The Côte de Beaune begins around Ladoix and the hill of Corton, passes the town of Beaune and continues south through Maranges. It is one continuous part of Bourgogne's central limestone slope, with both red and white wine. Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet are especially known for Chardonnay. Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay and several neighbouring villages are important Pinot Noir names. The higher Hautes-Côtes de Beaune vineyards form a related but separate area to the west.
As in the Côte de Nuits, the label can move from a broad regional appellation to a village, then to Premier Cru or Grand Cru. The grape is often obvious from the appellation, but some villages make both colours, so it is worth checking rather than relying on memory.
The balance of red and white moves southward
What changes here
The hill of Corton is the northern anchor. Corton Grand Cru is principally red, while Corton-Charlemagne and Charlemagne are white. Around Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune and Pernand-Vergelesses, red wine is prominent but white also appears. Pommard and Volnay are red-wine reference points, often described respectively as firmer and finer, though the particular climat, or named vineyard area, and producer matter more than the neat contrast.
Meursault is strongly associated with Chardonnay but also makes some red wine. Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet share the Montrachet family of white Grands Crus; Chassagne also has a meaningful red-wine tradition. Saint-Aubin, Santenay and Maranges widen the range farther south.
Côte de Beaune also names a small appellation
Names to know
Côte de Beaune is the name of the whole subregion, but it is also a small appellation on higher ground above Beaune. Côte de Beaune-Villages is another appellation for red Pinot Noir from approved villages. Neither label is a general synonym for every wine made between Corton and Maranges.
The village and vineyard names can identify a more specific origin. Meursault Premier Cru names a classified site within Meursault. Montrachet Grand Cru is its own appellation. A producer may own a small parcel or buy grapes, and several producers can bottle the same climat. Their names are therefore as important as the vineyard name.
Choosing Chardonnay or Pinot Noir
First bottle
For Chardonnay, look for Saint-Aubin, Pernand-Vergelesses, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet or Chassagne-Montrachet. A Bourgogne Côte d'Or from a producer based in the area is another option. For Pinot Noir, choose Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, Santenay, Pommard or Volnay.
To compare two places, try wines from the same producer and a similar vintage. Notice their fruit, texture and how long the flavour lasts. Young Chardonnay may also have noticeable oak flavours, depending on how the producer has aged it.
Continue through the region
Elsewhere in Bourgogne
- Chablis37 producersChablis is Bourgogne's cool northern Chardonnay country, with four appellation levels arranged around the Serein valley.
- Côte Chalonnaise9 producersSouth of the Côte d'Or, the Côte Chalonnaise includes the wine villages of Mercurey, Givry, Rully, Montagny and Bouzeron. Its grapes include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté.
- Côte de Nuits36 producersCôte de Nuits is Bourgogne's compact northern slope, where Pinot Noir and a close chain of villages account for most of the region's red Grands Crus.
- Mâconnais47 producersThe Mâconnais is southern Bourgogne's Chardonnay area, centred on Mâcon, Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran.
Producers in Côte de Beaune
Start with these
- Domaine LeflaivePuligny Montrachet domaine with Chardonnay grand crus and Esprit Leflaive red and white Burgundy from grower partnerships.
- Domaine Etienne SauzetPuligny-Montrachet domaine making Chardonnay whites including Montrachet, with oak fermentation and lees ageing.
- Domaine RoulotMeursault domaine making still Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from village wines, named parcels and premier crus.
- Maison Joseph DrouhinMaison Joseph Drouhin is a Burgundy producer founded in Beaune in 1880, managing 93 hectares across Grand Cru and Premier Cru appellations with vineyard holdings in Chablis and an operation in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
- Maison Louis JadotMaison Louis Jadot spans Burgundy and Beaujolais, from village wines to Grand Cru, with the Cadus cooperage.
Browse 59 more
- Albert BichotBurgundy négociant house in Beaune with Domaine Long-Depaquit and the Chablis Grand Cru monopole Moutonne.
- Bonfils-GoichotBonfils-Goichot comes from Bourgogne, France.
- Bouchard Aîné & FilsBeaune house focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Bourgogne red and white wines, Chablis, and historic Pavillon Bouchard cellars.
- Bouchard Père & FilsBeaune house with Château de Beaune cellars, named Côte de Beaune parcels, and Grand Cru holdings.
- Chartron et TrébuchetBurgundy négociant founded in Puligny-Montrachet, now based in Meursault, with Bourgogne and Côte de Beaune wines.
- Coche-DuryCoche Dury is a Meursault domaine founded by Léon Coche in the 1920s, farming approximately 9 hectares across 15 appellations.
- Domaine Antonin GuyonDomaine Antonin Guyon crafts Burgundy wines across more than 15 appellations, rooted in a 54-acre south-facing Meuilley vineyard consolidated in 1970.
- Domaine Arnaud EnteDomaine Arnaud Ente is a four-hectare Meursault domaine founded in 1992, producing about 1,200 cases a year.
- Domaine Bertrand BacheletDomaine Bertrand Bachelet farms Burgundy vineyards from Maranges to Pommard, including Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées.
- Domaine Bonneau du MartrayBurgundy domaine devoted exclusively to Grand Cru vineyards, with Corton Charlemagne whites and Corton Grand Cru red and white wines.
- Domaine Boyer-MartenotMeursault domaine bottling vineyard plots separately, with hand harvest, indigenous yeast fermentation, cement eggs, and oak casks.
- Domaine Chandon de BriaillesFamily domaine across Savigny-lès-Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Îles-des-Vergelesses.
- Domaine Chanson Pere et FilsBurgundy négociant and domaine producer with Premier Cru holdings, a historic Bastion cellar, and Pinot Noir from Mercurey and Beaune.
- Domaine Chavy-ChouetMeursault domaine with five village holdings and Bourgogne Aligoté Les Maréchaux aged on lees in stainless steel.
- Domaine Christian Bellang & FilsMeursault family domaine making Chardonnay whites and Pinot Noir reds across four Bourgogne villages.
- Domaine Comtesse de ChériseyBlagny domaine farming 9 hectares by hand, with La Genelotte settled and aged in 228 litre oak.
- Domaine de Héritieres Louis JadotTwo Côte de Beaune reds, pairing Corton-Pougets Grand Cru with Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru.
- Domaine du Château de MeursaultMeursault domaine with Côte de Beaune holdings, estate grown fruit, organic farming and Chardonnay wines from Clos du Château.
- Domaine du Château du Val de MercyBurgundy domaine with Chablis and Auxerrois whites, Côte de Beaune reds, and wineries in Chitry-le-Fort and Pommard.
- Domaine Fernand & Laurent PillotChassagne-Montrachet domaine farming 14.8 hectares across 50 parcels, with hand-sorted fruit and white wines aged sur lie in barriques.
- Domaine Fontaine-GagnardChassagne-Montrachet domaine with 22 appellations, indigenous yeast fermentation, French oak ageing, and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.
- Domaine François MikulskiMeursault domaine working Chardonnay, Aligoté and Pinot Noir in still Burgundy and Crémant de Bourgogne.
- Domaine Génot-BoulangerDomaine Génot-Boulanger is a Meursault estate farming 22 hectares across 30 Burgundy appellations, with 80 percent white wine, organic certification from 2018, and reds from Volnay, Pommard, Beaune and Corton.
- Domaine Georges JoillotPommard domaine with manual harvesting, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Beaune 1er Cru Popille.
- Domaine Guy Amiot et FilsChassagne-Montrachet domaine with named Chardonnay parcels, old vine Aligoté and traditional method Crémant.
- Domaine GuyonBurgundy domaine making red and white wines with whole bunch fermentation and minimal sulfur intervention.
- Domaine Hubert LamySaint-Aubin domaine with 80% Chardonnay, high density planting, and Premier Cru Derrière Chez Edouard.
- Domaine Jaques PrieurBurgundy domaine with Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits vineyards, nine grand cru appellations, and Puligny Les Combettes.
- Domaine Jean-Noël GagnardDomaine Jean-Noël Gagnard makes Chassagne-Montrachet wines with ambient yeast, barrel fermentation, lees ageing, and a perfumed red Cuvée L'Estimée.
- Domaine Lamy-PillotChassagne-Montrachet domaine with mostly organic farming, hefty Pinot Noir reds, and a sharecropped Le Montrachet holding.
- Domaine Louis JadotBurgundy house with 528 acres, Côte de Nuits Grand Crus, bought in grapes, and Résonance vineyards in Oregon.
- Domaine Michel Prunier et FilleA Bourgogne family domaine spanning six named communes and making red wines from Auxey-Duresses.
- Domaine Nathalie RichezDomaine Nathalie Richez is a Chagny domaine founded in 2011 after Nathalie Richez retrained in Beaune, making hand-harvested Burgundy reds that move from tender Pinot fruit to darker, smoky Santenay.
- Domaine ParentDomaine Parent presents red and white Burgundy wines, including Pommard, Monthelie, Beaune Premier Cru and Corton Grand Cru bottlings.
- Domaine Rémi JobardMeursault and Puligny domaine using slow pressing, older foudre and minimal cellar intervention.
- Domaine RouxSaint-Aubin domaine with 70 hectares across Burgundy, over 100 red and white cuvées, organic parcels and amphora experiments.
- Domaine Tollot Beaut et Fils SARLChorey-lès-Beaune domaine with old-vine Pinot Fin, fifth-generation cousins, and red wines fermented after near-total destemming.
- Domaine Vincent LatourMeursault wines from a family operation dating to 1792, shaped by hand harvesting, native yeasts, larger oak vessels and ripe sucrosity carried by acidity and freshness.
- Henri BoillotHenri Boillot crafts Burgundian red and white wines, vinified in Meursault with modern equipment and carefully judged new oak.
- JaffelinBeaune wine merchant house making hand made Burgundy wines in historic Chapitre cellars.
- Louis Jadot EstatesBeaune-based Burgundy négociant with 528 acres of owned vineyards, including approximately 280 acres of Côte d'Or Premier and Grand Cru plots, plus a grand cru Chardonnay anchor in Corton-Charlemagne.
- Lucien Le MoineBeaune micro-négociant sourcing one to three barrels per site and producing more than 50 different crus annually.
- Maison Albert BichotBurgundy family house spanning Chablis, the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, with named site wines and gravity only cellar movement.
- Maison André GoichotBeaune wine trading house with long grower relationships and estate Pinot Noir from Château du Cray in Buxy.
- Maison Camille GiroudMaison Camille Giroud is a Bourgogne producer combining wooden presses, open vats and native-yeast fermentation with a minimal-intervention approach.
- Maison ChampyMaison Champy is a Burgundy wine house founded in 1720 by Edmé Champy as a barrel-maker and wine merchant.
- Maison ChanzyBurgundy domaine in Bouzeron, with a cooler Rully red, Chardonnay Les Fortunés and Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru.
- Maison François MartenotMaison François Martenot is a Meursault-based Bourgogne wine house with 270 hectares across five vineyard areas, eight vinification sites and appellations from Chablis to Beaujolais.
- Maison Louis Jadot/Domaine GageyBourgogne négociant house pairing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines with Gagey family vineyard parcels.
- Maison Louis LatourBurgundy family producer with Côte de Beaune roots, 120 acres of vineyards, and a Meursault premier cru Chardonnay.
- Maison Pierre BrissetMaison Pierre Brisset makes Premier Cru and Grand Cru Burgundy from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
- Nuiton-BeaunoyA Bourgogne cooperative brand linking Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits and both Hautes-Côtes areas.
- Olivier LeflaiveBurgundy house combining bought grapes and must with family estate methods across red and white wines.
- Patriarche Père & FilsBeaune négociant and éleveur sourcing wine from growers and ageing Burgundy wines beneath the historic Visitandines Convent.
- Prosper MaufouxA Burgundy house based at Château de Saint-Aubin, Prosper Maufoux moves from steel-raised Bourgogne wines to Chardonnay-led Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites in the Côte de Beaune.
- Ropiteau FrèresA Meursault-based Burgundy négociant house, founded in 1848, with a range spanning place-led Chardonnay and broader French varietal wines.
- Sarl Domaine BattaultAntonin and Jean-Marc Battault bottle Santenay Premier Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from separate southeast-facing parcels.
- Veuve AmbalVeuve Ambal is a Bourgogne sparkling-wine producer with a production facility and visitor centre in Montagny-lès-Beaune.
- Vincent GirardinA Bourgogne producer built from two inherited hectares in 1980, now represented by Chardonnay from Bourgogne and Meursault alongside Volnay red wine.