Places compared
Chablis vs Côte de Beaune white Burgundy
The same grape, a hundred kilometres apart, producing two quite different wines.
Which to choose
Choose
Chablis
You want freshness, you are eating shellfish, or you want to taste what Chardonnay does without oak.
Choose
Côte de Beaune
You want texture and weight, you are eating chicken or something creamy, or you want the wine to be the event.
Worth knowing
This pair is the clearest demonstration available that a grape is not a taste. Anyone who says they dislike Chardonnay has usually met one of these two and not the other.
Where they differ
Written rather than computed. A place has no taste profile of its own — the wines made there do, and they vary — so averaging one into existence would produce a number for every dimension and a meaning for none.
Climate
Chablis
Nearly 48° north, continental and genuinely marginal, with severe spring frost risk in most years.
Côte de Beaune
Around 47° north and warmer, with fuller ripening and correspondingly riper fruit.
Oak
Chablis
Most village Chablis sees none at all, and much of the rest sees only old barrels.
Côte de Beaune
Barrel fermentation and ageing are the norm, and new oak is common at the top level.
Body and acidity
Chablis
Light-to-medium bodied with very high acidity. Lean, taut and driven by acid.
Côte de Beaune
Medium-to-full bodied with lower acidity and a broader, rounder texture.
Flavour
Chablis
Green apple, lemon and a stony, saline impression that tasters report consistently.
Côte de Beaune
Ripe apple and pear, hazelnut, butter and toast, with the oak and lees contributing as much as the fruit.
Price
Chablis
Village Chablis remains one of the better-value fine whites in France.
Côte de Beaune
Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet are among the most expensive dry whites in the world.
Read more
Place
Chablis
Chardonnay grown far enough north, and usually without oak, to taste like nothing else the variety does anywhere.
Place
Côte de Beaune
The southern half of the Côte d’Or, and the home of the world’s benchmark oaked Chardonnay.
Comparison
Côte de Nuits vs Côte de Beaune
The two halves of the Côte d’Or, and which one you actually want.