But luckily these are the very extreme ends of Burgundy and Bordeaux wine, with many affordable options and more competition in terms of flavors than price point. Summers are warm, with cold winters; hail and too much rain are the greatest concerns. While the finest of wines have homes all over the world, the most desirable and profitable come from barrels stored deep within the vineyard cellars of Bordeaux and Burgundy. While both are an esteemed French wine region, there are some key differences, which we’ll be covering. List of 1855 Classifications; List of current St. Emilion Classifications With the influx of competition from wines around the world, especially after the early 2000s, the French wine industry is making efforts to revitalize by promoting tourism, but also by devoting more time to the development of some of the finest wines in the world with painstaking attention and small scale production. Where…do you…sit? It’s considered a fairly modestly sized wine-growing region, accounting for an estimated thirty thousand hectares, twenty-five thousand of which are officially classified. “For me, the superiority of Bordeaux comes from its naturalness: it is born of my earth, of my sun, and of the attentive love that my people devote to it. Go to (ta && … The most signature wines of the Bordeaux region are Bordeaux blends. Ten of those are considered major wine regions, are two minor regions. Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Wine Education Specialist, Anne McHale MW, describes how to differentiate between the wines of … Burgundy doesn’t have pines or an ocean. The rating refers to the prestige of the vineyard, but also the production method and level of experience. BURGUNDY VS BORDEAUX. The most famous is the 1855 classification, which is an official tiered system applied to the top producers of the Médoc and Sauternes regions in that year. Domaine de la Romanée Conti’s Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, up until now considered the most expensive wine in the world for the past half-decade, fetches an average of just over twenty thousand US dollars. For crisp, acidic and bright wines, especially Chardonnay, Burgundy is a better bet. Bordeaux knows this. Bordeaux blends typically are comprised from the three main grapes of the region–Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, though occasionally Malbec and even Carménère is added to the mix. There is a notable difference in climate, which accounts not only for how the wine itself tastes, but the great discrepancy in grape varieties grown. Drizly has clearly established themselves as the market leader and our preferred option here! Other varieties exist in tiny amounts. This year, the region accounted for 29% of the wines that qualified and 57% of those in the top tier. With delicate red fruit aromas, it develops interesting complexities with age. Burgundy is single varietal terroir, aka Pinot Noir (poem number two). Perhaps the most fundamental distinction between the regions is the composition of the wines they produce. This wine has plum, blackberry and cassis flavor and aroma. In its very young set, fresh state, it can be green and difficult to drink. Burgundy is primarily known for the classic expression of Pinot Noir. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and American wine-producing regions. Firstly, Red Bordeaux. Bordeaux is the largest wine producing area in the country. As warm-climate grapes, Bordeaux wine tends to be lower in acidity, fuller in body, and more ripe fruit flavors. Burgundy, on the other hand, is the ancient, monk-fostered home of spiritual terroir, the land of single grape expression in a single plot of land (the grapes being Pinot Noir, which Burgundy made famous, and Chardonnay), cultivated on a far smaller scale and often blended by negociants or else small self-operated wine cooperatives. Hundreds of buyers and journalists were in Bordeaux the week before last tasting barrel samples of the 2009 vintage. The Bordeaux wine region has numerous laws to help regulate its production, or to make things difficult, depending on your point of view. ), a better refund policy, and an easier to use website. "Bordeaux" vs. "Bordeaux Supérieur" Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur are the generic wines of Bordeaux and make up about 50 percent of the wines from the region. Liber Pater, an esteemed producer of Bordeaux wines, prides themselves on upholding authenticity, both in the wine itself and in the entire process, from cultivation to bottling. Bordeaux, with such high production of wine, has really made a name for itself as a wine region, one which many across the world come to tour. The Main Differences Between Bordeaux wine vs Burgundy wine are: Bordeaux wine is from the eastern Bordeaux area in France, whereas Burgundy wine is produced in southwest Burgundy in France. Bordeaux is actually in Southwest France and includes the city of Bordeaux, which is located on the Garonne River. See, exploring Bordeaux and Burgundy (which you’ll almost immediately encounter as “Bordeaux versus Burgundy”) is kind of like approaching the popular tables at some kind of alternative French high school: on one side, the Bordeaux Clique, sleek, preppy-chic, sporting Lacoste polos and sippin’ on Chateau Haut-Brion ‘cuz, yeah, they livin’. And why do they exist? Because as multifaceted and beautifully variegated as the wine world is, Bordeaux and Burgundy represent two of the greatest, most exquisite, perpetually parallel (as in never intersecting) wine traditions in all of alcoholic grape juice history. All Burgundy wines are Pinot Noir but not all Pinot Noirs are Burgundy wines. They also tend to be a bit fuller, and affable. Cru signifies the finest and most esteemed vineyards in France. They also, as we’ve mentioned, tend to be both less mass-produced, and subsequently, less affordable as well. No classification covers the entire Bordeaux region. Is only one kind of grape grown in Bordeaux and Burgundy, respectfully?Â. These wines may source grapes from all over the region and usually sell in the value wine category, with Bordeaux Supérieur priced on the higher end due to grapes sourced from older, more mature vines. Erin Jamieson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Miami University of Ohio. How do I decide between Bordeaux and Burgundy wine? B ordeaux, the city, is as elegant as any in France. Apple and lemon with a bit more crisp acidity are favored in the best Chardonnay from this region. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. This article will introduce you to Bordeaux wine including tasting notes, food pairing suggestions, and key details to know. None of these attempts to be a comprehensive classification of all the producers within a given area: rather, only the producers (universally known as châteaux, although not usually possessing the architectural grandeur that might … Bordeaux is like old money, a wine region founded by the Romans with a focal point port city and old school access to trading, wine distribution, and growth (the Brits still call Bordeaux claret because they fell in love with it, and have been sucking it down, for centuries). With delicate red fruit aromas, it develops interesting complexities with age. Bordeaux wine is a wine produced in the Bordeaux of southwest France. Burgundy also has limestone, but also some clay. These are pillar regions of winemaking. A Bordeaux wine is one that that has been produced in the Bordeaux region of France.Over the years, wine producers have perfected the complex art of blending individual grapes to get the best color, scent and taste for Bordeaux wine.Every year the massive Bordeaux area, about 120,000 hectares, turns out vast quantities of … Before this July, Burgundy was known to hold exceptionally expensive prices for the very finest wines–which have now been surpassed by Bordeaux. And let's not forget Sauternes, dessert wines that come from Bordeaux, such as the famous Château d'Yquem. The smaller scale is also more focused: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the main stars. As for output—which, let’s face it, is what we’re all here for—Bordeaux is like the Whole Foods to Burgundy’s local CSA, producing four times as much annually (both regions produce both red and white wines, though both are most famous for their reds). When it comes to fine French wines, there’s some fierce competition. Bordeaux, with its many chateaux and the renowned 1855 Classification, is a leading destination for wine lovers, as well as the bedrock of the fine wine market and a benchmark for winemakers around the world. In my look at Bordeaux (Decanter, January 2010), ranking by price does not age well for more than a … 4. Background Do a little Googling and figure out where to sit tomorrow? Bordeaux wines can actually contain a variety of grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot, but the bare minimum of any great (or decent, moderately priced) Bordeaux is Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with tannic structure underlying the fruit, which makes it so age-worthy (and sometimes, cost-prohibitively so). Neither classification was intended as other than a contemporary description of the status quo, but both became set in stone. We’ve already hinted at this, but there is a difference in public perception between Bordeaux vs Burgundy. Since 1855, Bordeaux has been classified by price, while Burgundy has been classified by terroir. In 1855, the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce took an unprecedented step that would transform the Medoc region’s fortunes. Some of the best wines in the world are produced in this region between Lyon and Dijon in the eastern side of the country. 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