Why Visit Burgundy? Part 3: The Terroir
The Scenic Landscape and The Unique Terroir Is Another Reason to Visit Burgundy
Why visit Burgundy? With so many wines on offer from all around the world, and so many wine break destinations available, it’s a question you might find yourself asking. The answer—or rather, answers—will take you on a journey of discovery from the thirsty monks, kings and Dukes of Burgundy’s past, to the colorful characters of the present day. This article - the third instalment in our 'Visit' series – looks down beneath our feet and explores the earth itself (known as terroir in French) that Burgundy’s grape vines grow on. We explain how geology plays a big role in influencing the character of a wine, and look at what effect weather and aspect have too.
Galileo Galilei said that, "Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” He might also have said that we need something more than just these two components for a truly great wine – and that third element is terroir. That means the ‘earth’ and the rock it stands on, which really seals the deal. That one word in French encapsulates all of the subtle factors in the earth that can give a wine its character – not just soil but the way the earth is affected by weather and aspect (location and how much sun it gets), geology and local ecology. This terroir is indeed one of the main reasons to choose to visit Burgundy.
Terroir is a term that is more important in terms of wine than perhaps anywhere else in the world. Nowhere else in France or beyond relies so much on the qualities of the soil and rock than Burgundy, which stakes its reputation on it. This is a region where you can take a walk down a road and see the soil vary almost from yard to yard, from plot to plot. Winemakers take full advantage of this fact and are infinitely knowledgeable about it, using it to create wines of almost infinite variety, even when using just the same two types of grape.
Types of Burgundy Terroir and Their Influences on Wines
Let’s explore some of the main types of terroir and how they affect wine. Without getting too scientific, it is still important to understand these principles to understand why Burgundy is such as special and interesting case. Nature has given the Burgundy terroir many gifts and they come together with wonderful serendipity here, helped along by the winemakers. For example, limestone helps promote the right level of water drainage in the soil and allows it to be more moist in the summer. Clay can also retain moisture, resulting in wines which are often ‘strong’ or ‘muscular’. On the other hand, if the soil has a larger proportion of sand in it then it can create delicate, aromatic wines. It even protects naturally against phylloxera mites which have wrought such havoc on vines in the past. Then there is gravel, which when present absorbs heat and reflects it onto the grapes, so that they can mature with higher sugar levels, into wines with a higher alcohol content.
This is not to say that the winemaker does not have power to steer things in the direction they wish – they can work with these influences of terroir, and that’s the true magic of Burgundy wine. If you’re someone who is passionate about the wines from this part of the world, the best way to really understand the effect of terroir on wine is to try as many as you can, experiment and find what works for you, and understand why. At burgundywine.com by Elden Selections we have long-standing relationships with producers we have known for years, who produce wines along the whole spectrum of Burgundy terroir. If you visit Burgundy, you’ll get to not only meet them, but try their wines and ask them yourself how they managed it! Here are some recommendations of places to visit in Burgundy, and the sorts of terroir you can find there (from north to south).
Why Visit Burgundy? To Discover the Character of Each Wine Region
Chablis
Chablis is an area where aspect is very important – in other words, how the vines are differently situated on either the right or left side slope of the valley here. Each gives its own character; wines from the left bank exhibit a strong minerality (loved so much by the locals) whereas those from the right side of the valley have a riper, rounder character. If you want to experience the precision of the left-bank Chablis wines then go for the Jean Dauvissat Pere et Fils Chablis 1er Cru ‘Cote de Lechet’ - it’s razor-sharp with real mouth-watering acidity. If you want a right-bank Chablis, however, then you should go for his 1er Cru ‘Fourchaume’ which is a classic Right Bank wine—round, crystalline purity, lemony acidity, and classic cool river-rock minerality. Incidentally, did you know that the minerality we keep referring to here actually comes from tiny oyster shells which are spread throughout the rock and soil here, dating back to a time when this area would have been the floor of an ocean, millions of years ago.
Côte-d'Or
The Côte de Nuits region comes next, where the villages are familiar to many because of their world-class terroir. Gevrey-Chambertin, for example, whose vineyards surround the mouth of the Combe de Lavaux, a crevice in the hillside that has been depositing limestone sediment into the plains around the village of Gevrey for a whole geological epoch. Then come Morey-St. Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, and Nuits-St.-Georges which gave its name to the region. From this one vein of rock come some of the finest red wines in the world.
As you go south you begin to come across the golden slopes which have given the wider region here (with Côte de Beaune) the name “Côte d’Or”. This terroir is a mixture of clayey marl (a term for rock made of silt and clay) and limestone is amongst the best in the world for creating grapes capable of making superb red wines and the finest whites in the world. These white wines come from the famous "Golden Triangle" of terroir found in the area of Cote de Beaune demarcated by the three villages of Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. And the answer to anyone wondering where one appellation ends and another begins? Simple - you can usually taste it!
Chalonnaise and Mâconnais
Which leaves the regions of Chalonnaise and Mâconnais, in our journey south through Burgundy. The landscape here is somewhat broken and undulating, meaning that the underlayers of soil have been pushed up nearer the surface, where you can readily find marl, clay and limestone. If you want three villages in particular to watch out for from here, and try wines from, go for Givry, Mercurey and Montagny. All of them sit on prime terroir – pebbly topsoil and Jurassic limestone underneath. Trust the producers we’ve been working with for years here - Domaine Mouton, Domaine Jean Marechal, or Chateau Cary Potet, all of whom have made it their life’s work to express this fascinating terroir through their wines.
The next time someone asks you "Why visit Burgundy" you can have your answer about terroir ready. But there's another reason - we have a fantastic tasting room at Domaine de Cromey which we'd love you to use for your terroir discoveries when you visit Burgundy. Contact us today to find our next availability!
Why Visit Burgundy? Burgundy is an exquisite vacation destination if you appreciate wine and beautiful landscapes.
Our Burgundy Wine Club would love to welcome you as its newest member! You’ll discover more about the best wines of Burgundy, and receive four shipments per year from us. You’ll also get exclusive invites to member-only events in the US, a pair of wine glasses specially selected by us, full tasting notes, and the chance to stay among the vines in the heart of Burgundy at our manor house Domaine de Cromey. Sign up here.
We also have a great blog on life in Burgundy at the Domaine de Cromey blog here, which includes the other parts of our Why visit Burgundy series of articles, and another blog on our BurgundyWine.com site with informative “How To” guides and much more.
