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Burgundy climats, Grand and Premier Cru - a map of terroir piece by piece

In Bordeaux the chateau counts, that is the estate and the brand. In Burgundy it is the other way round: a piece of land counts. The same winemaker can make a mediocre wine from one plot and a brilliant one from the neighbouring plot, a few metres away. This is why Burgundy built the most meticulous classification system in the world of wine, based not on brands but on climats - single vineyards each with its own, unrepeatable terroir. There are as many as 1,463 of them, arranged in a four-tier quality pyramid: from regional wines to the summit Grand Cru. It is a heritage so exceptional that it made the UNESCO list. Here is a guide to climats: what they are, how the Burgundy pyramid works and why in Burgundy a piece of land means more than a name.

What a climat is

Climat is the Burgundy word for a single, precisely delineated plot of vineyard with its own terroir. It is not the weather, as the name misleadingly suggests, but a particular scrap of land, which over the centuries was recognised as distinct because of its features. Each climat differs from its neighbours by many criteria: the orientation of the slope, the gradient, the kind of soil and subsoil, the sunshine, sometimes a microclimate, and often its own long history. A climat is therefore terroir in its purest form - a combination of a particular plot, the grape and the know-how of growing it. In all of Burgundy 1,463 such climats have been delineated, each with its own name. It is they, and not the estates, that are the basis of the whole system. Understanding that a climat is a single vineyard of unrepeatable character is the key to the rest. We cover Burgundy terroir more in Burgundy and terroir.

The monks and the birth of the system

Burgundy’s obsession with plots did not come from nowhere - it has its roots in the Middle Ages. It was the monks, especially the Cistercians and Benedictines, who over the centuries tended the local vineyards and were the first to notice that the wine from one plot regularly differed from the wine of its neighbour. With monastic patience they observed, recorded and delineated the boundaries of the best plots, building knowledge passed down through generations. It was they who laid the foundations of today’s division into climats, centuries before the official appellations arose. This practice of delineating vineyards by their terroir reaches deep into history and is one of the oldest such systems in the world. It is a heritage of eight centuries of observation turned into a map. This is why Burgundy is not only a region but a living monument of thinking about terroir.

The four-tier pyramid

Burgundy wines arrange themselves into a four-tier quality pyramid, based precisely on origin from a particular place. At the base stand the regional appellations (Bourgogne), covering broad areas and half of all production. Higher are the village appellations, from the wines of one of 42 villages. Higher still Premier Cru - wines from distinguished, better plots within a village. At the very top Grand Cru, from the most illustrious single climats. The higher up the pyramid, the narrower and more precise the origin, the smaller the production and the higher the price. The key is that the level is decided by the place, not the producer - the same plot name is the same status, regardless of who makes the wine. It is a system based on land, not on brand. We cover the difference of philosophy more in appellations of the world.

A table: four levels

Let us gather the pyramid in one place:

The table shows the heart of it: the higher up, the narrower the origin and the smaller the production. Grand Cru is a mere 2 percent of the whole - an extremely narrow summit of the pyramid.

Premier Cru: distinguished plots

Premier Cru is the second level from the top of the pyramid, covering wines from particular, distinguished plots within a village. These are climats of especially favourable position - usually in the mid part of the slope, with good exposure to the sun - but standing one step below Grand Cru. In Burgundy about 640 climats are classified as Premier Cru, which gives about 10-12 percent of production. On the label of a Premier Cru the name of the village and the particular plot often appear, for example the village plus the name of the vineyard. These are wines already clearly distinguished, giving the character of their climat, but more available and cheaper than Grand Cru. For many Premier Cru is the golden middle of Burgundy: high quality and expressive terroir without the astronomical prices of the summit. It is the level at which one best gets to know the Burgundy idea of a single vineyard at a reasonable price.

Grand Cru: the summit of the pyramid

Grand Cru is the absolute summit of the Burgundy pyramid, reserved for the most illustrious single climats. There are exactly 33 of them, and they cover a mere 2 percent of the region’s vineyard area, that is about 550 hectares. It is a handful of plots of legendary renown, built over centuries. Most Grand Cru lie in the Cote de Nuits (24), where the great reds from pinot noir are made, and eight in the Cote de Beaune, famous mainly for the whites from chardonnay (to which is added Chablis Grand Cru in the north). Characteristically, on a Grand Cru label the name of the climat alone often appears, without the village name - so famous that it speaks for itself. These are wines rare, expensive and desired across the world. Grand Cru is the essence of the Burgundy idea that one piece of land can give an unrepeatable wine. We cover the grape more in pinot noir.

Why the plot, not the chateau

The most important difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux is philosophy. In Bordeaux estates (chateau) are classified - the status belongs to the brand, which can buy land and grow. In Burgundy the land is classified - it is the climat that has the status, regardless of who happens to tend it. This is a deep difference: Burgundy believes that the quality of a wine is decided above all by the place, its soil, slope and microclimate, and not by the name of the producer. This is why a single climat is often divided among many winemakers, and each makes their own wine from the same, shared terroir. It is a system extremely focused on land, the purest expression of the idea of terroir in the world of wine. Understanding this difference explains why Burgundy labels give the name of the plot, not just the producer. In Burgundy the land speaks first.

A UNESCO heritage

The exceptional nature of the Burgundy system of climats was recognised at the highest level: in 2015 the climats of Burgundy were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. What was recognised was not a single wine or chateau, but the whole historic practice of delineating vineyards by their terroir, reaching back to the Middle Ages and the monks. It is a recognition that the Burgundy mosaic of 1,463 plots with their own names and histories is a unique cultural heritage of humanity, and not just a commercial system. UNESCO took under protection the landscape of the vineyards, the towns and the very idea of the climat as a living tradition. This shows how deeply Burgundy thinking about terroir has grown into the culture. No other wine region has built such a meticulous, centuries-old map of land. It is a heritage not only of wine but of a way of looking at the link between flavour and place.

How to read it in practice

In practice a Burgundy label demands a different reading than anywhere else. Instead of looking for a brand, look for the level and the name of the place. The name Bourgogne alone is a regional wine, the base of the pyramid. The name of a village (like Meursault or Gevrey-Chambertin) is the village level. The name of a village plus the name of a plot is usually Premier Cru. And a famous climat name alone, without a village, is often Grand Cru - the summit. The narrower and more detailed the origin on the label, the higher up the pyramid and the more expensive the wine. It is worth memorising a few key Grand Cru and Premier Cru names of your favourite villages, to find your way among prices and styles. It is a system harder than elsewhere, but it rewards with precision. We cover the reading of rankings more in the 1855 Bordeaux classification.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. Burgundy classifies not estates but land - single plots called climats, each with its own unrepeatable terroir, of which there are 1,463. The system was born from the medieval, monastic practice of observing that the wine from one plot differs from its neighbour. The wines arrange themselves into a four-tier pyramid: regional (about 50 percent of production), village, Premier Cru (about 640 climats) and Grand Cru (exactly 33, about 2 percent of the area) at the summit. The key difference from Bordeaux: the status belongs to the plot, not the brand. This unique mosaic of terroir was inscribed in 2015 on the UNESCO List. Now you know why in Burgundy a piece of land means more than a name and how to read Burgundy labels.

Note every wine in GustoNote - including its level and the name of the climat. Over time you will start to associate plots with the character of wines and better understand the Burgundy idea of terroir.