The grand crus of Burgundy

How many grand crus are there in Burgundy?

Burgundy has 33 grand cru appellations, each with its own AOC specification. Twenty-four lie in the Côte de Nuits, eight in the Côte de Beaune, and Chablis has one appellation, Chablis Grand Cru, split into seven climats whose names may appear on the label.

A count of 39 appears when the seven Chablis climats are counted one by one, but officially they form a single appellation. Two more quirks are worth knowing. Mazoyères-Chambertin is usually sold as Charmes-Chambertin, whose delimited area includes it, and the Charlemagne appellation is not in use: its wine is sold as Corton-Charlemagne (BIVB).

Most grands crus were created by decrees of 1936 and 1937. The last two promotions came much later: the Clos des Lambrays in 1981 and La Grande Rue in 1992, both in the Côte de Nuits.

What are all 33 grand crus of Burgundy?

The table runs along the Côte from north to south, then to Chablis. Areas are the surface in production in 2022 published by BIVB, rounded; the delimited area can be slightly larger, as with the Clos de Vougeot, whose walls enclose 50.59 hectares. Style notes describe tendencies: the grower and the vintage count as much as the vineyard.

Which village has the most grand crus?

Gevrey-Chambertin has the most, with nine, followed by Vosne-Romanée with six and Morey-Saint-Denis with four of its own plus a share of Bonnes-Mares.

Do Meursault, Pommard, Volnay and Nuits-Saint-Georges have grand crus?

No. Some of Burgundy's most famous villages have no grand cru at all: Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault and Beaune reach their peak with premiers crus, such as Les Saint-Georges in Nuits-Saint-Georges or Les Perrières in Meursault. Their best wines can rival grands crus, but the label will always carry the village name.

How are the grand crus distributed along the Côte?

The grands crus of the Côte d'Or fall into three groups: an almost continuous band from Gevrey-Chambertin to Vosne-Romanée in the Côte de Nuits, the hill of Corton at the northern end of the Côte de Beaune, and the Montrachet slope between Puligny and Chassagne.

In the Côte de Nuits they follow the middle of the east-facing slope, at roughly 230 to 310 metres according to BIVB, between the thin, stony soils near the woods and the deeper ground towards the plain. At Gevrey-Chambertin they line both sides of the Route des Grands Crus, with Chambertin and Latricières above the road and Charmes below it. Morey's clos continue southwards, then come Bonnes-Mares and Musigny around Chambolle, the Clos de Vougeot, the two Échezeaux and the six grands crus of Vosne-Romanée. South of Vosne there are none: the best sites of Nuits-Saint-Georges are premiers crus.

The Côte de Beaune has only two clusters. The hill of Corton rises as an isolated, wooded dome with vines on three sides, between about 250 and 330 metres: red Corton mostly at mid-slope, white Corton-Charlemagne on the steep, marly upper slopes. After a long gap through Beaune, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault come the five Montrachet grands crus, stacked between about 240 and 290 metres: Chevalier-Montrachet at the top, Montrachet in the middle, then Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet lower down.

Chablis stands apart, about 135 km north-west of Beaune by road. Its seven grand cru climats form one continuous band on the right bank of the Serein, north-east of the town, between about 100 and 250 metres, on Kimmeridgian marl and limestone full of tiny fossil oysters (BIVB).

What are the seven Chablis grand cru climats?

Chablis Grand Cru is a single appellation, recognised on 13 January 1938, covering about 101 hectares in production. From north-west to south-east its climats are Bougros, Preuses, Vaudésir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchot, and a small area is declared without a climat name.

Les Clos is the largest and, according to BIVB, may be the original heart of the Chablis vineyard, first worked by the Cistercians of Pontigny. La Moutonne, the monopole of Château Long-Depaquit, is a traditional name for a plot straddling Vaudésir and Preuses, not an official eighth climat. The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, Chablis, in the town centre, is the best place to start.

Which grand crus are monopoles?

A monopole is a vineyard with a single owner. Among the grands crus, Romanée-Conti and La Tâche belong to the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Romanée to the Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair and La Grande Rue to the Domaine François Lamarche, and the Clos de Tart has one owner. The Clos des Lambrays is almost entirely held by a single estate.

Everywhere else ownership is divided, sometimes extremely so. The Clos de Vougeot's 50 hectares are shared among many owners, some with only a few rows. This is why, in Burgundy, the producer's name matters as much as the vineyard's.

Can you visit Burgundy’s grand crus?

Yes, you can see every grand cru from public roads and tracks, but the vineyards are private property and working farmland. Stay on the tracks, never walk between the rows, do not touch or pick the grapes, take nothing from the ground, and give way to tractors, especially at harvest time.

• Clos de Vougeot: the Château du Clos de Vougeot, in the middle of the walled vineyard, is open to visitors all year, with the monks' great cellar and giant presses. Allow at least an hour.
• Romanée-Conti: a stone cross stands at the edge of La Romanée-Conti vineyard above Vosne-Romanée, next to Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg. Look from the lane and keep off the vines.
• Gevrey-Chambertin: the Route des Grands Crus runs between Chambertin above and Charmes-Chambertin below, towards Morey-Saint-Denis. Parking is limited on this narrow road, so stop only where it is safe.
• Hill of Corton: paths climb from Pernand-Vergelesses towards the wooded summit, with views over the Corton-Charlemagne slopes; Aloxe-Corton sits at the foot.
• Montrachet: park in Puligny-Montrachet and walk up the lanes to where Chevalier-Montrachet, Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet lie one above the other.
• Chablis: the grand cru hillside faces the town across the Serein, a short drive from the centre.

Can you taste grand cru wines when you visit?

Sometimes, but rarely by chance. Few domaines pour grands crus at the cellar door, most visits are by appointment, and some famous estates do not receive the public at all. Some wine houses in Beaune offer tastings that include a grand cru, usually for a fee.

Seeing the slopes with a driver lets everyone taste and saves searching for parking on narrow vineyard lanes. Our full-day tour, 8 hours for 560 euros, covers the Côte de Nuits grands crus and the Montrachet slope comfortably, and a long day of 12 hours for 880 euros can add Chablis. Tastings are paid directly to the domaines.