Burgundy – One region but many styles of Wine

Burgundy – One region but many styles of Wine

On a recent trip to Burgundy it was really brought home to me how the styles and character of the wine differ from area to area. This is what makes Burgundy so interesting for me; all of the good wines have regional character. They have the much talked about goût de terroir.

My wife and I were visiting her family in north Burgundy and because her father was born in Beines near the town of Chablis we have a particular fondness for the wines of the area. But this fondness is not just based on sentimentality as the quality of the wines from northern Burgundy can be outstanding. The hospitality of our Burgundian cousins was also outstanding.

We drank two red wines:

Le Bourgogne-Côte-Saint-Jacques 2010 produced by Domaine Christophe Lepage from the commune of Champlay near to Joigny, which is about 24 kms down river from Auxerre on the banks of the river Yonne. The river Yonne to the south and the Othe forest to the north protect the vines from excessive heat or cold in all seasons.  

About 11 hectares of land is under vine in the Côte-Saint-Jacques “appellation”. Since the late 1970s there has been a revival in the fortunes of the Joigny vineyards. Grape production almost disappeared here during the early part of the twentieth century owing to infestation of the vines by the phylloxera pest which almost completely destroyed the vineyards.

The soil here is composed of sand, flint, gravel and clay overlying late cretaceous limestone and it is ideally suited to the cultivation of the Pinot Noir grape. The vineyards here are the most northern of the Burgundy Appellation so the red wines are not as rich as the wines further south.

This wine tasted of cherry and red fruits with soft tannins. It was of good basic quality and was fully mature but it would not improve in the bottle for much longer

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Côte-Saint-Jacques wines are not readily available in the UK, it is best to pay a visit to the area. Joigny and Auxerre are towns which are well worth visiting they are about 4 hours from Calais by car.

Bourgogne –Epineuil Les Beaumonts 2009 Vignobles Dampt; this is a prize winning red wine. Epineuil is one of my favourites: it is produced in the eponymous commune near the town of Tonnerre.

The soil is based on Kimmeridgian calcareous outcrops which lends a flinty or steely taste to the wine and this combined with the cherry and red fruits flavours gives a completely distinctive character to the wine.

This wine tastes much more complex than the Côte-Saint-Jacques.

It is the soil which makes the difference and even though Tonnerre is only twenty five miles from Joigny the geology is completely different.

The wine was fully mature and ready to drink now but I am certain that it could be kept for a few years longer.

The vineyards of Tonnerre suffered a similar fate to those of Joigny and before the end of the 19^th century it was regarded as one of the most prestigious in France; it is now recovering its reputation. Epineuil is set to become one of the princes of wine. It is also difficult to obtain in the UK so a visit to the area is recommended.

We drank two white wines:

Chablis Premier Cru Beauroy 2008 from Domaine Alain Geoffroy: this is a good quality Chablis which had all the complex flavours that I would expect from a premier cru wine. It tasted of peaches and citrus fruits with a mineral flavour imparted by the Kimmeridgian soils.

This wine is 100% chardonnay and was not matured in new oak barrels. It tasted fresh. We drank this wine with fish at the start of a meal and chaource with the cheese course. This wine is OK to drink now but it will keep and improve in the bottle for several years longer. 

Chablis is one of my favourite white wines as I am not over fond of white wines which have too much oak flavour. Chablis is easily obtainable in the UK but at inflated prices compared to France, so this is another good reason to visit the north of Burgundy.

Saint-VéranTerra Incognita 2008 White: the appellation of Saint-Véran is from much further south in the Burgundy region in the Mâconnais district which is west of the town of Mâcon. The climate is much warmer here and this is reflected in the style and character of the wine: it is much richer than the Chardonnay based whites form the north of Burgundy. The soil is also different to that of Chablis as it is based on limestone marls.

This wine is so different in style to the Chablis premier cru that you could be forgiven for thinking that they are from completely different regions. It too had a flavour of stone fruits and peaches but there was the distinct taste of vanilla spice. Unlike the Chablis it had been matured in new oak barrels. There was none of the mineral flavour from the Kimmeridgian soils of the Chablis sub-region. It was good quality wine but not outstanding. 

The Mâconnais sub-region produces more dry white wine than the rest of Burgundy put to together and is an ideal place to find and good quality White Burgundy which is excellent value for money. 

So there you have it, two good quality red and dry whites which reflect the character of their sub-region and even their local area. The Burgundy region covers just over 12,000 square miles and it is easy to travel from part to another but there are many styles of wine. In some wine producing countries you would need to cross a whole continent to find wines of such distinctive character.