How to Read a Bordeaux and Burgundy Label

To the uninitiated, a French wine label can look like a puzzle, dense with unfamiliar names and terms and giving away little about what is actually in the bottle. Yet a label is simply information, arranged according to rules, and once those rules are understood it becomes easy to read. The two great regions of France, true to their opposing natures, organize that information in almost opposite ways.

A Bordeaux label leads with the estate. The largest and most important words are usually the name of the château, because in Bordeaux, as our comparison of Bordeaux and Burgundy explains, the producing estate is what matters most. Below it you will find the appellation, the official district the wine comes from, whether a broad one like Bordeaux itself or a prestigious commune such as Pauillac or Margaux, and the vintage, the year of the harvest. On the greatest wines you may also see a mention of the classification, the rank the estate holds, such as the coveted Grand Cru Classé. Read a Bordeaux label and you learn, first and foremost, whose wine it is.

A Burgundy label works the other way around, because in Burgundy it is the ground, not the estate, that defines the wine. Here the most important information is the appellation, which in Burgundy means a specific place, arranged in a strict ladder. A simple regional wine will say only Bourgogne; a village wine will name the village, such as Gevrey-Chambertin; a superior plot will add the words Premier Cru and often the vineyard's name; and at the summit, a grand cru will carry the name of one of the handful of hallowed vineyards alone. The producer's name, though crucial, sits more modestly on the label. Read a Burgundy label and you learn, first and foremost, where the wine is from and how highly that place is rated.

The contrast captures the soul of each region. Bordeaux tells you the brand and lets the place follow; Burgundy tells you the place and lets the maker follow. Learn to read those two logics and the labels of France, once so forbidding, resolve into a clear and useful language, one that reveals a wine's origin, its quality level, and its likely character before the cork is ever pulled. It is a small skill that pays for itself many times over, and it belongs among the fundamentals in our guide to starting a fine wine collection. For help navigating the great labels, contact us.