Burgundy Flashcards
Grape growing in Burgundy started when?
Roman times, which means roughly 500 BC to 500 AD
When did the period of the great monasteries begin (Burgundy)?
From 1000 CE and onwards
During the period of the great monasteries vineyards started to be divided into individually named plots. What are they know as in French? What does it mean in Greek?
Climats, meaning hill in Greek.
Name the 5 five areas that make up Burgundy.
Chablis, Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais and Beaujolais.
Leaving out Chablis and Beaujolais Burgundy runs from what town in the north to what town in the south? How long is the stretch?
From Dijon to Mâcon, 130 km
Côte d’Or is divided into two parts, which? Name the towns that start and ends the two parts.
Côte de Nuits, running from Dijon to Nuits-Saint-Georges and Côte d’Beaune running from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Santenay
Quality and price in Burgundy excluding Beaujolais?
Good to Outstanding with mid to super-premium price
Yonne département (includes Chablis) is how many percent Chardonnay? And Côte d’Or is how many percent Pinot Noir?
Yonne is 80% Chardonnay and Côte d’Or is over 60% Pinot Noir
Name the river that flows through Chablis.
Serein
Chablis has slightly cooler climate than Côte d’Or, how far north west is Chablis from Dijon?
110 km
All wines in Chablis are dry. What is a typical tasting note?
Dry, medium body, medium alcohol, zesty high acidity, green apple and lemon fruit. Very rarely oak flavours.
Quality and price levels in Chablis?
Good to Outstanding and mid to premium priced - with some super-premium priced wines.
Chablis was around 40.000 ha in early 19th century and it was booming in popularity in Paris. What happened that made Chablis shrink to around just 500 ha in late 1940’s?
Phylloxera and powdery mildew. The railway was built and Chablis couldn’t compete with cheaper wines from the south. Depopulation after the First World War and a devastating frost in 1945.
How much land is under vine in Chablis today?
5.800 ha
What is the climate in Chablis?
Cold continental
Annual rainfall in Chablis?
670mm
Rainfall is spread throughout the year in Chablis making for a moist climate. What is the dangers with this?
Threat of fungal diseases and threat of rot in the period leading up to harvest.
The Chablis region is vulnerable to two weather phenomena, which ones?
Spring frost and hail storms during growing season.
What soil types are found in the Chablis appellation? Some soils have a considerable amount of fossilised seashells - what is it known as?
Limestone and clay soils. Kimmeridgian
Name three ways to manage spring frost in Chablis.
Smudge pots
Sprinklers
Pruning choices
Name the rootstock widely used in Chablis because of it’s tolerance to limestone soils with high pH. A cross between two vitis, which ones?
41B - vinifera and berlandieri
Name the rootstock that is popular in Chablis due to its low vigour and tolerance to high pH soils. What vitis is it a cross between?
420A riparia and berlandieri
Why is double Guyot replacement cane typical in Chablis?
Frost is common and it’s higher chance that one cane survives if you have two.
What is portlandian soil in Chablis, and what appellation has a lot of it?
Hard limestone with less clay (than kimmeridgian soil), found in Petit Chablis.
Typical tasting note for Chablis.
Medium intensity, green apple and lemon fruit, light body, high acidity.
Name the soil that dominates Chablis.
Kimmeridgian
How many premier crus are there in Chablis? What soil type and what aspect?
40 premier cru. Kimmeridgian soil south and south-east facing.
Some larger premier crus in Chablis have specified named plots within them, what is that called?
Lieux-dits
Define “climat” (French word).
Named vineyard, fixed in AOC legislation.
Define “lieux-dits “ (French word).
Named piece of land in the centralised land register
How many climats are there in Chablis’ Grand Cru?
7
Name a few climats in Chablis’ Grand Cru.
Les Clos, Vaudesir, Blanchot, Bougros, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur
What soil is Chablis Grand Cru on? Define the soil too.
Kimmeridgian. Limestone and clay, considerable amount of fossilised seashells.
How many percent of production is Grand Cru in Chablis?
1%
Chablis premier and Grand Cru are most often placed mid-slope. Why?
The vineyards are better drained, better frost protection,
The Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis is protected from winds coming from north. What is sheltering the vineyards?
A belt of trees.
Is chaptalisation used in Chablis?
Yes, regularly except for the warmest years.
Is malolactic conversion common in Chablis? If so, why? And what type of vessels are used for fermentation and storage typically?
Yes, most promote malolactic conversion to soften the razor sharp acidity. Stainless steel is the most common vessel.
You can come across wines that are fermented and aged in barrels in Chablis. Which ones?
Some Grand Cru and a few premier cru use oak
Name at least one producer that use old oak in Chablis Grand Cru.
Dauvissat and Raveneau
Name a producer that use new oak in Chablis Grand Cru.
William Fèvre
Name a producer that use stainless steel or concrete for Chablis Grand Cru
Jean-Marc Brocard
Max yield for Petit Chablis/Chablis AOC, Chablis Premier Cru AOC and Chablis Grand Cru AOC?
60 hL/ha for Petit and Chablis
58 hL/ha for Premier Cru
54 hL/ha for Grand Cru
How many percent of all wine is vinified by the co-operative La Chablisienne?
25%
What is the Chablis association called that William Fèvre founded in 1993 to combat fraud and address environmental issues?
Le Syndicat de Défense de l’Appellation de Chablis
What is the voluntary association called that promotes the quality of Chablis Grand Cru? Two practices are a must to be a member, which ones?
L’Union des Grand Cru de Chablis. Members must practise sustainable viticulture and harvest by hand.
Is this Chablis producer cheap or expensive?
Vincent Dauvissat sell at extremely high prices
Overall climate in Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais?
Moderate continental.
The relatively short summers in Burgundy suits Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Why?
Both varieties are early ripening.
What are the hills called that protect Côte d’Or in the west from rainfall?
The Morvan hills.
What is average rainfall in Côte d’Or?
700mm
Is Mâconnais cooler or warmer compared to Côte d’Or?
Slightly warmer.
Name factors that influence individual site quality in Burgundy.
Aspect, altitude, soil, degree of slope.
Why is ripeness of skins and seeds in Pinot Noir a priority in Burgundy?
A cool vintage can lead to underripe tannins in the finished wine.
Hail is a problem in Burgundy throughout the growing season. If it occurs in the early growth (April-may) what can it lead to?
Reduced yields, in extreme cases lost of entire crop.
Hail late in the season can damage fruit and lead to what?
Grey rot. Grey rot can taint the wine.
Why was hail netting not permitted until June 2018 in Burgundy?
It was thought to cause too much shading plus it appeared as an inauthentic part of the landscape.
Besides netting, what is the most common preventative action for hail in Burgundy?
Seed thunderclouds with silver iodide some distance from the vineyard.
Volnay and Pommard were badly affected by hail between what years?
2012 and 2015
Rain early in the growing cycle can lead to what?
Disrupted flowering and fruit set, leading to lower yields and uneven ripening.
Rain just before harvest can lead to what?
Dilution. Uptake of water by the grapevine.
Is irrigation permitted in Burgundy?
No
Why does vineyards with high clay content cope with water stress better?
Clay has great water-retaining capabilities.
Two of the most critical factors determining style and quality in Burgundy is what?
Aspect and elevation.
Côte d’Or lies on a range of hills oriented north-south, between what elevations are the hills?
200 to 400 meters above sea level
There are plenty of side valleys in Côte d’Or, what does that do for vineyard aspects?
You can find vineyards with south-east or even southerly aspect. Not just eastern along the main ridge.
Best sites in Côte d’Or are often found mid-slope, why?
Best drainage, best sunlight interception and frost protection.
Where in Côte Chalonnaise will you find the best south-east facing slopes?
Bouzeron and Rully
Best sites in Pouilly-Fuissé, Mâconnais, are what aspects?
South facing slopes.
General soil mixture in Côte d’Or?
Limestone and clay
Côte de Nuits is dominated by what in the soil mixture, and what grape variety is Côte de Nuits world famous for?
Dominated by limestone in the soil mix, Pinot Noir.
Côte de Beaune is dominated by what in the soil mixture, and world famous for what grape variety?
More clay and deeper soils, Chardonnay
Why is erosion a challenge in Côte d’Or?
On top of hills the soil is too shallow for vines, at bottom it’s deep with more clay and less drainage making it more fertile- vigour causes shading hindering ripening in this part of the world.
Well-regarded Aligoté is grown where in Burgundy?
Bouzeron, Côte Chalonnaise