Burgundy Wines

The Burgundy wine region is a fifth the size of Bordeaux, and produces correspondingly more expensive wines, with fewer bargains and more disappointments. The best way to buy Burgundy is to follow the best producers and depend on our Burgundy wine reviews. Our Burgundy wine guide contains hundreds of Burgundy wine ratings. If you take our advice, the most seductive wines (red from Pinot Noir, white from Chardonnay, always 100%) will be in your glass. It’s not just chance that the Burgundy bottle has rounded sides, the Bordeaux bottle has straight: Burgundy appeals to the senses, Bordeaux to the intellect.

The main appellation of the region is plain and simple: red and white, Bourgogne Rouge or Bourgogne Blanc. Climbing up the hierarchy are district appellations such as Chablis, for white wines, Mâcon for white and red wines, Côte de Beaune for reds, and so on.

Rising again in quality while the area of the appellation gets smaller are village appellations, including Vougeot, Auxey-Duresses, Pommard and Nuits-St-Georges, among others. In these villages, certain superior vineyards are designated premier cru — and you will find the name of the vineyard on the label. At the top of the quality heap are the single-vineyard appellations, the grand crus. Corton, Chambertin and Bonnes Mares are all examples, with Clos de Vougeot being perhaps the most famous.