Bourgogne Week shines light on lesser-known AOCs

The 2017 Bourgogne Week in Hong Kong shone a light on 15 lesser-known wine regions from Burgundy’s 100 AOCs.  

Some Chablis wines from Samuel Billaud

Held in Harbour Grand Hotel in Hong Kong on Tuesday, this year’s one-day tasting, themed “Bourgogne AOCS Undiscovered Treasures”, showcased wines from relatively unexplored regions including Aloxe-Corton, Bourgogne Aligoté, Chorey-les-Beaune, Crémant de Bourgogne, Givry, Ladoix, Macon Davaye, Mersannay, Mercurey, Montagny, Pernand-Vergelesses, Petit Chablis, Saint-Véran, Santenay and Savigny-lès-Beaune.

Anne Moreau, BIVB spokesperson and board member of the Grands Jours de Bourgogne, said: “Traditionally Bourgogne wines are known through their iconic AOCs such as Grand Crus and Village Premier Crus, which were the first wines to arrive on Hong Kong market. Today, Hong Kong is a mature market, ready to taste the undiscovered AOC treasures of Bourgogne.”

Hong Kong is Burgundy’s fifth biggest export market by value. Its wine sales in Hong Kong grew by 9% in 2016 to a record of €43 million. With the exceptional 2015 vintage, Bourgogne wine sales are set to reach new heights in the market.

“In 2015, the grapes were just perfect! The unusual conditions resulted in some magnificent grapes, the foundation for a great vintage. The generous wines from this sunny vintage promised to be noteworthy, and we were delighted to see that both media and trade guests thoroughly enjoyed the vintage and the opportunity to discover the ‘undiscovered’ AOCs,” added Moreau. About a quarter of the 100 wines from the tasting were from the 2015 vintage.  

Burgundy is divided into five major wine-growing regions, namely Chablis & Grand Auxerrois, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais. Main grapes planted in the region are Chardonnay (46%), Pinot Noir (36%), Gamay (10%), Aligoté (7%) and Sauvignon (1%).