Red Burgundy

Burgundy is a relatively small region, about a quarter of the size of Bordeaux. But what it may lack in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. The narrow band of Burgundy’s vineyard land stretches from the city of Dijon down to Lyon. The five most famous districts comprising Burgundy are, from North to South; Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Beaujolais. Chablis is quite removed geographically (sitting above Dijon) and adheres to its own classifications. Beaujolais is its own region due to its specialist grape variety Gamay but also because of different regulations around growing and vinification. That leaves us with the Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Maconnais as being what we usually think of as ‘Burgundy proper’. Most consider the Côte d'Or in particular to be the heart of Burgundy, being home to so many of Burgundy’s most famous vineyards. The string of legendary villages which constitute the Côte de Nuits; Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St Georges is a veritable roll call of great names of the wine world. And the Côte de Beaune competes and contributes to the canon with its own stars from Volnay and Pommard.