This is not a question about WHAT are these designations - I know it very well -
but:
I´m fully aware of the fact that it´s unfortunately not always the case … depending on producer, vintage, vineyard site, age of vines etc. - but it should be the definition of an ideal.
There are a ton of variables but complexity and length (how long the wine’s taste lasts in your mouth) should increase as you go up the levels. A very respected Burgundy winemaker once told me when tasting blind he can tell a grand cru apart from others by how long the taste lasted in his mouth after swallowing it. It’s not that precise but you get the point. I’d also expect the structure and aging ability to increase as I go up the pyramid and in fact the better wines likely but not always need more age to approach their potential and in many cases aren’t very tasty young. These all are broad brush because each vineyard varies. I’d also expect a finer texture to the wine of a grand cru vs premier, silky etc… keep in mind though there are some premier cru vineyards many consider better than some grand crus so the classifications are based not just on quality but history and politics.
For most of the time since these systems were started, it was a struggle to get grapes sufficiently ripe in Burgundy. As I have understood it, back when most classifications were made, the vineyards singled out for higher status were the spots where grapes ripened properly in more years.
Given climate change, grapes ripening is no longer a real issue. But, the position of these vineyards in the middle of slopes rather than on flat lands has in general retained these vineyards as the best spots for growing grapes. I have often wondered whether over time vineyards higher up the slope that have good soil, etc., will become better and more highly prized vineyards. Time will tell.
In any case, most village level and regional level vineyards tend to come from flatter spots and not on the sides of the hill (or they come from the wrong side of the hill). Rain does not drain as well in these flatter vineyards (generally).
As to the result, I agree with Adam that keys include more complexity, a longer finish and better aging potential. IMHO too many people think a grand cru should be a bigger, richer wine. I have heard too many people talk about how a beautifully, elegant grand cru is not that good because “it does not have the weight of a grand cru.” I don’t think people who think that way really get Burgundy. Burgundy is not about weight.
Also, as Adam said, these classifications were done by men and were not by some divine being. Politics, etc., got involved in the process. A key to buying Burgundy over the years has been buying wines from really good producers from underrated vineyards. Unfortunately, in most cases today, these vineyards have been discovered and wines from vineyards like Volnay Caillerets and Meursault Perrieres are often not the bargains they were even a decade ago.
in another thread, someone raised the important point that this is in some part a self-fulfilling classification as well. At a winery with finite resources (money, time barrels, etc.) the GCs will get more of them. We see that in oak%, for example. Maybe that’s because the grapes are of higher quality so that they can “stand up” to the wood, but it’s not a totally controlled experiment.
Not to say this is all that determines the quality, but it is something important to consider.
Agreed on all the comments. I was at a tasting recently with young wines and the best wine that day was a village wine vs incredible premier and grand cru’s. Not because it will be the best at all their peaks but because it was the right wine with the right age at the right time. Also made by a great winemaker. In this case Jean Marie Fourrier.
I was taught long ago that length of finish is the quickest way to discern a quality wine.
Preach! I see this all the time on CT, someone really enjoying the complexity of a fine burgundy, but then knocking off a few points for lack of density.
Dude, this is not trying to be a 100 point Parker wine, and thank goodness for that!
All is true of course - but I´m missing a major point:
A true GRAND CRU should have a distinctive personality, a strong typical character … which is discernable and recognizable … well to memorize …and which is expressed by its finesse and complexity in addition to intensity and length (I´m talking about the excellent examples).
Wines like Chambertin, Clos de la Roche, Musigny, Richebourg, RSV, La Romanée, La Tâche … Montrachet … (also Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux etc.) … all have this distinctive personality.
In a Premier Cru this is usually less clear and distinctive - some exceptions like Les Amoureuses et al - and the best Village wines express at least the character of the Village …
It´s far easier to tell a Richebourg from a RSV than a NSG Poirets from a Cailles …
and with a Platière I´m happy to call it some kind of a Gevrey Village …
Wines made from lesser spots usually don´t have these strong characters (which comes from the terroir/soil) … no matter how well made and how good the vintage might have been … often excellent Pinot Noir wines, but missing the “special something” …
(often thes characters are most distinctive from cask … and then again with some bottle age)
But the lesser producer GCs or 1ers dont have them either.
Yes, sure, but that´s usually the fault of the producer, not of the vineyard …
on the other hand the very best producers can make a fine Village wine, but it will still lack (more or less) in character and complexity … compared to 1erCru or GC (very few exceptions) …
And nowadays the top-producers charge more for their Village/1er Cru than others for a GC …
I agree with everything you write yet Burgundy more than anywhere else is good for surprises so generalising is very difficult. The biggest factor I think is time, Grand Crus really need time to show their full potential, drinking premier crus and grand crus too young can blurr the differences.
Also with climate change you have losers and winners, Marsannay, compare S. Patailles Clos du Roi to some GC Chammbertins, it can hold its own. Pommard, the wet, heavy soil always a problem, now with drier, hotter summers the dynamics are changing.
Agree that GCs need a lot of time - often they do show only a part of their potential out of bottle when young (from cask it´s often easier to estimate).
Reg. Marsannay: recently I´ve tasted 2 Marsannays, 2 Villages, Clos.St.Jacques, Clos de Beze and Bonnes Mares - all by Bruno Clair - side by side … the gap in depth and class between the Marsannay and the 1er/GCs was very obvious …
This is square pegs into round holes stuff.
They are trying to make an objective table from many subjectives, and hope it will stick.
Very well said and I totally agree - with Mark.
I would like to add perhaps it is also one of the reasons why I started to concentrate in burgundy wines more and more since the year 1995.
The more II read, I learn; and try to understand - about Burgundy wine - the more I realize that I know less and I understanding less. But one thing for sure : I agree with what Matt Kramer wrote : the connoisseur must yield freely to the greatness is not just the province of a few lot pots of famous lands …( or just famous producers …).
Gerhard : nice report on your tasting of B. Clair.
Clair’s wines are easily available in Montreal, QC, Canada all the time for some unknown ( after many tastings ) I was never in love with them.
Hope you will have a chance to taste Clair’s Marsannay along side with Bizot.
Out of curiosity, what vintage?
As between a 1er cru and a grand cru, I do think density matters - it’s one of the distinguishing features. I would expect a grand cru to have more weight than a 1er cru (as well as other things). When I think of Musigny, for example, despite it being the epitome of Chambolle, it’s not a light wine - Mugnier waits several years to release his version because he doesn’t think it drinks well enough young.
Sorry, forgot: all Clair 2019 …
I’m not the greatest fan of B.Clair, often too oaky, but I always taste when I get something … and he’s a competent producer with great vineyards …
Clair’s 2020s at Paulee NY were an eye opener for me. Fairly red fruited and not too oaky/extracted. One of my favorites at the tasting. Nice guy too.
If someone serves it to me, ok … but a Marsannay in the 4-figure-range is nothing but lunatic 