The Vineyard of Burgundy : the legacy of the climate notion

Doctor Jacky Rigaux, University of Burgundy

 (Published in “Tastevin en Main”)

The nomination of the Burgundy vineyard for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list, titled “the “climates” of the Burgundy vineyard”, gives us the opportunity to focus on this notion of “climate”, a true cultural singularity in Burgundy and the breeding ground for the notion of terroir. As opposed to the Bordeaux vineyard which chose to focus essentially on the notion of “Chateau” when the law on Protected Designations of Origin (AOC) was voted in the 30’s, the Champagne vineyard which favoured the notion of “trademark” or the Alsace vineyard which favoured the notion of “varietal”, Burgundy chose the “hierarchy of climates” as the corner stone of its vineyard classification (1). When it comes to inheriting or selling, the notion of climate prevails over the notions of trademark or chateau. Thus when a plot of Clos de Vougeot or Montrachet is passed on, the name remains. No trademark or chateau name is intrinsically attached to it!

The birth of the climates of Burgundy

During the Gallo-Roman era, the Burgundy vineyard was called Pagus Arebrignus, and depended on the mighty city of Autun, its wines became more popular than the most famous wines of Antiquity like the Massicum, the Falernian or others like the Ascalon… the Roman agronomists already sensed what we shall later call terroir. For instance Virgil (70-19 b.c.) and Pliny (23-79 a.d.) tried to find the reasons why the Pagus Arebrignus wines were that excellent. However Columella, a roman agronomist from the 1^st century of our era, was the one who further contributed to the foundation of a first terroir theory. “The vine planted in fat silt, yields abundant wine but inferior in quality ”. As his idea was to find the most suitable grape variety to make great wines in Burgundy, he described Pinot Noir as precisely as the modern-day ampelographists. “The smallest and best of the three is very readily recognized by its leaf, for it bears the roundest leaf of all of them; and it is praiseworthy because it endures drought best of all, because it bears cold if only it is free from rain, because in some regions its wine is racked off for long keeping, and especially because it alone gives a good name to even the poorest of soil by reason of its own fertility” (2)

Later in history, we can find confirmation of the location of today’s noble vineyards of Burgundy, in a panegyric written in 312 A.D. when the Emperor Constantine visited Autun. “Unlike Aquitaine or other regions, it is hard to find the land for new vineyards, as we are stuck between the rocky soils on top of the hills and  the bottom where we fear frost.”(speech from 312 A.D., Latin Panegyrics VI)

In the second half of the 5^th century when the Roman Empire collapsed, the mighty bishops of Langres and Autun shared these wonderful lands with each other and put the Benedictine monks in charge of restoring and transcending these vineyards. We know that the latter were Aristotelian to the core although they belonged to the Benedictine Order.  It is to Aristotle that we owe the idea of a classification of living things, the starting point of Natural Sciences. Thus they classified the different vineyard plots and invented the Burgundy climates with the utmost rationality. We used to think that the Clos de Bèze was the oldest, as its foundation text was the oldest in our possession. Established in 630 A.D., it has stayed the exact same since then. Only a part of the surrounding walls disappeared.

According to legend, our dear monks, applied their classification science with their usual patience, by “tasting the ground”.  They considered the soil and the sub-soil as the matrix of what we shall later call terroir. If we do the experiment now, one cannot fail to notice that marl soils taste different from clay soils. Nowadays chemical analyses have replaced the palate and we no longer use sensory analysis to delimit “terroirs”!

As they decided to call the classified plots “climates”, they also considered climatic elements as essential terroir factors. There is an overall climate of course, subtly combining western maritime climate, with north-eastern continental climate and southern Mediterranean climate influences from the Rhone Valley up to Is-sur-Trille in the North of Dijon. The elders thereby considered Morvan as the vineyard’s “icebox” as it keeps the rain and the cold coming from the west.  They used to say that the limit for cicadas was in Chambertin and they enjoyed beholding the Siberian plants on the cold northern side of the combes and the Mediterranean plants on the southern side, just a hundred feet apart.

However the Benedictine monks also discovered what we now call “micro and meso-climates”, that is to say the subtle climatic variations that occur on a very small scale. They measured the significant impact of the winds blowing from the combes on top of the hills, the precious help of the north wind and above all the protection of the hills so the vines don’t suffer the disastrous effects of the west winds! The vineyard plots, referred to as “climates”, rest on gentle slopes which provide the vines with a perfect sun exposure. The word climate is taken from the greek “klima” which means “inclination”. The vineyards rise up toward the east and are protected from bad weather, enjoying the sweet warmth of the day that the precious rocks on the ground store for the night…

The notion of climate: a relevant notion today

Nowadays this notion of climate is very relevant and modern as well. Because it is more accurate than the notion of terroir, it is the viticulture model for anyone who aims at emphasizing the originality of a wine produced in a place that is able to express and improve a  suitable grape variety. This wine, symbol of culture, is different from modern varietal wines that all taste the same, because the production process prevails over the specificity of a place. It is fortunate that Eric Orsenna, writer and  member of the French Academy, wrote : “the word “climate” is more self-explanatory than the word terroir.

The quality-based classification of vineyards was established a long time ago. It began during the gallo-roman era, then was glorified during the middle-ages thanks to the work of the Benedictine, the Clunician  and the Cistercian monks. It was then confirmed during the Age of Enlightenment thanks to Abbot Arnoux’s book “la situation des vins de Bourgogne” published in 1728, and Dom Denise’s “Les vignes et les vins de Bourgogne”, translated into Italian in 1779 and mentioning the most renowned “climates”.

The keys to the originality of Burgundy vineyards

There are two master keys to the understanding of the Burgundy hierarchy. The Grands Crus and the best Premiers Crus vineyards (the most qualitative historic “climates”) always grow on  “méplats”, that is to say slightly sloping grounds, facing east and growing on non-eroded rocks that retained the best silt.

The best “climates” are always located in places that are protected from the west winds and facing east, which favours the natural physiological maturity of the grapes, which guarantees a perfect balance. None of the Grands Crus or the prestigious Premiers Crus are located in the continuation of the combes, as the combe breeze always carries the west wind humidity although sometimes the berries benefit from its drying whisper. Moreover there are no “méplats” shaped on “the non-eroded rock retaining the best silt”.

Finages, terroirs and climates

For a long time, only the most qualitative “climates” have been allowed to produce a wine named after them.  Thus the Grands Crus are protected designations of origin in their own right, for instance Chambertin, Clos de Tart, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant or Corton Charlemagne. The Premiers Crus (the second level) are entitled to mention their name on the label, but they must add the “finage” of origin, Meursault 1er Cru-Perrières. “Appellation d’origine contrôlée Premier Cru” is mentioned on the label as well. Some “climates”, classified under Village Designation (the third level) and considered as qualitative enough to express their unique character, they are allowed to mention their name on the label, however  it is only tolerated by the government, for instance Marsannay Grasses Têtes, Gevrey Chambertin en Dérée or Meursault Les Clous.

“Climates” that are less qualitative but able to generate a quality vineyard, worthy of the “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” classification, gain from being gathered to form a “finage” cuvee, for example Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges or Chassagne-Montrachet, a cuvee which today carries the beautiful name of « cuvée ronde ». Ages ago, we used the expression “finage” cuvee, “finage” being an old term referring to a parish during the middle ages, and later referring to a vineyard. Only the wine villages continue to use it. It involves a large majority of Burgundy’s “Village” designations. They simply claim the “finage” of origin on the bottle: Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Aloxe-Corton… They express the overall characteristics of their vineyard of birth.

The fourth level of Burgundy’s classification, named “Appellation Régionale” i.e. regional designation, rarely mentions the “climate” name, however France is the land of exceptions! Thus one can find a Bourgogne Notre Dame from Ladoix or a Bourgogne Montre Cul from Dijon. Some winegrowers do not hesitate to use that loophole open by the administration to promote a Bourgogne Pressonniers from Gevrey or a Bourgogne Les Bons Bâtons from Chambolle…

The more qualitative is the plot (“climate”), the more the grapes naturally reach their optimal physiological maturity (skin maturity and seed maturity), and the less intervention is needed during winemaking. “One must learn to be lazy in order to make a great wine” as a late, great winegrower used to say. This sentence is the key to the terroir philosophy. It is not about paying a tribute to laziness as a privilege of great winegrowers, but rather about having the conviction that terroir prevails over man. When one does all the necessary work in the vines so the grape attains its optimal physiological maturity (by implementing good practices), provided that the latter is carefully picked  (handpicking according to grape maturity and not for the sake of convenience), and put it into the vat after it is thoroughly sorted. After that, one can be lazy, that is to say minimize interventions during vinification, so each “climate” naturally gives all its complexity, its originality, its unique, inimitable character. That’s how terroir (“climates”) expresses itself.

Hierarchy of climates, qualitative diversity of “terroirs”

Each “climate” gives different grapes. Instead of focussing on the hierarchy, one must keep in mind this peculiarity, this originality that expresses itself with regularity and consistency. Thus the winegrower must be in perfect adequacy with the grapes as soon as the vinifications are kicked.  The more intervention on the grapes during the fermentation and the vatting process, the less the wine will taste like it naturally should. One should never forget that nature came first. That is what we took from the inventors of rationality and science in the the 6^th century B.C. (Thales, Anaximander, Anaxymenes…)

A technical wine is a made up wine, a wine that we make according to the common taste, to meet consumer’s demand and distributed through the modern notion of trademarks, vaunted by marketing techniques. These are: consumer wines. A terroir wine is a wine whose originality and framework stem from the land and the weather. This is a “wine-lover” wine.

The less favourable the grape-growing environment is, the less the grape will naturally reach its optimal physiological maturity. Then one must enrich the land artificially (chemical enrichments…), irrigate the vine if necessary, like in California or in Australia. Moreover one will need more intervention in the vatting process by using reverse osmosis (a concentration technique that enables to remove part of the water contained in the must… so as to maintain high yields), by using cryoextraction (which enables to remove water by putting the grapes at low temperature before the pressing… however the must is thereby unbalanced), by using must concentrators, by adding chemical products, industrial yeasts and tannins… also during the maturing process by using micro-oxygenation and other artificial techniques…  The aroma manufacturers are ready to collaborate with wine producers. Aroma addition is already allowed in many foreign countries. There are some advertisements going around in the French media to tempt independent winegrowers as well. A big company’s wine branch plans to increase its production of wines fermented with marine yeasts, thinking that it makes fruitier and softer wines!  The threat on our doorstep is to see some winegrowers reproducing in their cellar what they no longer get from their vineyard due to over-productive clones, excessive yields, treatments destroying the natural yeasts, farming practices that kill soil organisms, this is the sign of the end of  terroir effect.

Climates and terroirs

Thus the notion of “climate” did led viticulture to the notion of terroir, which was brought more lately to the forefront of the wine scene. Viticulturally speaking the word terroir indeed dates back to the glory days of viticulture in the 14^th century throughout the Burgundy vineyard. This term was first used to refer to certain wine Estates as these were the main providers of the best wines of the famous vineyard, called “la Côte d’or” in the 19^th century.

 

Then the term terroir became widespread and has remained in French since. Nowadays it is used worldwide, sometimes for places that are incapable of producing great wines. However the word terroir always implies the existence of physical factors in the production process, that includes a certain soil and sub-soil composition, a good drainage, a certain type of clays, the existence of chemical compounds such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, iron… interacting through highly complex processes. Local climatic conditions and specific cultivation practices are often attached to it. Very often we exclusively describe the terroir’s physical aspect, as a means to correct nature by artificially adding magnesium and other so called “essential” compounds, by changing the natural shape of the site, which disturbs the  natural flow of water, by deeply ploughing the soils which adversely impacts the natural terroir effect. Of course these techniques are first used in places that are not naturally dedicated to grape vines!

Climate is a more accurate notion than terroir

Using all these techniques in the historic terroirs, with the idea that we could be more competitive than the emerging winegrowers, would be a tragic mistake. That does not mean that the historic vineyards, in particular those of burgundy, were not moulded by the hand of man. Of course, all the terroirs carry the traces of man’s hand, but a gentle hand, respectful of the environment’s natural balance. The reason why we raised walls around the “clos” and the climates in the Middle Ages, was to prevent the invasions of different predators, wild boars, deer, hares and rabbits, the reason was also to remove the stones to make ploughing easier in the vineyard and build the walls that would store the heat of the day and release it at night. Moreover it added to the beauty of the place. A terroir always has a historical, cultural and economical dimension. One should never exclusively take its physical dimension into account!

The extensive use of the term terroir is to be counterbalanced with a more restrictive understanding, the one that Dom Denise already defended in the 18^th century. In that perspective, we must remind just like he did that the notion of terroir is a synonym of hierarchy of vine plots. “the vineyards which  produce the best wines of Burgundy are planted on the foothill, on a gentle slope”(p.19) The Grand Cru plots always rest on gentle slopes, on flat slopes, on “silt traps” like Robert Lautel used to say. He also used to say that the best climates are on “the belly of the slope” !

In his book Dom Denise writes: “However on the same hill, the wines from the vineyards planted on top are not as good as those from the foothill and the lower part of the slope. The grapes never have the same flavour whether they come from the top or the foot of the hill, as a consequence the wines are not as good. The vineyards that produce the best wines of Burgundy are planted between the plain and the slope, neither too high nor too low.”

“Terroir” an extensive notion, “climate” a restrictive notion

In complete contrast with the over-extensive use of the term terroir throughout the world today, we should highlight the search of “noble soils” initiated by some Californian winemakers. This term is close to the “climate” one, and falls into the same agronomic philosophy. “There are only two kinds of wine in the world: soil-driven wines and manufactured wines” says one of the leaders of this movement. (6) Thus we start to find designated-vineyard wines in California, but also in Brazil, Chile, New Zealand… Even in Australia. Given the growing interest in this quest for “noble soils” throughout the world, the great historic vineyards of Europe, those of Burgundy in particular, should stick to their “climate” philosophy and avoid industrial methods!  The notion of “climate” seems to be more accurate than the “terroir” one, if we are to promote a “high fashion” kind of viticulture, a viticulture producing character wines, of exceptional diversity. The notion of “terroir” has a lot of meanings, the “climate” one does not, so man has to be extremely precise when it comes to delimiting areas that are capable of producing great wines.

The gourmet, guardian of originality

The relation between the areas (“lieux dits” (localities), “climates”) has been acknowledged since the beginning of viticulture, as attested in the writings of Latin agronomists or medieval, renaissance or modern-day authors. In the 13^th century, Albert Legrand perfectly summed up this belief when he wrote: “The grape tastes or is different according to places”.

A new tasting profession appeared as early as the 12^th century and became more popular during the 16^th century: “the gourmet”.  As far back as this era the question of origin and its observance was established. The profession of “gourmet” could only arise from Burgundy, a vineyard with the most extraordinary diversity one could imagine, whose wines were sought after by all the great characters of the era! “The wines of Burgundy are the greatest of all Christianity” as chroniclers used to write.

The archives reveal that around the middle of the 16^th century, sworn winegrowers and sworn coopers were deprived of their tasting prerogative to the benefit of a specific profession. From then on, the gourmet would play a role of first importance in the organization and the distribution of wines. He had to taste and fix the price of the wine that was put on the market, as reported by Jules Lavalle. He was also in charge of tasting the wines, to certify the authenticity of the “climates” mentioned by the merchant. Thanks to his tasting abilities he also checked whether the wine was made of Pinot Noir or a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay. The gourmet was also capable of detecting the addition of other vintages!

In 1576, the mayor and the aldermen of Beaune promulgated a ruling, which stipulated that, from then on, every wine should be tasted and marked, and the barrels gauged. Right after this Dijon enforced the same rule. From then on, no wine could be put up for sale without being tasted and authenticated.  Some say that, in his field, the gourmet was infallible and made light of the greatest difficulties. In Burgundy archives, we can find traces of many trials judged under the sole authority of those sworn tasters. The imposition of fines and seizures was based on their testimony. Of course the Dijon archives also mention some unscrupulous gourmets who found themselves relieved of their duty. Eight gourmets from Dijon were thereby convicted in 1601 for marking improper wine!

In 1672, Pierre Delamare, king’s adviser, mayor and marshal of Beaune had a new rule voted by his aldermen, stipulating that gourmets and brokers should be elected every year after St Peter’s day so as to better monitor and moralize the gourmet profession.  It was forbidden to either prospect the foreign merchants who came to the city to purchase wine or to collect them from the inns. The merchants had to come to them. Then they could legally drive them through the wineries and the cellars to taste and drink wines, and not accept or allow selling any improper wine.

A legend was born, which confirms the importance of the gourmet in Burgundy (they became widespread throughout Europe), about a Gourmet so infallible that his jealous colleagues put him to the test by planting a vine where no vine was ever planted before. When he tasted the wine a few years later, after a few moments of doubt, he said with certainty: “sorry sirs but there is no such wine !”. No one knows when this legend was invented. Michel Serre made a modern version of it in his wonderful book, “Les cinq sens” (The Five Senses), impressed by this story, told during his induction as “Chevalier du Tastevin”. This beautiful story sums up the history and originality of the Burgundian climates!

In conclusion…

Finesse with complexity, this is what a “climate” wine expresses. Power as well, because it is born from the power of terroir, but a power that never brutally reveals itself, a tempered vigour that comes in variety of visual, olfactory and gustatory sensations… A lively and vibrating wine, reflecting the changing nature of his terroir. The taste and the charm of a wine from a particular land, is not related to its probable superiority in comparison to another wine, it rather lies in its profound and subtle difference. The Burgundy which made the success of “high fashion” viticulture, of “Grand Cru” viticulture with the notion of “climate”, has to remain the leader in this field. The classification of the Burgundy vineyard as a UNESCO World Heritage site will help fulfil its historic role for the benefit of all.

Notes

(1)   The French viticulture is linked to terroir, whose importance was already sensed by Thales (625-547 B.C.) followed by Democritus, Pythagoras, Euclid, Plato, Aristotle… The latter developed the idea that things do not depend on us, that they become what they should become without us. He invented the term “Physis”, which is the Greek word for “Nature”, to depict it and drew up a list of their properties. Burgundy launched this movement in the field of viticulture as early as the 1^st century of our era, it must confirm it at the dawn of the 21^st century!

(2)   The romans had an organization of rural space. An original geometry defined the classification of plots, that the on-going works of the laboratory of Christophe Petit and Jean-Pierre Garcia (university of Burgundy) will explain. We can assume that they were more inspired by plato than Aristotle. Plato got engraved on the pediment of his Academy : “He who does not know geometry, shall not enter”.

(3)   Like the christian, the jewish and the muslim elite, the Benedictine monks were Aristotelian, on a cultural level, and applied themselves to observe and classify, convinced that there are natural lines of division, hence the natural classifications. Thus the Benedictine monks invented an eco-friendly viticulture combining reason with faith. Saint Benedict, born in Nursia around 480 A.D., realized the material and social world was in ruin. He assigned himself the mission to restore it, following the rules of nature and the ethic, as Aristotle, and before him Thales recommended. “he who intervenes with nature, must always ask himself if what he is doing is good!” Man has to patiently follow the cycle of nature without expectations.  Dispelling ignorance, suspicion, doubt, uncertainty, illusion, fear, error… these are the “cardinal virtues” of the Benedictine monk. He who leads, knows and improves his knowledge to the benefit of the community. These well-read monks revived the writings of the founders and promoters of rationality, Thales, Aristotle but also the Latin agronomists such as Pliny, Columella or Cato.

(4)   Erik Orsenna, member of the Académie Française, wrote a major book, “l’Avenir de l’eau” (the future of water). In the chapter “Hommage au Grand Cru” (Tribute to the Grand Cru), he writes : “I needed some distraction”. So he decided to take some of his friends from the famous Academie Française to the Domaine de la Romanée Conti, to taste the most complex wine of Burgundy, from this tiny “climate” called “Romanée Conti”.  After recounting the emotions provoked by the tasting of this mythical wine he concludes : “then, suddenly, while you thought you have exhausted all the pleasure known to earth, a miracle happens, gently caressing your senses like the scent of the last rose of summer.”

(5)   Technology needs and technology is the art of using the world to make profit. From now on, understanding nature is not enough, we need human intervention. This quest for power has generated significant progress in manufacturing evermore-sophisticated tools, extending man’s control over the environment, but also paving the way for a mass-consumption society, in which quantity prevails over quality, and marketing over the actual usefulness of things.

Tied up in “food supply” chains, farmers have lost or rather set-aside centuries of knowledge and experience: tremendous skills passed from generation to generation. Easily manageable, they will soon be in thrall to technology. They are running into debt to provide themselves with the necessary chemicals and gleaming machinery, and they find themselves bound to comply to settle their loan.

The soil is nothing more than a mere cultivation substrate in today’s agronomy, using more and more chemical products to the detriment of organic solutions. Ideally we could replace it with “soilless” cultivation! While we thought we could get rid of all pests by developing poison gases, first tested on our elders during World War I, regardless of the environmental consequences, the increasing number of Chemical products was the panacea.

(6)   Lemon (T.), The Noble Soil,in Terroir and the winegrower, Terre en Vues, 2006, pp.285-293.

(7)   Lavalle (J.), Histoire et Statistique de la Vigne et des Grands Vins de la Côte d’Or, 1855

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