Nowhere is the idea of terroir taken more literally. Burgundy's Côte d'Or is a narrow limestone escarpment sliced into climats — named parcels, some smaller than a tennis court, each classified from village to premier cru to grand cru. The grapes barely vary: Pinot Noir for red, Chardonnay for white. Everything else is geology, exposure, and the hand of the grower.
Appellations to know
For each one: the bottle that defines it, and the bottle that over-delivers. Indicative retail prices, not an offer to sell.
Chablis
Steely, oyster-shell Chardonnay from fossil-flecked marl
Best wine
€600
Raveneau Les Clos
Grand cru Chablis at its most saline and age-worthy.
Best value
€30
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Petit Chablis
Great-grower fruit and chalk from the humblest tier.
Gevrey-Chambertin
The most muscular Pinot of the Côte de Nuits
Best wine
€2,000+
Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Bèze
Power and silk together; the Côte de Nuits' reference point.
Best value
€75
Domaine Trapet Gevrey-Chambertin Ostrea
Old-vine village cuvée with premier cru weight.
Vosne-Romanée
Spice, rose petal and unmatched silk texture
Best wine
€20,000+
DRC Romanée-Conti
1.8 hectares; spice, rose petal and the most famous perfume in wine.
Best value
€70
Domaine Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée
Village Vosne with the family's grand cru signature spice.
Meursault
Hazelnut and butter, the broadest of the great whites
Best wine
€3,000
Coche-Dury Meursault Perrières
Hazelnut, gunflint and unmatched tension for a broad white.
Best value
€35
Domaine Buisson-Charles Bourgogne Blanc
Meursault vines just outside the line, at a third of the price.
Puligny-Montrachet
Tension and citrus; chiselled, mineral Chardonnay
Best wine
€2,000
Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet
Chiselled, mineral Chardonnay of extraordinary energy.
Best value
€55
Domaine Chavy-Chouet Les Enseignères
Village Puligny bordering Bâtard; citrus and chalk.
The most expensive areas
Typical retail
Where land, scarcity and reputation push prices highest in Bourgogne. Indicative bottle prices for benchmark producers, not an offer to sell.
- 01
Vosne-Romanée grands crus
€3,000–25,000
Romanée-Conti, La Tâche and Richebourg — the most expensive vineyard land on earth.
- 02
Montrachet
€1,500–8,000
Four hectares of the greatest white-wine site in the world.
- 03
Chambertin & Clos de Bèze
€400–2,500
Gevrey's twin grands crus, Napoleon's favourite.
- 04
Musigny (Chambolle)
€800–4,000
Silk and perfume from 10.8 ha above Chambolle.
- 05
Meursault Perrières
€150–400
The premier cru that regularly out-prices lesser grands crus.
What's produced
At the table
- Coq au vin
- Roast chicken and morels
- Escargots
- Époisses