Burgundy 2022 En Primeur

Famous for its dry, flinty and steely character, it comes as a surprise to a few that Chablis is indeed made from the Chardonnay grape – a stylistic contrast to the oaky Chardonnays more commonly associated with Australia or California.

The appellation itself sits apart from the rest of Burgundy on fossil-rich soils and is separated from the Côte d’Or by the Morvan Mountains. In fact, geographically, Chablis is much closer to Champagne than the rest of the Burgundian vineyards.

The appellation comprises four ranks: Grand Cru Chablis, Premier Cru Chablis, Chablis and Petit Chablis, each encompassing different terroir and ultimately varying price tags.

The northern half of the Côte d’Or escarpment, the Côte de Nuits gets its name from one of its most famous villages: Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Stretching 20 kilometres from Dijon to Nuits-Saint-Georges and expanding between 200-800 metres wide, this illustrious region covers 3600 hectares. Within this, it boasts an impressive number of grand crus vineyards where the Pinot Noir grape rules supreme. Travelling through the region, you will see the slopes adorned with vines, periodically broken up by barren, rocky outcrops or limestone quarries in the south. The soils lower down the slopes are more fertile, whilst narrow strips higher up the hillsides provide exceptional terroir, albeit with less vine vigour.

Although reputed for its red wines, the Côte de Nuits also produces a small amount of high-quality whites too. Simply put, it is home to some of the greatest Pinot Noirs in the world.

In the southern half of the Côte d’Or, the appellation of Côte de Beaune is rugged and picturesque. Owing its name to the city of Beaune at the heart of the area, it is almost twice the size of the Côte de Nuits, with around 6000 hectares under vine.

Renowned for producing some of the region’s greatest white wines, including Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, among others, almost all of Burgundy’s white grand crus can be found here. Each expresses intensity and complexity, offering some of the most exceptional Chardonnays in the world.

The majority of this appellation’s production, however, is red wine. Demonstrating softness and finesse, some very fine examples of Pinot Noir are found here.

In the southernmost part of the Burgundy region, Beaujolais champions the Gamay grape. Although traditionally renowned for light and fruity reds made popular by the emblematic Beaujolais Nouveau, the arrival of established Burgundian producers to this area has meant a move toward quality-focussed wines with a more concentrated style.

We work with a couple of Beaujolais producers who are based within two of the most famous ten named crus: the Labruyère family in Moulin-à-Vent (who also own Domaine Jacques Prieur in Meursault) and the Lafarge family, originally from Volnay but whose holdings now stretch to Fleurie. 

Both families stress that they make wines of their respective appellations over ‘Beaujolais’ – terroir-driven and bold with friendlier price tags than in the Côte d’Or!