Cote D'or
Cote de Beaune (coat de bone) and Cote de Nuits (coat de new eeh) are collectively referred to a Cote D’Or (coat door). This is where you will find some of the best chardonnays and pinot noirs in the world. An easy way to judge the quality of a bottle of wine in Cote D’or is to look at how specific the information on the bottle is. If it just says Burgundy it is probably of low quality. Here is a breakdown on the quality levels of Burgundy going from lowest quality to highest quality. Burgundy, Sub Region (ex. Cote de Nuits ), Burgundy, Sub Region, and village Burgundy, Sub Region, Village, and Vineyard Name., Vineyard name only. Cote D’or is home to 32 Grand Cru vineyards. Now that you have a superficial understanding of Cote D’or lets get into the sub regions.
Cote de Nuits.
Very little white wine is produced in Nuits. Only 5% of the wine produced is white, the rest is Pinot Noir. The village names to look for are-
Gevrey-Chambertin
Morey-St-Denis
Cambolle-Musigny
Vougeot
Flagey-Echezeaux
Vosne-Romanee
Nuits-St-Georges
Cote de Beaune
Although only about 30% of the wine produced here is Chardonnay it is definitely worth mentioning since Beaune produces some of the best Chardonnay in the world. The chardonnays have little or nothing in common with the wines of Chablis. Burgundy Chardonnays or very full bodied and many times they are oaked.
The Chardonnay producing villages in Beaune are as follows-
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Meursault (meer so)
Puligny-Montrachet (pooleanee montroshay)
Chassagne-Montrachet (sha shawn montroshay)
The other 70% of vineyard land is dominated by Pinot Noir. The villages which produce Pinot Noir are-
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Pommard
volnay