In Bordeaux, the châteaus are ranked; in Burgundy, the vineyards are.
This may sound straightforward, but when hundreds of winemakers are
producing wines from the same vineyard, it can get pretty confusing.
Place Matters In Burgundy, as in the rest of France, wines go by
the name of the place where they're made (e.g., Mâcon, Meursault), rather
than by the grape they're made from—as it's almost invariably Pinot Noir
or Chardonnay (except in Beaujolais, where it's Gamay). There are other
grapes, such as Aligoté, but these reign supreme.
Class System There are several quality levels of wine in
Burgundy. The simplest is Bourgogne, made from grapes grown anywhere in
the region. Next are wines with a hint of origin (Bourgogne Hautes Côtes
de Nuits, for example). Next are wines that carry just the village name (Vosne-Romanée).
The next big step up are the premiers crus, made from premier
cru vineyards. There are over 450 premier cru vineyards—both
red and white. Premier cru wines are identified by the village
name, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, followed by the vineyard name, such as
Les Cazetiers. Greatest are the wines made from grand cru
vineyards, identified by the vineyard name alone—La Tâche, for instance.
Weather or Not Burgundy gets a lot of bad weather. This means a
lot of vintage variation. In uneven years, such as 2000 and 2001, look to
the best producers.