The Côte de Beaune

The Côte de Beaune is the southern half of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, home to some of the most famous names in wine. We focus on the smaller family domaines and the villages that get less attention, and this guide covers the ones we know best.

The slope runs roughly 25 kilometres, from Ladoix-Serrigny just north of Beaune to Maranges in the south. The northern half is mostly Pinot Noir: Beaune, Pommard, Savigny-lès-Beaune. As you move south it turns to Chardonnay: Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet. The soils shift too, from the iron-rich limestone of the north to the clay-limestone that gives Meursault its richness. That is why a Meursault and a Beaune taste so different, even though the vineyards are about eight kilometres apart.

Where to start in the Côte de Beaune

For white, begin with Meursault: the Buisson-Battault Vieilles Vignes, from vines planted in 1930 and 1932. From there, three Premier Crus:

• Meursault 1er Cru Charmes, from the same domaine, if you want to see what a Premier Cru adds to the Vieilles Vignes.
• Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Blanc, a rarity. Less than 1% of Les Grèves is white.
• Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Frétille, from the ridge across the hill from Corton-Charlemagne, on the same soil.

On a smaller budget, try Mark Haisma’s Saint-Romain Le Jarron or the Du Grappin Aligoté from the Hautes-Côtes.

For red, Le Grappin’s Aux Grandes Raies is a good place to start: a Hautes-Côtes red from 40-year-old vines, with only 15 barrels made. Then the Boucherottes, a Beaune Premier Cru at the southern end of the strip, next to Pommard’s Les Épenots.

Shopping beyond the Côte de Beaune? See our full Where to Start guide to Burgundy and Champagne by budget and occasion.

Villages at a glance

Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir and white Burgundy is Chardonnay. Aligoté is a white grape bottled as Bourgogne Aligoté.

The villages, north to south

Ladoix-Serrigny

The northernmost village of the Côte de Beaune, at the foot of the Corton hill and rarely seen on wine lists outside Burgundy. Domaine Michel Mallard et Fils has farmed here since 1885. We carry their Premier Cru Les Grechons, a white.

Aloxe-Corton

Aloxe-Corton sits on the Corton hill, which it shares with Ladoix and Pernand-Vergelesses. The hill holds Corton, the Côte de Beaune’s red Grand Cru, and Corton-Charlemagne, a white Grand Cru. Our wine is a red village Aloxe-Corton from the lower slopes below the Grand Cru, on the same iron-rich limestone. It is more structured and firm than Beaune or Pernand-Vergelesses.

Domaine Charlopin-Tissier farms it organically. The grapes are fully destemmed, with cold maceration and no filtration, the same approach Yann Charlopin applies from his Marsannay wines through to Clos Vougeot.

Pernand-Vergelesses

Pernand-Vergelesses is one of the Côte de Beaune’s persistent secrets. The village sits directly across the hill from Corton-Charlemagne, and the Premier Cru Sous Frétille shares the same elevated ridge, the same southeast aspect, and the same fundamental soil structure as its famous neighbor. The classification difference is historical rather than terroir-based.

Domaine Charlopin-Tissier farms Sous Frétille: 50-year-old vines, farmed organically, vinified by Yann Charlopin, who trained alongside Jean-Marie Fourrier and under the influence of his father Philippe.

Mark Haisma also farms here. His Premier Cru En Caradeux Blanc and Les Pins Rouge are two of the most interesting wines in our range at their price points.

Pernand-Vergelesses in late fall

Savigny-lès-Beaune

Savigny sits north of Beaune, in a valley where two streams meet. It is often overlooked in favor of its better-known neighbors, which is why it appeals to winemakers like Le Grappin. The lieu-dit Aux Fournaux sits at the junction of Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, and Savigny, with 60-year-old Pinot Noir vines and the complexity of three appellations at a village price. Andrew Nielsen hand-sorts the fruit for over eight hours before fermentation.

Our Aux Fournaux and the Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc are sold out. Join the Le Grappin list to hear about the next release.

Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune

Beaune

Beaune is the commercial heart of Burgundy, where every major négociant has a cellar and the Hospices de Beaune auction takes place on the third Sunday of November. The appellation is often overlooked, but it has 42 Premier Cru vineyards and no Grand Cru, a historical anomaly given the quality of the best parcels.

Le Grappin farms two of those Premier Crus. Les Grèves is one of Beaune’s most celebrated climates, and one of the very few places where Chardonnay is planted. Less than 1% of Les Grèves is white, and Le Grappin is one of five winemakers who make a white version. Boucherottes sits at the southern end of the Premier Cru strip, below Clos des Mouches and next to Pommard’s Les Épenots, a site that rewards the same attention as its more famous neighbors.

In the Beaune Grèves vineyards looking toward Beaune

Hautes-Côtes de Beaune

Behind the main slope are the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, a separate appellation of organically farmed vineyards on the higher plateau and valleys. It is cooler and higher up, and the wines are lighter and more aromatic than those of the villages below. Andrew and Emma Nielsen make the rest of the Le Grappin and Du Grappin range here.

Aux Grandes Raies comes from the lieu-dit of the same name in Meloisey: 40-year-old vines, whole cluster fermentation, and 15 barrels made. Eric Asimov described it in The New York Times as “a fresh, juicy red that will develop greater complexity with a few years of aging.”

The Du Grappin Bourgogne Aligoté comes from the lieu-dit of Mainbey, high in the Hautes-Côtes behind Pernand-Vergelesses, in the commune of Fussey. It is old-vine Aligoté, trained on high wires, foot-crushed, basket-pressed, and gravity drained to old large-format barrels. Asimov wrote about this one too.

Pommard

Pommard makes the most tannic and full-bodied reds of the Côte de Beaune. Its reputation was made partly because the name was easy for foreigners to pronounce. That explains its commercial success but not its quality, which is real in the best parcels. The Premier Crus Les Épenots and Les Rugiens are the most celebrated sites.

François Buisson of Domaine Buisson-Battault makes one red wine, a Pommard from the lieu-dit Les Combes. His maternal family is from Pommard. The fruit comes from the upper village section of the lieu-dit, separated from Premier Cru land by a single vineyard road. This is their wine.

Meursault

Meursault vineyard

Meursault is where white Burgundy starts to make sense. The village sits where the slope turns from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay. You can almost feel it as you drive south through Pommard and Volnay and the names on the signs change.

Domaine Buisson-Battault is our Meursault winemaker. François Buisson is the fifth generation of a family farming here since at least the early 20th century, on 8.5 hectares across 14 appellations. His Vieilles Vignes comes from vines planted in 1930 and 1932 in two lieu-dits, Les Malpoiriers and Les Pellans. It is farmed organically and aged a full year on lees in French oak. It is poured at Michelin-starred restaurants throughout California.

The domaine’s Premier Cru parcels are Poruzots, Charmes, and Genevrières. We have in stock the 2022 1er Poruzots and the 2022 1er Charmes. Le Grappin has also made a Meursault, which is sold out.

Read our guide to Meursault

A Meursault tradition: La Paulée de Meursault

Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet

Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet share the Grand Cru Montrachet. Both are known for white wine, and Chassagne makes red as well. Our Buisson-Battault Puligny-Montrachet ‘Les Charmes’ is sold out. Join the Buisson-Battault list to hear about the next release. For other availability from these villages, email jason.berry@amitiewines.com.

Saint-Romain

Saint-Romain is a small village in a valley between Volnay and Meursault, under a ruined medieval castle. It is one of the more dramatic settings on the Côte de Beaune. Mark Haisma farms the lieu-dit Le Jarron here, a white that consistently overperforms at its price. It is worth seeking out if you want something specific and relatively unknown.

Saint-Romain

Saint-Aubin and Santenay

Saint-Aubin and Santenay are toward the southern end of the slope. Saint-Aubin sits in a side valley behind Puligny and Chassagne-Montrachet, and Santenay is the last major village before Maranges. Le Grappin has made wines from both, and both are sold out. Join the Le Grappin list to hear about the next release.

Bourgogne

Not every wine from a serious Côte de Beaune domaine carries a village or Premier Cru name, and some of the best value on our list sits at the Bourgogne level. Domaine Buisson-Battault’s Bourgogne Rouge comes from three Meursault lieu-dits, Les Vaux, Sous la Velle, and Montaine, farmed to the same organic standard as the Premier Crus. The difference is the appellation, not the farming or the winemaking. Their Bourgogne Blanc is sold out for now.

Understanding the classification

Burgundy’s appellation system is confusing at first. Here is the hierarchy as it applies to the Côte de Beaune:

Bourgogne AOC: the broadest level, covering all of Burgundy. In the hands of a winemaker like Buisson-Battault, a Bourgogne can still reflect the terroir of a single village.

Village AOC: wines labelled with the village name, such as Meursault, Beaune, Pommard, or Savigny-lès-Beaune. Most of our range sits here.

Premier Cru: wines from specific named vineyards (climats) within a village, classified as superior. Meursault Charmes, Beaune Boucherottes, and Pernand-Vergelesses Sous Frétille are all Premier Crus.

Grand Cru: the top level, reserved for a small number of exceptional vineyards with their own AOC. In the Côte de Beaune these are Corton and Corton-Charlemagne (Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses, and Ladoix), and Montrachet and its neighbors in Puligny and Chassagne. Beaune and Meursault have no Grand Cru.

The winemakers

Le Grappin: Andrew and Emma Nielsen. In the Côte de Beaune: Beaune Premier Crus and the Hautes-Côtes, plus past releases from Savigny-lès-Beaune, Meursault, Saint-Aubin, and Santenay.

Domaine Buisson-Battault: François Buisson, fifth generation, in Meursault. Meursault, Pommard, and Bourgogne.

Domaine Charlopin-Tissier: Yann Charlopin, who trained alongside Jean-Marie Fourrier. In the Côte de Beaune: Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses.

Mark Haisma: grew up in Australia, spent a decade at Yarra Yering in the Yarra Valley, then moved to Gevrey-Chambertin. In the Côte de Beaune: Pernand-Vergelesses and Saint-Romain.

The Côte de Beaune runs from Ladoix-Serrigny in the north to Les Maranges in the south.

Questions about the Côte de Beaune

Where does the Côte de Beaune start and end?

It runs about 25 kilometres, from Ladoix-Serrigny just north of Beaune to Maranges in the south.

Which villages are best known for white wine?

Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet. Corton-Charlemagne, a white Grand Cru, comes from the Corton hill, shared by Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses, and Ladoix.

Which villages are best known for red wine?

Pommard, Volnay, Savigny-lès-Beaune, and Beaune. Corton, the Côte de Beaune’s red Grand Cru, is on the hill above Aloxe-Corton.

What is the difference between the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits?

They are the two halves of the Côte d’Or. The Côte de Nuits, to the north, is known mostly for red. The Côte de Beaune, to the south, makes red and white, including most of Burgundy’s best-known white wines.

Which Côte de Beaune wine should I try first?

For white, the Buisson-Battault Meursault Vieilles Vignes. For red, Le Grappin’s Aux Grandes Raies from the Hautes-Côtes.

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