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Burgundy Wine Guide - Chablis and the Lesser Regions

This is the second part of my wine guide for Burgundy, read the first part here.

Although Burgundy's fame undoubtedly rests on the reputation of the Côte d'Or, this is just one small region within Burgundy. Far to the north is Chablis, probably Burgundy's most famous appellation, and until recently a name much abused by winemakers worldwide who thought they could cash in on its reputation. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais are value regions, producing some good red and white Burgundy for fair prices, and these are often overlooked by those who, to their own disadvantage, focus only on the great vineyards and the most widely known producers. Nevertheless, choosing wines from these 'lesser' regions can be a challenge in itself. Lastly, Beaujolais, perhaps the odd man out. The grape here is Gamay, and the style of wine is generally very different from the rest of Burgundy, although again it is hugely undervalued by some.

Chablis

Chablis is the northernmost wine region of Burgundy, situated about 200km northwest of the Côte d'Or. Its reputation is based on the unique expression of the Chardonnay grape, particularly from the Grands and Premiers Crus vineyards. The wine may range in style from a fairly classic, lean and minerally drink, very well suited to pairing with shellfish and other seafood, to a much richer wine, often the result of lees-stirring and sometimes oak maturation.

The twelve most important Premier Cru names are illustrated on the map, together with the Grands Crus, which lie on the slope north of Chablis.

Geologically, the best sites lie on Kimmeridgien limestone. The climate is a problem this far north, and many vineyards have problems with frost. Some growers try to counter this by warming the vineyards at night using oil-burning stoves, or some may spray with water to protect the vines.

Around the Grands and Premiers Crus much of the land is planted up, qualifying as Chablis and Petit Chablis. These vineyards extend far beyond the limits of this map.

Canals of Chablis Visiting Chablis can be a wonderful experience. There is a good camping site not far from the town centre, and the canals around the town provide for some very scenic walks. There are dozens of tasting rooms scattered around the town, and they are all very well signposted. The tasting room at La Chablisienne is particularly modern, and fortunately quite large as it seems to be a popular stop-off for visitors. This isn't surprising, as this is one of the best co-operatives in France, producing a handsome array of wines, some of which are very good. If you do visit Chablis, stop in at the Tourist Information Bureau for advice if necessary. I have found them very helpful in the past.

My top wines: Daniel-Etienne Defaix, William Fèvre, JM Brocard, La Chablisienne. Long Depaquit, Vincent Dauvissat, Domaine de la Maladière, Jean-Paul Droin, Daniel Dampt. JM Brocard produces some sound wines.

The appellations of Chablis are as follows:
Grands Cru: These vineyards number seven, and they lie to the north of the town of Chablis. From north-west to south-east they are Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudésir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchots.
Premiers Crus: There are some forty such sites in Chablis, although many are defunct, or will be labelled under a parent Premier Cru name. The twelve most important are Fourchaume, Beauroy, Côte de Léchet, Montée de Tonnerre, Monts de Milieu, Les Fourneaux, Vaudevay, Vaillons, Mélinots, Montmains, Vosgros and Vaucoupin. Wines blended from more than one Premier Cru site may be labelled as such, but will not bear a vineyard name.
Village Wine: Will be labelled as Chablis.
Sub-Village Appellations: These include Petit Chablis (from the less well regarded sites), St-Bris (Sauvignon Blanc from the south of Chablis) and Bourgogne Coulanges-la-Vineuse, Bourgogne Epineuil and Bourgogne Irancy for basic red, white and rose wines.

Côte Chalonnaise

This region lies south of the Côte de Beaune, and to the south again is the Mâconnais. There are good value wines to be had here. Away from the ambitious pricing of the Côte d'Or, some producers are turning out respectable Chardonnay and tasty Pinot Noir for a fraction of the prices these wines might fetch further north. Of course, these wines never reach the levels of silky complexity that can be achieved in the Côte d'Or, but that's why they can be so much good value.

The four renowned wines of the Côte Chalonnaise, Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny, are named after the four main villages of the region. A more recently declared appellation is Bouzeron, which was granted this status in 1979. Like the Côte d'Or, the grapes used here are also Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, although interestingly Montagny is a white-only appellation, and Bouzeron is only for Aligoté.

The soil and rock types here are similar to those of the Côte d'Or, but the vineyards are more scattered as there is no one continuous slope to provide a solid stretch of suitable vineyard sites, as there is further north. Hence the patchy arrangement of vineyard regions illustrated on the map.

Around the four main village appellations there are huge swathes of basic Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise and Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc, extending beyond the margins of this map.

The Côte Chalonnaise is another region of which I have fond memories. I camped just outside Givry under a huge oak tree, drinking a Bourgogne Rouge laden with smoke, liquorice and black fruits, purchased from the local co-operative at Buxy. I recommend a visit to the co-operative if you are visiting. They have a large and well appointed tasting room and an extensive array of affordable wines. Several of their Cremant de Bourgognes were very good indeed.

My top wines: Château Good producers to look out for in the Côte Chalonnaise include Jacqueson, de Rully (both Rully), Château de Chamirey, Raquillet, Michel Juillot (all Mercurey) and Co-operative de Buxy (the Domaine Steinmaier wines are particularly good).

Grands Crus: None.
Premiers Crus: The villages of Rully, Mercurey and Givry have established Premier Cru sites. The phrase Premier Cru on a bottle of Montagny has, confusingly, in times past referred to the alcohol content of the wine - those with over 11.5^oC. Premier Cru sites are currently being identified.
Village Wines: These will be labelled Bouzeron (made from Aligoté), Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny.
Sub-Village Appellations: Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise is a regional appellation created in 1990. Basic Bourgogne.

Mâconnais

From one value wine region to another. The Mâconnais lies south of the Côte Chalonnaise, north of Beaujolais, and is the most southerly region in Burgundy where the classic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes are to be found. Without doubt the vineyards around Mâcon produce some of the best value Chardonnay in the whole of Burgundy. There are, however, in my experience, no red Mâcons worth bothering with.

Maconnais Map The land around Mâcon consists of undulating hills, with vineyards interspersed with orchards and other agriculture. The bedrock, as with the Côte Chalonnaise, is similar to that of the Côte d'Or, as is the climate. The most important village appellations are Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché. The basic Mâcon and Mâcon-Villages appellations extend perhaps 40km to the north of this map, where the villages of Viré and Clessé may be found. These once produced wines under the appellations of Mâcon-Viré and Mâcon-Clessé, but very recently have been awarded the joint appellation of Viré -Clessé.

A point of interest is another nearby village, named Chardonnay. The presence of a village bearing the same name as the worlds most famous grape has led some to speculate that the Mâcon may somehow be the birthplace of Chardonnay. Now there's a marketing opportunity!

My top wines: Domaine des Deux Roches, Thévenet, Talmard, Guffens-Heynen.

Grands Crus: None.
Premiers Crus: None.
Village Wines: The best are Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché. A number of villages may append their name to Mâcon, eg. Mâcon-Serrieres, Mâcon-Uchizy. St-Veran is another village appellation. A relatively new appellation covers the villages of Viré and Clessé. These once appended their name to Mâcon, as above, but now, like St-Veran, they have their own appellation of Viré-Clessé.
Sub-Village Appellations: Mâcon, Mâcon-Supérieur, Mâcon-Villages. Basic Bourgogne.

Beaujolais

Moulin a Vent Finally, Beaujolais. This is an unusual appellation, using the Gamay grape for its wines, rather than Pinot Noir. Beaujolais lies directly south of the Mâconnais, and to the south again is the city of Lyon. Beyond that is the Rhône Valley. Beaujolais is one of the worlds best known wine regions, not least because of the superb marketing ploy known as 'Beaujolais Nouveau'. This involves labelling standard Beaujolais of the new vintage as 'Nouveau' and making great efforts to deliver this young and unpalatable wine to the consumer as quickly as possible. My main concern with Beaujolais Nouveau is that there is a set harvest date that must be adhered to if the vigneron is to have the wine ready to sell by the third Thursday of November, the traditional date for the release of the new vintage. This is regardless of the date that the vines flower, and if flowering is late then the grapes may not be ripe by harvest time. The vigneron harvests the under-ripe grapes, and thus needs to add sugar ('chaptalise') to the juice before fermentation. It all makes for a less than perfect wine.

Beaujolais Map The soil around Beaujolais is acidic and sandy, lying over granite rock. The landscape, like Mâconnais, consists of rolling hills rather than one particular slope.

The map shown here illustrates the ten Crus of Beaujolais, although the vineyards of Beaujolais-Villages and standard Beaujolais extend much further south towards Lyon.

To be fair, although I often knock Beaujolais, I'm only referring to the millions of bottles of less than adequate wine produced under the Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages appellations. Some producers of Beaujolais, including many in the ten Cru villages, do produce some good, tasty wines, which often have body, some complexity and are capable of ageing for a few years. The wines are often said to resemble Pinot Noir as they age, and I can't argue with that.

To discover good Beaujolais you need to taste a few, and there's no better way to achieve that than to visit the region. Many producers offer tastings, and many villages have formal tasting rooms where the wines of small, local growers may be available for tasting. There is a well appointed campsite, 'La Grappe Fleurie', within walking distance of Fleurie, and a very popular Michelin two-star restaurant, 'Auberge du Cep' on Place de l'Eglise is worth a visit. Naturally the wine list has an extensive collection of the local wines.

My top wines: Jadot, Michel Durand.

Grands Crus: None.
Premiers Crus: None.
Village Wines: There are ten Cru villages. These are Juliénas, Saint-Amour, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly.
Sub-Village Appellations: Beaujolais-Villages, basic Beaujolais. Beaujolais-Nouveau is an effective marketing concept resulting in massively increased sales of basic Beaujolais.

Back to part one