They are not among the household names of Burgundy — Irancy, Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre, Bourgogne Chitry, Bourgogne Épeneuil. And yet, these lesser-known Pinot Noirs are among the best values in the ever more expensive Burgundy wine landscape.
I’ve long been intrigued by the Pinot Noirs of Burgundy’s extreme north, which is best known for Chablis, the region that produces mineral-driven Chardonnays that fit right into today’s trend toward lighter, less alcoholic, less oak-driven wines (you can read about them in my last column). But just down the road, to the southwest of Chablis, lies the area known as the Grand Auxerrois, which produces a patchwork of Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and even some Sauvignon Blanc in the same Kimmeridgian and Portlandian limestone soils that define neighboring Chablis.
If you like lighter, mineral-textured Pinot Noirs, the wines here are worth seeking out, all the more so because many of them fall into the $25 to $35 range, which, these days, is a steal for red Burgundies.
“I think we are the new world of Bourgogne with this style of wine,” says Jean-Louis Bersan, whose family has been making wine in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux for many generations. He says the wines are light but elegant and complex and can be enjoyed while young.
“We’ve got wines with character, but they’re not as expensive as the south of Burgundy,” Olivier Félix, who runs Domaine Félix et Fils, also in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, tells me as we taste his Pinot Noirs. “That’s maybe the key to our success abroad.”
After visiting Chablis, I spent the better part of two days exploring Pinot Noirs from a number of producers in the Grand Auxerrois. One of them was Olivier Morin in Chitry-le-Fort, who also cites the freshness and minerality of the wines compared with better-known wines from the classic Burgundy appellations to the south.
That may have more to do with geography than anything else. The Auxerrois, Morin notes as we taste his Pinot Noirs in his cellar, is closer to Sancerre in the Loire Valley (just 60 miles or so away) than to Beaune in the heart of Burgundy. And when I tell him that the wines remind me of red Sancerre, which is made from Pinot Noir, he replies, “Exactement.”
He points out that the region shares the same Kimmeridgian limestone, with its tiny fossilized oysters, that’s also found in Sancerre and Champagne, remnants of the sea that covered the region 150 million years ago. This soil type does not exist in the rest of Burgundy. Adds Morin’s export manager, Betty Cibien, “We are in Burgundy, but the wines are very different.”
Beyond their attractive prices, the Pinot Noirs of Auxerre are also notable for their moderate levels of alcohol, with many falling in the 12 to 13 percent range. But how long will that last?
Winemakers say that, for the moment, at least, climate change is benefiting the Pinot Noir grapes, which now ripen more easily, while the wines still maintain their lighter character and high acidity. At the same time, the harvest is a month earlier than it was 20 or 30 years ago and the future, they say, is complicated and uncertain. “If we have more and more sugar in the grapes we will have more and more alcohol in the wines,” says Cibien, “and people nowadays don’t really like a lot of alcohol in the wine.”
That uncertainty is playing out right now, with 2025 possibly one of the earliest vintages in decades, fueled in part by lots of sun in the spring and an early-summer heat wave in recent days. “We don’t know how we’ll finish,” says Olivier Felix. “Maybe harvest will be at the end of August or beginning of September — again.”
Here are eight of the best Pinot Noirs from northern Burgundy:
Domaine d’Edouard Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre 2022
Made from organically grown Pinot Noir grapes, this wine is a blend of fruit from six of the domaine’s plots. It shows beautiful aromas and flavors of ripe cherry and raspberry, with notable minerality and lively acidity.
Price: $35
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Guilhem et Jean-Hugues Goisot Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre ‘Corps de Barde’ 2022
This fresh, well-priced Pinot Noir, made with biodynamically farmed grapes, shows spicy red fruit aromas and a dark cherry note on the palate. It has great minerality, with a distinct saline note, and well-integrated oak from 21 months of aging in barrels, 35 percent of them new.
Price: $26
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Domaine Olivier Morin Bourgogne Chitry ‘Constance’ 2020
“You have to imagine it with food,” Olivier Morin says as he pours this excellent Pinot Noir in his cellar. Even at almost five years old, the wine is young. With notes of spicy, peppery cherry and stony minerality on the nose and palate, and a long finish, the wine shows that even red Burgundies from lesser “regional” appellations can develop for a number of years.
Price: $27
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Domaine Félix et Fils Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre 2022
The Félix family has been cultivating wines for more than three centuries in Saint-Bris, which is best known as the only Burgundy appellation where Sauvignon Blanc is the dominant grape. The domaine’s Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre Pinot Noir shows a chalky minerality on the nose along with spicy dark and red cherry notes and a touch of vanilla. It’s moderately tannic and is drinking beautifully now.
Price: $34
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Domaine Verret Irancy 2022
This Pinot Noir is aged in old oak barrels, so the wood influence is minimal, letting the strawberry and raspberry aromas and flavors take center stage. There’s a good deal of earth and minerals as well on the gently tannic palate. (The ‘21 vintage is available here.)
Price: $31
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Domaine Stéphanie Colinot Irancy ‘Côte du Moutier’ 2022
“I prefer the minerality and soil,” Stéphanie Colinot tells me as she pours her range of Irancy wines. “When you put the wine in barrels, it’s makeup.” Her 2022 Irancy bottlings are aged in stainless steel and are quite tannic at this point, including the “Côte du Moutier,” which shows concentrated dark fruit notes. The wine is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir with 6 to 8 percent César, a deeply colored, ancient variety found only in the Auxerrois. It’s a bottle to enjoy now with meats and stews or to put away for a number of years.
Price: $53
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Domaine Marc Cameron Bourgogne Épineuil 2023
Just to the northeast of Chablis, Épineuil also produces distinctive Pinot Noirs under the Bourgogne Épineuil appellation, including this one from Marc Cameron. Light ruby in color, the wine is delicate and delicious with aromas of ripe raspberry, strawberries, blueberry, white flowers, and wet stone. Touches of powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla emerge as it opens up. The light color and ABV of just 12.5 percent belie its intensity and complexity.
Price: $28
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Domaine Marsoif Bourgogne Épineuil ‘Croix des Templiers’ 2023
Quite austere at first, this Pinot Noir opens nicely to reveal aromas of red and black cherries, raspberry jam, violets, a hint of orange rind, and the signature minerality of the region. With its high acidity, it will continue to develop for a few years.
Price: $30
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Next Up: Chenin Blancs from France’s Loire Valley.
