Grand Cru (great growth) is the highest level in the vineyard classification of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

. There are a total of of Grand Cru vineyards—approximately 2% of Burgundy's of vineyards (excluding

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which mak ...

)—of which produce

red wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties. The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice from most purple gr ...

and produce

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

. In 2010, 18,670 hectoliters of Burgundy Grand Cru wine was produced, corresponding to 2.5 million bottles, or just over 1.3% of the total wine production of Burgundy.BIVB: Chiffres‐clés de la Bourgogne Viticole
accessed on May 5, 2012 The origin of Burgundy's Grand crus can be traced to the work of the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

who, from amongst their vast land holdings in the region, were able to delineate and isolate plots of land that produced

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

of distinct character.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 131 Simon and Schuster 1989 Following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

many of these vineyards were broken up and sold as smaller parcels to various owners. The

partible inheritance Partible inheritance is a system of inheritance in which property is apportioned among heirs. It contrasts in particular with primogeniture, which was common in feudal society and requires that the whole or most of the inheritance passes to the el ...

scheme outlined in the Napoleonic code, which specified that all inheritance must be equally divided among heirs, further contributed to the parceling of Burgundy's vineyards. This created situations such as the case of Clos Vougeot, a single vineyard run by the monks, that today is parceled into plots owned by nearly 80 different owners, some of whom only own enough vines to make a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to ca ...

of wine per

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

. In accordance with ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

'' laws, each of these owners is entitled to use the ''Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot'' designation on their labels, although the quality, style, price and reputation of each owner's wine can vary widely.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 191-195 Workman Publishing 2001

List of Grands Crus

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgundy Grand Crus Grand Crus Wine-related lists

List of Grands Crus

See also

Notes

References