Written on 10/02/2022
Keys to understanding everything
It's no secret that the Burgundy wine region is known the world over, and is brimming with real nuggets, including Vosne-Romanée, Nuits saint Georges, Pommard and Aloxe-Corton. All of these wines are classified in a very special way, which can be a real headache when you don't know anything about them.
That's why today we're going to give you all the keys you need to understand this famous"pyramid" classification of Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée (AOP) and Dénominations Géographiques Complémentaires (DGC).
First of all, appellations are classified according to a set of criteria:
- Geographical delimitation. The smaller the area, the higher the classification.
- Yield expressed in hl/ha. The smaller the yield, the higher the qualification.
- The minimum natural degree of the harvest , which will be higher in the higher grades and lower in the lower grades.
The 84 appellations d'origines contrôlées are divided into four levels: 33 Grands Crus, 44 appellations Villages and 7 appellations Régionales .
- There are 7 regional appellations , representing 48% of the region's wine-growing area. These are the least expensive wines, and include all wines with the word "Bourgogne" on the label. They include: Bourgogne, Mâcon-Villages, Bourgogne aligoté, Crémant de Bourgogne, Coteaux Bourguignons, Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, Mâcon, Bourgogne Mousseux.
- There are 44 village appellations, representing around 40% of production, and wines with this appellation must bear the name of the village on the label: Chablis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Mercurey, Vosne-Romanée, Meursault, Pommard...
- Premiers Crus appellations. These number 640 and account for around 10% of Burgundy's wine. They are always linked to a village, such as Pommard, Nuits Saint Georges or Chablis. They represent parcels located within village appellations and identified as superior in quality.
- The Grand Crus of Burgundy. This is the ultimate appellation level, which is why it represents only 1% of wine production. There are 33 Grand Crus in the region.
Chablis :
Chablis grand cru (Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir)
Côte de Nuits :
Ruchottes-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze, Chapelle-Chambertin, Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Clos-de-la-Roche, Clos-Saint-Denis, Clos-des-Lambrays, Clos-de-Tart , Bonnes-Mares et Musigny, Clos-de-Vougeot, Échezeaux et Grands-Échezeaux, Richebourg, La-Romanée, Romanée-Conti, Romanée-saint-Vivant, La-Grande-Rue et La-Tâche
Côte de Beaune :
Corton and Corton-Charlemagne, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet and Montrachet
Some AOCs also have a complementary geographical designation (DGC).
- The Burgundy appellation has 13 FGDs called "Burgundy identified".
- The Mâcon appellation has 27, called Mâcons, followed by the name of the associated village.
