Wine 101: How to Read a Burgundian Wine Label

Do you know the difference between a Bourgogne and a Beaune?

Famed producer Louis Latour makes hundreds of wines each year and, like most Burgundies, they look almost identical except some are $25 and some are $250. Here’s how to tell the good from the divine.

$Bourgogne Pinot Noir

The most generic, cheapest offering. Simply means the grapes can come from any part of Burgundy.

$$Beaune

One step up. You now have grapes that come from the identifiable, if large, region of Beaune.

$$$Côte de Beaune Villages

Now the grapes come exclusively from the 16 communes in the Côte de Beaune.

$$$$Aloxe-Corton Domaine Latour

Here the grapes are coming solely from one village, the well-regarded Aloxe-Corton.

$$$$$Aloxe-Corton 1ER Cru “Les Chaillots”

From a particular vineyard in Aloxe-Corton, the Premier Cru planting of “Les Chaillots.”

$$$$$$Corton Grand Cru “Clos du Roi”

From an even more highly regarded vineyard in Aloxe-Corton, the Grand Cru “Clos du Roi.”