What Is A Burgundy Grand Cru Wine?

The Grand Cru of Burgundy, the pinnacle of both red and white wine. These vineyards make the best, most prestigious and most expensive expressions of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world. There are only 33 Grand Cru across all of Burgundy and besides the one in Chablis, the remaining 32 are all located along Burgundy's golden slope, the Cote d'Or. It is not by chance though that these vineyards produce the most incredible expression of Burgundy. Many of these plots were identified for their superior quality at least 300 years ago and in fact the walls of Clos de Vouges Grand Cru were built in 1336. The distinction of the Burgundy Grand Cru comes down to their individual terroir and their favourable climatic conditions. So when I was in Burgundy I got to try a few really great Grand Crus. What would define a Grand Cru? When you went to Burgundy you saw lots of little plots, lots of different vineyards. I think there's around about 340 Premier Cru and then there's 33 Grand Cru. Those 33 Grand Cru are really kind of again where those monks saw that the best grapes were consistently being made. If you imagine on the far side of the road where the village is, these tend to be sort of the straight Bourgogne, so Bourgogne Blanc, Bourgogne Rouge. Then you come into where the village is, so the village wines like Chassé-Moraché, like Pouligny-Moraché, like Gervais-Chambertin. And then when you start to get onto the slope itself, as you start to rise up and you start to get the benefit of that slope, the sunshine, that's where you start to get the Premier Crus. And then probably when you go right up the slope, kind of in the centre of the slope, all the way along the cote, that's really where you get all the Grand Crus. It's a combination of maybe where a lot of the bedrock is more exposed, because if you're on the slope the topsoil is going to run down to the bottom of the hill, so it's where you get a good exposure of that sort of primary rock. You're going to get good drainage there as well, like we say, it can be quite cold and wet in Burgundy, so you want good drainage there. And you're just going to generally get the best quality grapes coming from those Grand Crus sites. Plus, as a winemaker, they would probably put more oak into Grand Crus wines, but because the grapes are more concentrated and more powerful, they can cope with more oak. So that combination of more oak, more concentrated grapes from that great site are really the kind of things that elevate it from a straight village or a Premier Crus, really up to Grand Crus status level. And if you imagine you're up on that slope and you're in a generally frosty area, cold air runs down the slope. So if it does start to be frosty in your vineyards, the frosty air is going to run all the way down and settle on the bottom bit. So really being on that slope is going to give you the best protection against frost. Probably if you're higher up on the slope as well, you're going to get more airflow through the vineyards. It's going to stop disease catching and spreading. Those well aerated slope sites are really the best areas for the top quality wine. And if you're on that slope and you're facing east, you're going to get the maximum orientation towards the sun. So first thing in the morning when the sun comes up, it's going to warm your vineyards and it's going to keep your vineyards warm all day long. And of course, Grand Crus vineyards come from a single site. The definition of a Grand Crus extends from the terroir, and each one should produce a truly unique and distinguished wine. A true Grand Crus should not only be the greatest expression of the village it comes from, but also a wine that surpasses even that. This is why a Burgundy Grand Crus will only boast the name of the vineyard it comes from on its label. By tasting these Grand Crus side by side, it's possible to understand how the true expression of terroir can be captured in a wine. Even if the grapes were grown only a few hundred metres apart.