Burgundy’s grape varieties

Which grape varieties are grown in Burgundy?

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate, with 57% and 34% of the vineyard. Aligoté accounts for 6%, and Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Melon and Sacy share the remaining 3% (BIVB key figures, 2024).

Burgundy's wines are mostly made from a single variety, so that each plot can speak for itself, as BIVB puts it. Blends appear mainly at the regional level, where the rules are broader.

What does Pinot Noir give in Burgundy?

Pinot Noir makes all of Burgundy's great red wines, including every red grand cru. BIVB dates the first written record of the variety, under the name Pinot Noir or Plant Fin, to 1375, and calls it the quintessential interpreter of terroir.

It is a thin-skinned, capricious grape, highly susceptible to disease, that needs a cool climate to show its complexity. It covers about 95% of the village-level and higher vineyards of the Côte de Nuits, and it is just as central to Pommard, Volnay, Beaune and Corton, to Mercurey and Givry in the Côte Chalonnaise, and to Irancy, Épineuil and Coulanges-la-Vineuse in the Yonne.

Style follows place: dark fruit and structure at Gevrey-Chambertin, perfume and silk at Chambolle-Musigny, finesse at Volnay, bright fruit at Mercurey. In most Côte d'Or village appellations Pinot Noir is the only principal variety; the Gevrey-Chambertin rules, for example, tolerate Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris only as scattered vines, up to 15% of a parcel. Pinot Noir is also the backbone of Crémant rosé and blanc de noirs.

Where does Chardonnay grow best in Burgundy?

Chardonnay is Burgundy's most planted grape and gives all of its great whites, from Chablis in the north to Pouilly-Fuissé in the south. Its name comes from the village of Chardonnay in the Mâconnais, one of 27 villages whose name may follow Mâcon on a label.

BIVB describes three broad styles. Chablis, on Kimmeridgian limestone and marl, is pale, taut and mineral, with citrus, green apple and flint. The Côte de Beaune gives richer, more intense whites with white fruit, floral, creamy and oaky notes, from Corton-Charlemagne to Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais give rounder, fruitier wines, at Rully, Montagny, Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran and Viré-Clessé.

Chardonnay descends from Pinot Noir and the old variety Gouais Blanc (BIVB). It buds early, which leaves it exposed to spring frost. Burgundy's whites are almost always pure Chardonnay: several appellations, including Meursault, Beaune, Morey-Saint-Denis and Savigny-lès-Beaune, also allow Pinot Blanc, though little is planted, while Chablis is Chardonnay only at every level.

What is Aligoté, and why is Bouzeron special?

Aligoté is Burgundy's second white grape, with 6% of the vineyard. It makes Bourgogne Aligoté, which must be made from Aligoté alone, and Bouzeron, the only village appellation dedicated to it.

BIVB describes Aligoté as a cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc that emerged in Burgundy in the 17th century, and says more than 1,800 of the roughly 2,000 hectares in France grow here. Bourgogne Aligoté has been an AOC since 1937 and covered about 1,620 hectares in production in 2022. Its hallmark is fresh acidity, with apple, lemon, white flowers and a saline edge that suits oysters, and it is the traditional base for kir, white wine with blackcurrant liqueur.

Bouzeron, in the Côte Chalonnaise just south-west of Chagny, became a village appellation by decree of 17 February 1998, covering vines in Bouzeron and Chassey-le-Camp, about 62 hectares in 2022. Only white wine from Aligoté may carry the name. Growers speak of Aligoté doré, golden Aligoté, whose thinner skins turn golden as they ripen and help balance ripeness and acidity (BIVB). The village is about 25 minutes from Beaune.

Is Gamay allowed in Burgundy?

Yes, but not in the village, premier cru and grand cru wines of the Côte d'Or. Gamay makes the reds of the Mâconnais alongside Pinot Noir, and it goes into Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, Coteaux Bourguignons, Crémant de Bourgogne and Bourgogne Gamay.

The grape takes its name from the hamlet of Gamay near Saint-Aubin, where the Château de Gamay still stands. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold banned it from his lands in favour of Pinot Noir, and it found a home further south, in the Mâconnais and the Beaujolais; BIVB says it is at its best on the granite and siliceous soils of the Mâconnais. The current rules:

• Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains: red or rosé from a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay, with more than 30% Pinot Noir and more than 15% Gamay; both must be present.
• Coteaux Bourguignons: created in 2011 to replace Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire. Reds and rosés come from Gamay and Pinot Noir, plus César in the Yonne; whites from Aligoté, Chardonnay, Melon, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, alone or blended. Its area covers the Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire and the Rhône.
• Bourgogne Gamay: red Bourgogne with at least 85% Gamay, allowed only from the ten Beaujolais cru areas, such as Morgon or Fleurie.
• Crémant de Bourgogne: Gamay may make up to 30% of the blend.
• Mâcon reds and rosés: made from Gamay and Pinot Noir (BIVB).

Where is Sauvignon grown in Burgundy?

Only at Saint-Bris, near Auxerre, the one Burgundy appellation made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris. The appellation's specification explains that Burgundy's rules of the 1930s left Sauvignon out, but local growers kept it; the wine was recognised as the VDQS Sauvignon de Saint-Bris in 1974 and as the AOC Saint-Bris on 10 January 2003.

Saint-Bris covers five communes, Chitry, Irancy, Quenne, Saint-Bris-le-Vineux and Vincelottes, and about 178 hectares (BIVB, 2022). It is a crisp, aromatic white with citrus and blackcurrant-leaf notes. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown on the same slopes are sold under other names, such as Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre.

What is César, and what is Beurot?

César is an old red grape of the Yonne; Beurot is the Burgundian name for Pinot Gris. Both survive in small quantities, protected by precise rules.

César gives deeply coloured, tannic wine. At Irancy it may join Pinot Noir, together with Pinot Gris, up to 10% of the blend in total, and BIVB counts about 5 hectares of César in the appellation. Irancy, red only, became a village appellation in 1999 and covers about 207 hectares in Irancy, Cravant and Vincelottes. César is also allowed in the Yonne for Bourgogne and Coteaux Bourguignons.

Pinot Gris is a pink-skinned form of Pinot. BIVB says it has almost disappeared from Burgundy, yet the rules keep a place for it: up to 30% of white Bourgogne, a main variety for Bourgogne rosé, part of Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant, and scattered vines among Pinot Noir in many village and grand cru vineyards, up to 15% of a parcel, in Gevrey-Chambertin or Musigny, for example. Pinot Blanc appears in white Bourgogne and several village whites, while Melon, the Muscadet grape, and Sacy survive mainly in Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant.

What is Crémant de Bourgogne made from?

Crémant de Bourgogne is Burgundy's traditional-method sparkling wine, an AOC since 17 October 1975, made mainly from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It accounts for about 12% of Burgundy's average production (BIVB).

Under the specification approved in December 2021, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris must together make up at least 30% of the blend, Gamay up to 30%, and Aligoté, Melon and Sacy are also allowed. The second fermentation takes place in the bottle, the wine spends at least nine months on its lees, and it may be sold to consumers only 12 months after bottling for the second fermentation. Styles include white, rosé, blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs, from brut to demi-sec.

Since 2016 the producers' union has run two collective marks for longer-aged wines: Éminent, with at least 24 months on the lees, and Grand Éminent, with at least 36 months and stricter rules on grapes and pressing. According to BIVB, sparkling Burgundy was first made in the early 19th century at Chablis, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Rully and Tonnerre. Near Auxerre, Caves Bailly Lapierre ages its Crémant in former underground stone quarries and welcomes visitors.

Which grapes go into which Burgundy wines?

The appellation specifications set the grapes for every wine. The main rules, simplified:

Where can you taste Burgundy’s rarer grapes?

The Yonne is the place for variety: Chablis for Chardonnay, Saint-Bris for Sauvignon and Irancy for Pinot Noir with César lie within about 30 minutes of each other. From Beaune that is about 90 minutes each way, which is why a long day with a driver works well: 12 hours for 880 euros, with tastings paid directly to the domaines. Closer to Beaune, Bouzeron shows Aligoté at its best, and the hamlet of Gamay above Saint-Aubin is a short detour on a Côte de Beaune day.