White & Red Burgundy

Burgundy is a tiny wine district just 200 miles south of Paris.  Producing a mere two or three percent of France’s total wine, this small region is a behemoth among oenophiles.   Indeed, Burgundy has a hugely loyal following among the world’s most serious wine lovers.  And, both the white and the red are at the pinnacle for many wine aficianados.

Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape in Burgundy, accounting for about half of the total grape production.  If it’s a white Burgundian wine, it is Chardonnay (the only exception is a small production of a very simple white wine made from the Aligoté grape which is often used in Burgundy’s sparkling wine production).  White Burgundies are for many the Holy Grail, however, few can afford the astronomical prices.   In an article on The Top 5 Most Expensive White Wines in the World, a walloping four of them were white Burgundies.  They ranged in price from $5,923 to a mere $1,257 a bottle.

White Burgundy has a cult following.   These Chardonnays, unlike many others in the New World, have a complex minerality.   As all of Burgundy was an ancient inland seabed 70 million years ago, the petrified remains of sea creatures in these resulting limestone soils, can greatly influence the wine’s mineral-like nuances.  Moreover, Burgundy’s Chardonnay is very different from the warmer climate Chardonnay of places like California.  White Burgundy is all about austerity with high acidity and subtle citrus and apple flavors and aromas.  Warm climate Chars tend to be more New World in style: malolactic fermentation (to soften the acidity), oak influences of vanilla and butter, along with ripe fruit flavors like pineapple and tropical fruits.

Red Burgundies are no slouch by any means.  Like their white counterparts, they are also made entirely from just one grape.  If it’s a Red Burgundy, it was made from Pinot Noir.  Also, like White Burgundy, Red Burgundy has achieved rock-star status among the world’s connoisseurs.  By the way:  Pinot Noir never appears on any bottle of wine in Burgundy.  That’s because people know that if it’s red and made in Burgundy, it can only be Pinot Noir.  (The same for Chardonnay…you will never see the varietal’s name anywhere on the Burgundian bottle). 

Like White Burgundy, Red Burgundy is more restrained in its style when compared to the New World Pinots.  Burgundian Pinot is about elegance and subtlety.  In contrast, New World Pinots are all about the fruit (which, by the way, is usually fully ripe which accounts for their more fruit-forward flavors and high alcohols.)  Red Burgundies are prized by serious wine-lovers for these differences.

Wine-Knows has just two spots available on its trip to Burgundy this June.  Come learn about both White and Red Burgundies at their birthplace at some of the region’s super-star producers.   http://www.wineknowstravel.com/burgundy-champagne/