It’s easy to overlook the areas of Burgundy that aren’t the Côte d’Or. Really, there is so much going on in the Côte d’Or, who has the time to focus on wines from down south? Much like the younger siblings of an all-star older brother may get left behind in the family discussions, the Côte Chalonnaise and the Maconnais don’t garner much attention for their output. And why would they? It’s not breathtakingly expensive, the area isn’t riddled with overlapping AOCs and communes with 14 vines inside of monastic stone walls. They just make good wine at a fair price, which seems like an excellent reason to give them some attention.

The Côte Chalonnaise lies just south of the Côte d’Or, in long north to south strip of land surrounding a central plain. The soils and the overall climatic conditions in the area are quite similar to the Côte d’Or, with the exception being that there is slightly less rain in the Côte Chalonnaise. The major geographic difference is that vineyards in the Côte d’Or lie on long, single hillside; where in the Côte Chalonnaise there aren’t significant slopes for the vines to grow. The area is more undulating and pastoral than it’s northern neighbor and consequently has many microclimates that affect the quality of the wine from the various subregions: Bouzeron, Rully, Mercury, Givry and Montagny.

Bouzeron is closest to the Côte d’Or, lying just south of Montrachet. The area grows both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and these wines are generally bottled under the generic Bourgogne labels. The unique part of Bouzeron is that it is the only AOC in France for the grape Aligoté. The wines made from Aligoté tend to be a bit denser, more in the style of Pinot Gris than the Chardonnay which is the norm for the region.

Rully is located south of Bouzeron and is the most important area for production of sparkling wine in Burgundy—labeled Cremant de Bourgogne. Rully does produce a light and mostly simple Pinot Noir as well.

The most important name in the Côte Chalonnaise is Mercury. It not only produces the most wine in the area, but it also produces some of the best. Pinot Noir is the grape of choice here and can reach very good quality levels, helped in part by the mandated restriction on yields of grapes per acre. The wines of Mercury have a deep color, spicy notes of cherry and can at their best be on par with some respectable Côte de Beaune wines.

Givry grows almost exclusively red wines from the Pinot Noir grape. Though the area is quite small, it has seen a positive increase in quality in the last decade. The reds display a respectable tannic structure as well as currant and earth on the nose. Some can age well, but most are ready to drink within 5-7 years after bottling.

The last region in the Côte Chalonnaise is Montagny, an appellation that produces only white wines from the Chardonnay grape. The wines are noted for displaying full structure and crisp acidity. Styles can range from very full-bodied and oaky to quite lean and firm, all in all a very good representation of old world Chardonnay.

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The case could easily be made that the Côte de Nuits is the most complex piece of land growing vines in the entire world. This little strip of land, perhaps two miles wide, along a single ride of limestone in hills of central France produce wines from a quilt of appellations and communes. And these aren’t any ordinary wines; the grape juice from these hills can command the highest prices in the world in any given year—how about $9,000 for that bottle of ’88 Richebourg at a fancy restaurant. That’s not a joke.

The wines of the Côte de Nuits are almost exclusively red, from only Pinot Noir. This special little segment of the Earth is blessed with the ability to grow the most graceful Pinot Noir around. The Côte de Nuits is one of the most northern wine-growing regions in the world; it lies along the 47^th parallel (which is about the same latitude as northern Minnesota!) That far north, the weather is inconsistent, it can go from very hot to very cold with hail an issue every summer. The climatic variation means that vintages are quite variable in quality levels.

As with most of the great wine regions of France, the Romans were the first to introduce vines to Burgundy, and the Côte de Nuits. The vines remained after the Romans left and continued to make wines, with a good amount of monastic supervision. The reputation of Nuits wines traveled far; the wines from the area were the favorite among the Popes when they briefly moved the church to Southern France. King Louis XIV drank only Nuits wines—his personal physician recommended them for supposed restorative properties.

Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits have been proven over time to produce the best wines in the area, and there are many in the Côte. The village Givery-Chambertain has nine Grand Cru that share the last name –Chambertain, all are excellent. Clos de Vouget is a single vineyard inside of ancient monastic walls. Morey-St-Denis has the Grand Cru vineyards of Clos de la Roche, Clos St. Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and Bonnes Mares. Though all the Grand Cru are famous, none is more so than those in the village of Vosne-Romanee, home to Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, La Romanée, Romanée-St. Vivant and La Grand Rue. These are the bank-busters, the archetype of red Burgundy and are sought after the world over.

The power and grace of wines produced in Nuits is legendary. Here, Pinot Noir reaches its highest potential, producing wines that have earthy aromas, elegant tannic structure, seamless integration of oak and acid and the ability to age with poise. These are expensive wines, but they are truly one of a kind, not found anywhere else, and the rarity along with the quality makes them worth every penny.

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There’s been an unfortunate history in the wine industry of labeling generic white wine “Chablis.” It’s unfortunate because the lake of inferior white wine carrying the Chablis name does no justice to real McCoy.

You see, Chablis is a real place. A real, cold, small place in northern France. The region lies on the 48^th parallel—roughly the same latitude as the U.S. border with Canada in the Great Lakes area—and is the northernmost limit of wine production. The Burgundy region claims Chablis—though it’s actually closer to Champagne—but it’s wine production is significantly different. Chablis produces good wines under the AOC designations with only the Chardonnay grape. Burgundy, of course, grows the grape as well, but the styles in which the wines in Chablis are made are distinctive.

Chablis is recognized for the uniqueness of its soils, the most famous of which is the Kimmeridgean. This soil is ancient, from the Jurassic period, and is composed of clay and ancient oyster shells. The soil is said to give the wines a distinct nose of flint, mineral and steel. Some say the reason that oysters and Chablis are such a classic pairing is that the Chablis vines grow from soil composed of fossilized oyster shells.

It’s important to remember that the Chablis region is very far north, which means the grapes often times do not ripen in the same way that more southerly Chardonnay will. The cooler climate and shorter growing season give the wines of Chablis a characteristic acidity, which is described as racy and green-apple-like. Another characteristic of Chablis wines is a faint tinge of green on the edges of the wine in a glass. The wines of Chablis are usually not made or aged in oak. This gives theses Chardonnay wines a particular purity of flavor not often found in Chardonnay from other parts of the world that use significant oak.

The AOC Chablis regulations divide the region into four levels, in ascending or of quality: Petite Chablis, AOC Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. All of the Grand Cru vineyards are located on a single southwest-facing hill; there are only seven but they’re all wonderful. All seven produce wines and label the bottles with the names of the vineyard; they are: Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudésir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchot. There are good wines produced from the Premier Cru vineyards as well, though they may or may not put the names of the vineyards on the labels.

The wines of Chablis are unique, with strong floral, flinty, earthy aromas and bracing acidity. In good vintages they can be excellent, and, due to the relative lack of demand for them, they can be reasonably priced. Look for wines from ’02, ’05 or ’07 and look for a label with a vineyard name on it—it will at least be a Premier Cru. Expect to pay anywhere from $15-$50 for a bottle.

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Perhaps no other wine region in the world is as obsessed with terrior as Burgundy is. And just what is terrior you ask? Terrior is and idea the French came up with to describe a piece of land given the variables of: microclimate, soil composition and local geography. The differences in those variables and the way that they come together can have a profound impact on the resulting wine. Burgundy has been classifying tiny parcels of land according to soil, climate and geography for centuries. Most believe they were the first to start this practice.

Burgundy is located in the east of France, just north of the Rhone district. The area has been under cultivation for thousands of years and today remains one of the premier wine regions in the world. Climatically, the Burgundy region is described as continental, which means it has distinct seasons, cold winters, hot summers and potentially severe weather.

The Burgundy district contains several regions: in the north there is Chablis, in the south there is Beaujolais, and in the center is the Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Côte d’Or. All the regions produce quality wine, but only the Côte d’Or is home to the astronomically priced wines that are often associated with Burgundy. The Côte d’Or itself is split roughly into two areas, north and south. The North is the the Côte de Nuits and the south is the the Côte de Beaune.

The region of Burgundy covers a significant geographic area and contains more separate AOC areas than any other in France, but it uses only a small number of grapes. The dominant white grape in Burgundy is Chardonnay. Grown from the north to the south, Chardonnay makes most of the white wines in Burgundy, though some is made from Aligote as well. There are only two significant red grapes in Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Gamay. Gamay is only grown in significant amounts in Beaujolais, other than that, Pinot Noir is the dominant grape, especially in the Côte d’Or.

The Catholic Church has played a significant role in the history of Burgundy. Historically the Church has owned many vineyards and monks were vintners of Burgundy. The Cistercians were the first to really put together the idea that different vineyards made different quality levels of wines. This was the beginning of the concept of terrior that is so crucial today in Burgundy. The other key player in Burgundy is the negociant, a person or company that buys grapes or grape juice from many vineyard owners and then makes and bottles wine from this collection of sources. The negociant plays a critical role in Burgundy because so many of the important vineyards have had their ownership split into tiny parcels as they have been passed down generationally. In some vineyards an owner may only own one or two rows of vines. It’s not feasible for this owner to make wine commercially, so they sell their grapes to the negociant.

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If you think you love Chardonnay, you need to experience the wines of the Côte de Beaune. More importantly, if you think you hate Chardonnay, you need to try a good Côte de Beaune. The greatest expression of the grape lie in the vineyards along the limestone escarpment that make up the backbone of this region. The Côte de Beaune is home to both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but there is little doubt as to who’s in charge in the Beaune. This single region, and the amazing wines it produces, is the sole reason that Chardonnay has been able to take over the wine producing world in our time.

It’s a little surprising to hear that this most sacred of wine regions did not host its signature grape, Chardonnay, until the 17^th century. Before whatever happy accident brought Chardonnay to the Côte, the grape of choice was Pinot Gris. Certainly not a bad grape, it just has never been able to pull off the high-wire acid/body structure that is a great Chardonnay. The Côte de Beaune lies on the southern half of the Côte d’Or, and is home to many fine AOCs producing wine from Chardonnay. Two of the many noteworthy of these appellations producing white wines are Mersault and Montrachet.

If you want to sound very Frenchy and cool to your wine geek friends, make sure to pronounce it “moan-ra-shay.” Montrachet is both a village and Grand Cru. To add to that confusion, some of the Grand Cru in the Village of Montrachet attach the name to the end of their Grand Cru names; so we end up with Puligny-Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet. There is however, no confusion about the best Grand Cru in the area—it is Le Montrachet. The Chardonnay produced from this escarpment in the French countryside is the archetype of white Burgundy—and thus Chardonnay produced anywhere. The wines of Le Montrachet are intense and succulent with excellent acidity and structure and a long finish. Even if you can’t find the Montrachet, anything with the name Montrachet attached will be a great bottle of wine.

Though there are no Grand Cru vineyards’ in Mersault, the region is still considered one of the greatest in the whole Côte de Beaune. The wines here are Chardonnay and they tend towards a buttery, soft and rich style. The appellation produces some decent values—if you can find Mersault-Villages bottles, look for Les Charmes or Les Perrieres.

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Wine Club Insider back with you after a couple weeks vacation.

I’ve been going some outside stuff; some snowshoeing, XC skiing, even some snow biking, as well as attending the GIANT Outdoor Retailer’s show in Salt Lake City… boy, if wine had a weekend like that, we’d never got sober! Anyhoo, I’ll be back with you on Monday and Thursday from now on, so let’s get to it…

I met a couple of my friends there for the weekend, and I took a nice bottle of V. Sattui Pinot Noir to share, as well as a bottle of surprisingly good Fusee Syrah, which we drank over a late night business meeting.

The Pinot was so tasty that I decided to open a second bottle tonight. Now, Pinot is perhaps the most finicky of all the major red wine grapes, though it can be one of the most magnificent when done properly…

Andre Tchelistcheff said “God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot noir,” while Vanity Fair’s Joel Fleischman described Pinot Noir as “the most romantic of wines,” and Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon calls pinot “sex in a glass”. Peter Richardsson of OenoStyle christened it “a seductive yet fickle mistress.”

No matter which way you feel, it’s becoming an increasingly important wine, being grown (and well!) in Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Germany, and prominently in Oregon’s Willamette valley, and California’s Sonoma and Russian River Valley… Oh, and have you ever heard of Burgundy?

Yup. Pinot Noir is the grape that made Burgundy famous. That and Dijon mustard, Coq au vin and the Cote-d’ Or.

Some of my favorite Oregon Pinots include Willamette Vineyards, David Bruce, Andrew Rich, Elk Cove, and of course Domaine Drouhin… one cool thing about Oregon Pinot Noirs is that there is actually an Oregon Pinot Noir club! Yes, a wine club just for Oregon Pinots.

www.oregonpinotnoir.com has everything you’ll ever want to know about Oregon’s number one wine export.

Now, moving south to California, you get a different type of flavor… I think that for years, California Pinot was thought of as light and fruity, but over the past decade or so, the winemakers have been making a great effort to give it some real depth, and have, to a fair degree, succeeded.

My 2006 V. Sattui Pinot (www.vsattui.com) from tonight is a Los Carneros appellation, and I must tell you, depth isn’t an issue. This is a big wine. Maybe not Domaine Drouhin big, but very tasty. You’d like it.

Until next Monday,

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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