How to Read a Burgundy Wine Label

We shared an overview of the quality hierarchy of Bourgogne wines in our introduction to the region.

That info is key to understanding the basic qualitative differences among Regionale, Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines.

But if you dig deep, there’s so much more you can tell about a wine by looking at the label. So for everyone who wants to go a little deeper, here’s a backgrounder on everything you can learn from a Burgundy label.

Quality and Burgundy’s Appellations

So, you’ve seen this chart and you know that along some dimensions wine lovers from medieval monks down to today’s “Masters of the Universe” have concluded that Grand Cru > Village Premier Cru > Village Wine > Regionale wine

But what do those labels really mean and how are the wines different?

Let’s take a deeper dive into what all these things (“Grand Cru” or “Village”) actually mean in practice.

We’ll start by breaking things down by Appellation.

Put a Label on It

Now that we know what these designations mean, you may be wondering how they will come up.

Turns out, they’ll come up a lot! Not on a test, luckily. But, they’ll be prevalent at your local wine shop and on wine lists. And, if you can navigate the Bourgogne section, all the other sections become a cake walk.

Let’s look at a label:

Again, looks easy enough. But, let’s break these categories down a bit more.

What does a Vintage tell us?

Obviously, the vintage tells us what year a wine is made; or more specifically, what year the grapes for that wine were harvested (since the wine will usually only be finished in a later year). But, more than that, it can tell us something about what’s really going on inside the bottle.

In our introductory post, we discussed some of the more recent vintages in Bourgogne. The weather and overall quality of the wines in a certain year will ring through almost every bottle.

Maybe you’ve heard of the electric 2017s? Or the iconic 2015s. While it’s not always a catch-all, a vintage’s reputation has a lot to say about the wine.

Don’t feel pressure to memorize all the vintages. If you happen to remember a great vintage and see a wine labeled with that year--great! If not, always ask us. If we don’t know much about the year off the top of our heads, we will look it up for you!

And the Producer? How much do we know about them?

Here’s the fun part! Diving into new producers and up-and-coming winemakers, is one of the greatest joys of drinking wine.

Each winemaker has a unique style, and no matter how hands-off, you can taste their touch on a bottle.

Aha! A Village name! Didn’t we just cover those?

Yes we did. And now you know that, since we see that name on the label, this is a village-level wine.

More than that, we know that it comes from a specific village. In this case, the wine comes from Chambolle-Musigny.

By learning more about specific appellations, you’ll eventually be able to tell a lot about the wine in the bottle at this level.

Like producers, each AOC has specific terroir which imbues the wine with special qualities. Chambolle-Musigny, for instance, is famous for making the most “perfumed,” and among the subtlest, wines of the Cote de Nuits. Vosne-Romanee, as a point of contrast, is famous for an aristocratic elegance and often exotic spice notes.

“Premier Cru” and Quality Distinctions

This is one of those special Village wines, one of the elite 10% that can be labeled as “Premier Cru.” Lucky us!

Those two words tell us that the wine is known for being even more complex and having the potential to age a bit longer than other village level wines.

Okay, but what else is there to know? A Climat?

Uh oh, I can hear the panic in your voice. Don’t worry, Climats are not scary. We broke down what exactly a “Climat” is in our introductory post too!

But, in practice, it’s just even more detail as to what the wine behind the label is really like! If you find a favorite Climat in Bourgogne, you can keep your eyes peeled for that exact Climat from other producers.

What does all the French at the bottom mean?

The bottom of the label reads “Mise en bouteilles par Faiveley à Nuits Saint Georges." This translates to “Bottled by Faiveley in Nuits-Saint-Georges.”

Don’t let this fool you! The grapes were grown in Chambolle, as we know from above. But, this is the added information that Faiveley made the wine in their cellars in NSG.

While there are very specific laws in France about what wines can be made where, what is important is where the grapes are grown. Terroir! You can expect to see disclaimers like this one on many bottles from Bourgogne. It’s just more of that extra information winegeeks love to have.

A good rule to live by when reading wine labels: Don’t be daunted by extra information. If you don’t know what or where something is, just ask!

It’s a lot to remember! That’s why we have so many books in the shop.

WINE GUIDE: How to Read a Burgundy Wine Label