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Region · France

Burgundy

566 bottles

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is a comparatively small, cool, northerly wine region in northeastern France that makes some of the world's most sought-after, expensive and exquisite wines — just over 66,000 acres (26,700 hectares) of vines, roughly a quarter the size of Bordeaux.

Two grapes dominate: virtually all top white Burgundy is CHARDONNAY and virtually all top red Burgundy is PINOT NOIR, each grown unblended because both reach their greatest elegance in a cool climate — and Burgundy is the coolest, most northern of the world's great red-wine regions, giving reds that are intensely flavored yet light to medium in body with a gossamer gracefulness.

Above all Burgundy is a study in TERROIR: over centuries Benedictine and Cistercian monks delineated the vineyards plot by plot, establishing terroir as the core of viticulture.

A Burgundian vineyard is defined by its terroir, not by ownership, so a single vineyard (like the 125-acre Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot with its eighty owners) usually has many owners; a domaine is a collection of often-tiny scattered parcels; a vineyard with a single owner is a rare monopole; and much wine was historically bottled by négociant brokers who bought and blended small lots.

Quality is a four-tier LADDER — from basic Regional (Bourgogne) up through Village and Premier Cru to Grand Cru.

The region has four main sub-regions: Chablis (chardonnay only), the Côte d'Or (the Côte de Nuits, red only, and the Côte de Beaune, red and white), the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais. (Beaujolais, though administratively part of Burgundy, is gamay-based and treated separately.)

Key grapes

Chardonnay
Gamay
Pinot Noir

ClassificationBurgundy Grand Cru Burgundy Premier CruBurgundy VillageBurgundy Regional

A few to explore

Subregions

Beaujolais — Beaujolais occupies the southern end of Greater Burgundy, extending from the Maconnais south to the outskirts of Lyon. Its granite and schist soils are ideally suited to the Gamay grape, which is the region's sole permitted red variety. Ten cru appellations — Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Chiroubles, Saint-Amour, Julienas, Chenas, and Regnie — produce structured, terroir-driven wines that can age for a decade or more. Beaujolais Nouveau, released each November, remains commercially significant but represents only a fraction of the region's quality spectrum. Semi-carbonic maceration (whole-cluster fermentation) is the traditional vinification method, yielding fresh, aromatic wines with soft tannins.
Beaune — Beaune is Burgundy's historic wine trade hub. Its east-facing Côte slopes yield Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on limestone-clay soils. No Grands Crus, but 42 Premiers Crus, led by Grèves and Fèves. Home to the Hospices de Beaune annual charity auction.
Chablis — Chablis is the northernmost sub-region of Burgundy, an isolated island of vineyards far north of the Côte d'Or and closer to Champagne. It is entirely devoted to CHARDONNAY. Its harsh, wet, very cold, Atlantic-influenced climate and its whitish Kimmeridgian limestone soil (full of fossil oyster shells) give wines that are so crisp and racy they 'vibrate with spring-loaded acidity' — steely, minerally, gunflint (goût de pierre à fusil) in character and quite unlike chardonnay from anywhere else. Most Chablis is made entirely in stainless steel to preserve purity of flavor. Chablis has numerous Premier Crus and a single Grand Cru, itself made up of seven contiguous climats (Blanchot, Bougros, Grenouilles, Les Clos, Les Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir) — a textbook example of the climat concept, a single named vineyard being the true unit of Burgundy.
Chassagne-Montrachet — Côte de Beaune village split between white and red production. Chardonnay dominates the east-facing limestone premiers crus; Pinot Noir covers southern clay soils. Shares Le Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet grands crus with Puligny.
Côte de Beaune — The Côte de Beaune is the SOUTHERN half of the Côte d'Or. It is planted with both pinot noir and chardonnay and makes both RED and WHITE wines, though its ultra-famous whites — Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne — dominate its fame; ALL white Burgundy from the Côte d'Or comes from here. Its top reds (Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Volnay, Pommard) are frequently softer and more lush than those of the Côte de Nuits; its Premier and Grand Cru whites can be rich and concentrated without being heavy.
Côte de Nuits — The Côte de Nuits is the NORTHERN half of the Côte d'Or, the 30-mile limestone escarpment that is Burgundy's most renowned region. It is planted virtually entirely with PINOT NOIR and so makes RED wines almost exclusively. Its villages — Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Flagey-Echézeaux, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St.-Georges among them — are home to most of Burgundy's Grand Cru red vineyards (Le Chambertin, Le Musigny, Clos de Vougeot, La Tâche, Romanée-Conti and more). Its top reds tend to have greater intensity and a firmer structure than those of the Côte de Beaune.
Gevrey-Chambertin — Gevrey-Chambertin anchors the northern Côte de Nuits. Nine Grands Crus, including Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bèze, grow on limestone-marl soils. Pinot Noir dominates; wines trend fuller and firmer than neighbouring villages.
Pommard — Pommard produces Pinot Noir with notable structure and tannin, atypical for Côte de Beaune. Clay-heavy soils on mid-slope sites drive density. Two Premier Crus—Les Épenots and Les Rugiens—anchor the appellation's reputation for age-worthy reds.
Pouilly-Fuissé — Pouilly-Fuissé produces Chardonnay from Jurassic limestone and clay soils in the Mâconnais. Elevated premier cru classifications were introduced in 2020. Warmer than Côte d'Or, yielding richer, rounder whites with moderate acidity.
Volnay — Volnay produces Pinot Noir on the Côte de Beaune's limestone and clay slopes. No Grands Crus exist, but 35 Premiers Crus dominate. Wines show pale colour, red-fruit character, and fine tannins—distinct from the broader structure of neighbouring Pommard.

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The WNLQ9 catalogue lists 567 bottles from Burgundy, France. The selection spans Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté. Critic scores include: Albert Bichot Chablis (90 pts, Wine Enthusiast).

About Burgundy: its grapes, sub-regions and bottles

Frequently Asked Questions

What Burgundy wines and spirits are in the WNLQ9 catalogue?

The WNLQ9 catalogue lists 567 bottles from Burgundy, France, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté. Browse the collection: https://wnlq9.shop/explore-map/burgundy

Which Burgundy bottles in the WNLQ9 catalogue have critic scores?

Critic scores include: Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru (98 pts, Wine Spectator); Louis Latour Chateau Corton Grancey Grand Cru (98 pts, Wine Enthusiast); Domaine De La Romanee Conti 2021 (98 pts, Wine Advocate).