Burgundy Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Chablis

Northern outpost · Yonne

Soil: Kimmeridgian limestone packed with fossilised oyster shells.
Style: Steely, mineral, high-acid whites — flinty unoaked, fuller in Grand Cru.
Top sites: 7 Grands Crus on one slope: Les Clos, Vaudésir, Valmur, Blanchot.
Vintages: 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
Producers: DauvissatWilliam Fèvre

Tip · Petit Chablis sits on younger Portlandian soil — a clue to relative weight.

Value pick

Patrick Piuze 'Terroir de Courgis' Chablis · ~$35

A négociant-grower making vivid, mineral village Chablis that punches toward premier cru.

Collector pick

Raveneau 'Les Clos' Grand Cru · ~$500 · 2019

The most coveted name in Chablis — a mineral, age-worthy Grand Cru of legendary status.

Côte de Nuits

Northern Côte d'Or

Soil: Limestone & marl on the mid-slope, between road and forest.
Style: Burgundy's most powerful, structured, long-lived reds.
Top sites: Most red Grands Crus: Chambertin, Musigny, Romanée-Conti.
Vintages: 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020
Producers

Tip · Vosne-Romanée is the heart: 'there are no common wines in Vosne.'

Value pick

Sylvain Pataille Marsannay Rouge · ~$45

Northern Côte de Nuits village from a biodynamic master — real Pinot class below the famous names.

Collector pick

Domaine Dujac 'Clos de la Roche' Grand Cru · ~$600 · 2019

A Grand Cru red Burgundy from a modern icon — silky, perfumed and built to age.

Côte de Beaune

Southern Côte d'Or

Soil: More clay and limestone variety — ideal for both colours.
Style: The world benchmark for dry Chardonnay, plus elegant reds.
Top sites: Montrachet & Corton-Charlemagne (white); Corton its only red Grand Cru.
Vintages: 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
Producers

Tip · Montrachet straddles Puligny and Chassagne. Meursault has no Grand Cru at all.

Value pick

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bourgogne Blanc · ~$45

Regional white from a Chassagne star — Côte de Beaune Chardonnay finesse at entry price.

Collector pick

Domaine Leflaive 'Puligny-Montrachet' 1er Cru · ~$350 · 2019

White Burgundy from the estate that defines the appellation — profound and long-lived.

Côte Chalonnaise

The value belt

Soil: Limestone with patches of marl; aspect matters more than ever.
Style: Honest, earlier-drinking reds and whites at gentler prices.
Top sites: Premiers crus in Mercurey, Rully, Givry. Bouzeron = France's only Aligoté village AOC.
Vintages: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Producers: Domaine de Villaine

Tip · Where sommeliers shop for affordable Burgundy that still tastes of place.

Value pick

Domaine de Villaine Bouzeron Aligoté · ~$30

From DRC co-owner Aubert de Villaine: proof Aligoté can be serious, age-worthy and complex.

Collector pick

Domaine de Villaine 'La Digoine' Bouzeron · ~$45 · 2020

From DRC's co-director — a wine that ages far beyond its humble appellation.

Mâconnais

Sun-warmed south

Soil: Limestone escarpments — the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson.
Style: Ripe, rounder, great-value Chardonnay — the grape's homeland.
Top sites: Pouilly-Fuissé got its first premiers crus in 2020; Saint-Véran.
Vintages: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Producers: Leflaive (Mâcon-Verzé)J.A. Ferret

Tip · Pouilly-Fuissé (Mâcon, Chardonnay) ≠ Pouilly-Fumé (Loire, Sauvignon Blanc).

Value pick

Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé · ~$40

The legendary white-Burgundy estate's southern outpost — Leflaive purity at a Mâcon price.

Collector pick

Comtes Lafon 'Clos de la Crochette' Mâcon · ~$55 · 2020

A great white-Burgundy name's southern vineyard — serious, mineral and ageworthy.

Beaujolais

Granite & Gamay

Soil: Pink granite and schist in the cru zone — unlike the limestone north.
Style: Juicy, fragrant reds; top crus age like fine Pinot.
Top sites: 10 crus: Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Brouilly, Chénas…
Vintages: 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Producers: Jean Foillard

Tip · Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon are the longest-lived — give them 5–10 years.

Value pick

Jean Foillard Morgon 'Côte du Py' · ~$40

The cru Beaujolais benchmark — granite-grown Gamay that ages like fine Pinot for the price of village Burgundy.

Collector pick

Château Thivin 'Côte de Brouilly' La Chapelle · ~$45 · 2020

Top cru Beaujolais from old vines — Gamay that rewards a decade in the cellar.