Côte Chalonnaise wines, accessible Burgundy
19 bottles, from €26.00 to €48.00The Côte Chalonnaise is the part of Burgundy where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay remain affordable. The bottles gathered here range from €26.00 to €48.00, with a median of €32.00 and a ceiling of €48.00, whereas the Côte de Beaune climbs to €199.90 and the Côte de Nuits to €105.00 for these same two grape varieties.
Three appellations make up the selection: Rully, Mercurey and Givry. Rully gives mostly whites, Mercurey mostly reds, and Givry appears here in red. Four estates make them, and the wines are sold individually, in 750 ml.
Duvernay - Rully 1er Cru Rabourcé Blanc 2024
Peach, jasmine and minerality: Rully Chardonnay in its premier cru version.
Duvernay - Rully Meix de Pellerey Rouge 2024
Black cherry, leather and fine spices: a velvety red Rully, made for the table.
Duvernay - Rully 1er Cru Champs Cloux Rouge 2024
A Rully premier cru with ripe fruit, cherry and violet, carried by elegant tannins.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey 1er Cru Le Clos Fourneaux Monopole Rouge 2022
A Mercurey monopole, a dense premier cru, tobacco and black fruit.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey Le Crêt Blanc 2023
Pear, peach and flint: a white Mercurey shaped by the limestone of the Crêt.
Domaine la Renarde - Rully Les Plantenays Blanc 2023
A creamy white from the Côte Chalonnaise, spring flowers and toasted hazelnut.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Grands Voyens Rouge 2023
The Clos des Grands Voyens: black cherry and violet on silky tannins.
Domaine la Renarde - Givry Champs Pourrots Rouge 2024
Champs Pourrots, a generous red Givry that the barrel never masks.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey 1er Cru Les Naugues Rouge 2022
Les Naugues: plum and blackberry lifted by leather, a Mercurey premier cru built to last.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Bouzeron 2024
A very fruity Bouzeron with marked citrus character, from the only village appellation dedicated to Aligoté.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey Vieilles Vignes 2024
An expressive, supple Mercurey, with smooth raspberry and cherry fruit, from old vines.
Duvernay - Rully Cloux Louvrier Blanc 2023
Apple, pear and white flowers on a silky texture, this Rully plays on freshness.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Rully En Varot Rouge 2022
Red Rully, supple and spicy, an introduction to the Côte Chalonnaise.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Rully En Varot Blanc 2023
A white Rully, round on the palate, straightened by limestone on the finish.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey Vieilles Vignes La Charmée Rouge 2022
Old vines from Mercurey, dense black fruit and well-defined pepper.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey Blanc 2023
A stony white Mercurey, with pear and the toastiness of the barrel in perfect balance.
Duvernay - Rully Les Cailloux Blanc 2024
Lemon, green apple, pebbly minerality: a straight, flavoursome Chardonnay.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey 1er Cru Les Croichots Rouge 2022
A Côte Chalonnaise premier cru all in silk, redcurrant and liquorice on the finish.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Givry Rouge 2025
Givry in a round style, black cherry and pepper, without a trace of rusticity.
Rully, Mercurey and Givry: who does what
The three appellations do not play the same role. Rully is the home of the whites and the lowest on the price scale, Mercurey concentrates the reds and the premiers crus, and Givry holds the middle ground at under 29 euros. Here is what each one brings, colour by colour, in the bottles actually available.
| Denomination | The cuvées available | Price | Choose it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rully blancChardonnay | Les Plantenays, Cloux Louvrier, Les Cailloux, En Varot, plus the 1er cru Rabourcé | €26.00 to €32.00 | Discover barrel-aged Burgundian Chardonnay without raising the budget. |
| Rully rougePinot Noir | Meix de Pellerey, En Varot, plus the 1er cru Champs Cloux | €26.90 to €32.00 | A light, fruit-driven Pinot, suited to everyday meals. |
| Mercurey rougePinot Noir | La Charmée from old vines, then four premiers crus including a monopole | €33.00 to €48.00 | More substance and structure, the top of our Chalonnaise selection. |
| Mercurey blancChardonnay | Le Crêt from Domaine du Four Bassot, the village wine from Jeannin-Naltet | €35.00 to €36.00 | A broader white than those of Rully, on limestone and clay soils. |
| Givry rouge Pinot Noir | Champs Pourrots from Domaine la Renarde, the village cuvée from Four Bassot | €28.00 to €28.90 | The two cheapest reds of the côte, to be served slightly chilled. |
At a glance: start with Rully, then move up to Mercurey. Givry comes only in red in this selection, and no white from this appellation is on offer today.
Find your bottle: appellation, colour or budget
Six ways into the selection depending on what you are looking for: a specific appellation, a colour, a price ceiling, or the complete Burgundy range if you want to compare with the neighbouring côtes.
Rully, mostly whites
The best-stocked appellation in the selection, and the cheapest way in. Five whites and three reds, including two premiers crus at €29.90.
€26.00 to €32.00Mercurey, reds for ageing
The home of reds for ageing and premiers crus, four out of seven cuvées. Two whites complete the range at €35.00 and €36.00.
€33.00 to €48.00The whites, Chardonnay
Seven bottles, all aged in oak barrels according to the estates' technical sheets. Five come from Rully, two from Mercurey.
€26.00 to €36.00The reds, Pinot Noir
Ten bottles, from the village wine at €26.90 to the premier cru at €48.00. Both Givrys and all five Mercureys are included.
€26.90 to €48.00Under €30.00
Eight bottles out of seventeen come in under the mark, including both Givrys and two Rully premiers crus at €29.90. This is the zone where the Côte Chalonnaise has no competitor in Burgundy.
€26.00 to €29.90All of Burgundy
The entire Burgundy range in our catalogue, from €13.90 to €199.90. Useful for placing the Côte Chalonnaise against the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits.
€13.90 to €199.90
Each dish, its bottle and its budget
These wines are not end-of-year bottles, they are bottles for meals. Here are six common situations, the style of wine that suits them, and the exact wine we would open, price included.
| The dish | Style of wine | Price | The bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appetizer, cold startersCrisp white | A village Chardonnay on limestone soil, aged in barrel without excess | €26.00 | Domaine la Renarde, Rully Les Plantenays 2023 |
| White fish, shellfishTaut white | A Chardonnay from stony soils that keeps its freshness | €26.90 | Duvernay, Rully Les Cailloux 2023 |
| Poultry, white meatsBroad white | A Chardonnay from a well-exposed plot, richer on the palate | €35.00 | Domaine du Four Bassot, Mercurey Le Crêt 2022 |
| Beef, slow-cooked dishesOld-vine red | An old-vine Pinot Noir, firm enough to stand up to a sauce | €33.00 | Domaine du Four Bassot, Mercurey La Charmée 2022 |
| Lamb, roast meatRed premier cru | A Pinot Noir from a classified climat, more intense and longer | €39.90 | Domaine du Four Bassot, Mercurey 1er Cru Les Croichots 2022 |
| Soft cheesesWhite premier cru | Stick with a white rather than a red, one with substance | €29.90 | Duvernay, Rully 1er Cru Rabourcé 2022 |
All six wines are sold individually, in 750 ml. The current vintages are 2022 and 2023: these wines can be drunk without waiting, served at around 12 degrees for the whites and 15 degrees for the reds.
The Burgundy you can open on a Tuesday evening
Let's do the maths before talking about terroir. The median of our Côte Chalonnaise selection is €32.00. That of the Côte de Beaune is €46.00, that of the Côte de Nuits €79.90. These are the same two grape varieties, the same region, often the same cellar work: what mainly changes is the name of the village on the label.
The idea that the Côte Chalonnaise is a fallback Burgundy does not stand up to the facts. Six bottles out of seventeen bear the premier cru designation, and two of them, the Rully Champs Cloux and Rabourcé, are €29.90. The Mercurey Clos Fourneaux is a monopole, meaning a plot farmed by a single estate, at €44.00. This level of classification at this price level exists nowhere else in Burgundy in our catalogue.
What you are not buying here is a bottle to lay down for ten years. Of the 17 wines, only one highlights ageing potential, Jeannin-Naltet's Mercurey 1er Cru Les Naugues. The others are 2022 and 2023 vintages and above all ask to be drunk. That is precisely what makes this côte useful: at this price, you open the second bottle without doing the maths.
Three pointers before choosing
Rully leans white, Mercurey leans red. White dominates in Rully, red in Mercurey. Choosing the colour is almost the same as choosing the appellation.
Givry comes in red. Pinot Noirs at €28.00 and €28.90, on limestone and clay soils.
Everything is sold individually. Every wine can be bought by the bottle, in 750 ml, with no pack required.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked most often
What is the Côte Chalonnaise?
It is the Burgundy sub-region that extends the Côte de Beaune to the south. It works with Burgundy's two classic grape varieties, Chardonnay for the whites and Pinot Noir for the reds. Our selection brings together three appellations: Rully, Mercurey and Givry.
Which grape varieties are found in this selection?
Only two grape varieties. Chardonnay makes the whites, Pinot Noir the reds. Each wine on offer is made from a single grape variety, as Burgundian tradition dictates.
Rully, Mercurey and Givry: what is the difference?
Rully is the best stocked and the most white-oriented, from €26.00 to €32.00. Mercurey follows, mostly red and rich in premiers crus, from €33.00 to €48.00. Givry appears here in red, at €28.00 and €28.90.
How much does a bottle from the Côte Chalonnaise cost?
In this selection, from €26.00 to €48.00, with a median of €32.00. This is the tightest price range in our Burgundy offering. Eight bottles out of seventeen stay under the €30.00 mark.
Are there premiers crus in the Côte Chalonnaise?
Yes, six of the seventeen bottles. Two in Rully, the red Champs Cloux and the white Rabourcé, both at €29.90 from Duvernay. Four in Mercurey, from €39.90 for Les Croichots to €48.00 for Les Naugues, including Le Clos Fourneaux, a monopole at €44.00.
Which bottle should you choose to discover the region?
In white, Domaine la Renarde's Rully Les Plantenays at €26.00 is the entry point to the selection. In red, the same estate's Givry Champs Pourrots at €28.00 gives a good picture of Chalonnais Pinot Noir. Both are sold individually, in 750 ml.
Are these wines cheaper than the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits?
Markedly. The most expensive bottle on this page is €48.00, whereas the Côte de Beaune climbs to €199.90 and the Côte de Nuits to €105.00. In median terms, the gap remains clear: €32.00 here, €46.00 in the Côte de Beaune, €79.90 in the Côte de Nuits.
How long can these bottles be kept?
The vintages on offer are 2022 and 2023, so these are young wines. Only one cuvée in the selection highlights its ageing potential, Domaine Jeannin-Naltet's Mercurey 1er Cru Les Naugues at €48.00. For the others, there is no need to wait; they are made to be drunk.
Which estates are represented?
Four. Domaine du Four Bassot, present in all three appellations, Duvernay, entirely in Rully, Domaine Jeannin-Naltet, entirely in Mercurey, and Domaine la Renarde, which makes a white Rully and a red Givry. Four Bassot has the broadest range of the four.
Which dishes should you serve these wines with?
Rully whites go with the aperitif, white fish and shellfish, while Mercurey whites stand up to poultry. The reds from Rully and Givry, lighter, suit weekday dishes and are served slightly chilled. The red Mercureys, especially the premiers crus, call for roast meat or a slow-cooked dish.