Encyclopedia
Appellations.
Forty-eight villages, crus, and named places - the specific terroirs that produce the wines on the BWM floor.
This is where the encyclopedia gets specific. Each entry covers geography, classification, style, aging arc, and the producers Boulder Wine Merchant works with. The list will keep growing as the team travels.
Burgundy: Côte de Beaune (whites)
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Saint-Aubin | The undervalued white-wine village tucked behind Chassagne and Puligny. |
| Puligny-Montrachet | The most pedigreed dry white wine on earth - home of Le Montrachet. |
| Meursault | The largest of the great Côte de Beaune whites - broader, richer, more golden. |
| Chassagne-Montrachet | The southernmost great white-wine village, sharing Le Montrachet with Puligny. |
Burgundy: Côte de Beaune (reds)
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Volnay | The Côte de Beaune's most elegant red - perfume, finesse, fine-grained tannin. |
| Pommard | The most structured Côte de Beaune red - dense, clay-and-iron-influenced, age-worthy. |
Burgundy: Côte de Nuits
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Gevrey-Chambertin | Burgundy's most structured red village - home of Le Chambertin and Armand Rousseau. |
| Chambolle-Musigny | The Côte de Nuits village of perfume and lace. |
| Vosne-Romanée | The most prestigious red-wine village in the world - home of DRC. |
| Morey-Saint-Denis | Between Gevrey and Chambolle, with five Grand Crus. |
| Nuits-Saint-Georges | The Côte de Nuits' southernmost important village - structured, savory, age-worthy. |
| Marsannay | The Côte de Nuits' northernmost village - historically known for rosé, now serious red. |
Burgundy: Chablis
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Chablis | The northernmost Burgundy - Kimmeridgian limestone Chardonnay. |
Bordeaux: Left Bank
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Pauillac | Three of Bordeaux's five First Growths - Lafite, Latour, Mouton. |
| Saint-Julien | The most balanced of Bordeaux's Left Bank communes. |
| Margaux | The most aromatic Left Bank commune - home of Château Margaux. |
| Saint-Estèphe | The northernmost Médoc commune - the most structured and age-worthy. |
| Pessac-Léognan | Bordeaux's only appellation producing serious red and serious dry white. |
Bordeaux: Right Bank
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Saint-Émilion | The largest fine-wine commune of Bordeaux's Right Bank - Merlot on limestone. |
| Pomerol | Bordeaux's smallest fine-wine appellation - home of Petrus and Le Pin. |
Bordeaux: Sweet
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Sauternes | The world's reference for botrytized sweet wine. |
Northern Rhône
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Côte-Rôtie | The 'roasted slope' - Syrah at its most aromatic. |
| Hermitage | A single granitic hill - and the most powerful Syrah on earth. |
| Cornas | The Northern Rhône's brawniest, most uncompromising Syrah appellation. |
| Saint-Joseph | The Northern Rhône's largest red appellation - Syrah at value prices. |
| Condrieu | The spiritual home of Viognier. |
Southern Rhône
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Châteauneuf-du-Pape | The southern Rhône's flagship appellation - Grenache-led blends on famous galets. |
| Gigondas | Châteauneuf's mountain neighbor - half the price, two-thirds the quality. |
Champagne
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | The Côte des Blancs Grand Cru - home of Salon. |
| Ambonnay | The Montagne de Reims Grand Cru - home of Egly-Ouriet's Pinot-driven Champagne. |
Loire Valley
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Sancerre | The Upper Loire's chalk-and-flint Sauvignon Blanc. |
| Pouilly-Fumé | Sancerre's sister appellation across the Loire - silex-driven smoky Sauvignon. |
| Vouvray | The Loire's most stylistically versatile appellation - Chenin in every register. |
| Chinon | The Loire's most respected red - Cabernet Franc on tuffeau limestone. |
| Savennières | A single Anjou hill - bone-dry Chenin Blanc with decades of aging potential. |
Italy
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Barolo | The Langhe hill country where Nebbiolo produces 'the king of wines.' |
| Barbaresco | Barolo's slightly earlier-drinking sibling - Nebbiolo on Langhe limestone. |
| Chianti Classico | The original Chianti zone - Sangiovese country, the Black Rooster. |
| Brunello di Montalcino | Tuscany's most prestigious Sangiovese appellation - five years of aging required. |
| Bolgheri | Tuscany's coastal Bordeaux outpost - birthplace of the Super Tuscan. |
| Soave Classico | The original Soave heartland - volcanic-hill Garganega. |
| Valpolicella Classico | The original Valpolicella heartland - Corvina-led wines from the Amarone vineyards. |
| Etna Rosso | Sicily's volcanic appellation - Nerello Mascalese on Mount Etna. |
Spain
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Rioja Alta | The historical heart of Rioja - home of the great long-aging Reservas and Gran Reservas. |
| Manzanilla | Sherry's Atlantic-coast version - saltier, more delicate Fino-style biological-aged. |
Germany and Austria
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Wehlener Sonnenuhr | The single most famous Mosel Riesling vineyard. |
| Wachau (Smaragd) | Austria's terraced Riesling and Grüner zone along the Danube. |
Hungary
| Appellation | Summary |
|---|---|
| Mád | One of Tokaj's most respected villages - volcanic-soil Furmint and serious Aszú. |