Côte de Beaune, Burgundy’s slope of great white and red wines

Its grands crus are few and famous. The hill of Corton, above Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses, gives red Corton and white Corton-Charlemagne; at the southern end, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet share the Montrachet and its neighbours, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.

In between lie the names most visitors know: Pommard and Volnay for reds, Meursault for whites, with Savigny-lès-Beaune, Monthélie, Auxey-Duresses, Saint-Romain and Saint-Aubin in the side valleys, and Santenay and the Maranges at the southern end. The Route des Grands Crus, which starts in Dijon, runs on through its villages as far as Santenay.

Beaune itself counts 42 premiers crus around the town, and the Hôtel-Dieu, the hospital founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins. The wines of its estate are sold every November at the Hospices de Beaune wine auction.

Behind the slope, the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune spread over a gently hollowed plateau about 400 m up, where around 20 villages make lively, easy wines.

With the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune belongs to the Climats of the Burgundy vineyards, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 4 July 2015. Its villages lie close together, so our half-day wine tour takes in two or three of them; the tastings are booked with the domaines and paid to them directly.