Get to know the classification of Burgundy wines and their history

A situated in the east of, is one of the most prestigious and traditional wine regions in the world. Its vitican history dates back to over two thousand years, with records of vines cultivation still during the period of Roman colonization. It was with the Romans that the first strains of Vine vinifera They were planted in the region, particularly along the well -drained slopes that characterize the landscape of the Burgundy.

During the Middle Ages, the production of wine in Burgundy gained a new momentum with the determining performance of the Catholic Church. From the ninth century, Benedictine monks began to cultivate vineyards systematically, promoting improvements in grape selection and winemaking methods. They not only produced for liturgical use, but also to economically support the monasteries.

Later, in the twelfth century, Cistercian monks – a reformist order of the Benedictines – led Burgundy viticulture at an even higher level. They were largely responsible for identifying the subtleties of each terroir, that is, the different land plots with distinct microclimates and soils. This meticulous work led to the origin of Burgundy’s famous “Climats” – small divisions of vineyards with unique characteristics. These monks (cistercienses) of the Cîteaux monastery and the Benedictines of Cluny’s Abbey were central figures in building the Burgundy reputation as producer of high quality wines. They were, in practice, the first to classify the wines based on the origin of the ground, intuiting that each portion could generate a distinct wine.

With the French Revolution, in the late eighteenth century, the lands of the church were confiscated and redistributed, often divided among small owners. This process was intensified by the Napoleonic Inheritance Laws, which required the land to be divided equally among the heirs. As a result, to this day many vineyards of Burgundy are extremely fragmented, with multiple owners holding small installments within the same Climat.

The classification of Burgundy wines diverges a lot of what we are used to in Bordeaux. In Burgundy the classification is based on the concept of terroir and follows a hierarchy of four main levels, officially defined by the system of Controlled designation of origin (AOC):

1. Grand Cru: Represents the highest level of quality. There are only about 33 denominations in Burgundy (such as Romanée-Conte, Montrachet and Vougeot Clos), which correspond to about 1% of the region’s total production. Each grand raw is a specific AOC and has unique characteristics.
2. First vintage: These are specific plots within a commune that have higher qualities. Premier cru wines are labeled with the name of the commune followed by the name of the vineyard, such as: “Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre”.
3. Village: Wines produced from grapes cultivated in a single (commune) village, but outside the areas classified as Premier or Grand Cri. There are about 44 communal AOCs, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Meursault and Pommard.
4. Regional: Represent the base of the pyramid. These are wines that can be produced with grapes from various parts of Burgundy, with denominations such as “Bourgogne Rouge”, “Bourgogne Blanc” or “Bourgogne Crémant”.

It is noteworthy that this classification reflects not only the quality of the wine, but especially the reputation and specific conditions of the terroir from which grapes originate.

Burgundy is a region in which history, religion, geography and passion for wine are uniquely intertwined. The legacy left by the monks and the reverence for terroir turned local viticulture into a model for the world. To this day, every bottle of Burgundy tells a story of soil, climate and tradition – a living testimony of spirituality, patience and accuracy that shaped this legendary land. Health!

*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the young Pan.