maconnais they are formalizing premier cru status
Appellations and Geographical Denominations
Across Burgundy (ex Beaujolais) there are 84 appellations including 33 grand crus, 44 village and 7 regional
Each GC in the Or is an AOC where there is only one in Chablis (with 7 Climats)
There are 640 premier crus (not AOC’s)
Additional geographical info:
Region plus geography or village: Bourgogne Haute Cotes de Beaune AOC or Bourgogne Chitry AOC
Village followed by 1er cru: Meursault Perrieres AOC
Macon + village: Macon Verze AOC
Grand cru + climat: Chablis Grand Cru Valmur or Corton-Les Bressandes Grand Cru AOC
Varying sizes: Clos Vougeot GC is 50ha, Musigny GC is 10 and La Romanee GC is 0.84
Not a guarantee of quality. Inheritance laws mean most vineyards are owned by more than one person and hence quality can vary with producer capability
Also larger GC’s likely have better and worse spots i.e. Vougeot having better grapes from the middle slope vs the lower section
Cote d’Or general vineyard positioning
Haut Cotes de Beaune and Nuits: Flat land beyond the top of the slope of the Cote d’Or. Higher altitude, lack of weather protection, poorer sunlight interception, and richer soils encouraging vigor lead to less concentrated and structured wines that can struggle to ripen
Grand Crus and Premier: in the mid slopes. Full ripeness even in cooler years. Poor but adequate shallow soils, good drainage, protection from weather and good sunlight interception. With good winemaking can produce wines with concentration, balance, length
Village: typically lower part of the slope. Richer less well drained soils lead to less ripeness, but can be good quality and character
Bourgogne: typically flat land at the bottom of the slope. D974 road generally divides the village level above and generic below
Cotes de Nuits
My - Marsannay Father - Fixin Gave - Gevery Chambertin Me - Morey St. Denis Cambembert - Chambolle Musigny Very - Vougeot Very - Vosne Romanee Nutty - Nuits-Saint-Georges
Gevry - Red wine only. Charmes Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze
Morey St. Denis - Almost all red; Clos de Tart, Clos de la Roche
Chambolle - Red only; Bonnes Mares, Musigny
Vougeot - red and white; Clos de Vougeot
Vosne-Romanee - red only; La Tache, Romanee-Conti
Nuits-Saint-Georges - almost all red; no grand crus but 1er Les Saint Georges and Les Vaucrains
