Pitiot’s The Climats and Lieux-dits of the great vineyards of Burgundy costs more than $100 with shipping.
Has anyone laid eyes on a copy? Any opinions of whether it’s worth the money?
TIA.
Max
It’s the best atlas of the region. Plus an appendix has the etymology of the different vineyard names.
Thanks, William. High praise from a pro. Any others in this vein you’d recommend? I’ve been wondering if there are equivalents to Meadows’ Pearl of the Cote for Chambolle, Morey St. Denis, and Gevrey.
Well, this book is just maps, appellation data, and the previously-mentioned appendix. It is purely a reference book, with very little text.
Jasper Morris’ book is the most up-to-date reference for those villages, don’t know of any recent English language specialist studies focussing on particular vineyards. Jean-François Bazin’s Gevrey-Chambertin can be found second-hand in English translation if you’re looking for a bit more historical and anecdotal flesh - it’s essentially about the northern Côte de Nuits rather than just Gevrey. There are still things to be gleaned from Clive Coates, and a fortiori Remmington Norman’s first two editions of The Great Domaines of Burgundy. Even the much despised Parker Burgundy book contains interesting nuggets, especially if you’re interested in Burgundy in the 1970s and 1980s.
Speaking French will open up new vistas in terms of specialist studies of villages etc, but they are not uniformly good by any means.
Best thing to do is to visit and then browse the Athanaeum book store in Beaune so you can try before you buy.
Thanks for all the info. I do speak/read a bit of French, and have looked over the Athanaeum web site. That said, I think shipping one book from Europe to the US will be more economical than shipping myself to Beaune to go book shopping.
The maps are extremely clear.
The book is a good tool to understand the relative positions of specific places and names of “climates”.
The price is high. Probably is it better to buy it in France and take it home, because you have a justification to make a wonderful travel and wonderful visits in Burgundy.
It’s in French, but it’s my daily reference…
Agree with François…
Thanks to both of you, and excellent advice, Francois. Now if only I could convince my employer…
If I’m not mistaken it’s been translated to English Bill.
The maps by Pitiot show up in at least three books in English: The Climats and Lieux-Dits of the Great Vineyards of Burgundy that you mentioned, a smaller version The Wines of Burgundy by Pitiot and Servant, and the Bourgogne Master-Level Study Manual from the Wine Scholars Guild. The advantage of the Climats is the 140 page Dictionary at the end with amazing details. Let’s say you wonder (for whatever reason) if the Gevrey-Chambertin lieu-dit name of En Griotte refers to the “little short stalked cherry, with its acidic coloured juice and its soft pulp.” Well you look it up here and discover that Griotte may be a variation of Criotte, which “designates a land covered with little stones and gravel” and adding “the soil here is thin, shallow and very gravely” before going on to talk about the underlying rock.
The one disadvantage of the maps in the Climats (IMO) is that they are a bit challenging to read up against the inside margin. The maps in the Bourgogne Master-Level book are as big as the Climats version but repeat a bit of the map on both sides of the book’s inside margin making them easier for me to read.
For whatever reason, I have all three.
That’s a great overview, Gray. Much appreciated.
Do you happen to know if there’s a way to purchase the WSG study manual without taking the course? Doesn’t look like it from the website.
I don’t know Max, but seems worthwhile to inquire. Looks like both you and the WSG are located in DC.
Max: ordered the Climats book. Should be here in a week. Ping me.
This is the worst advice ever, and yet I agree with it completely 
Not the one on my bookshelf Andrew 
That said, there’s not that much ‘writing’ in it - it’s the maps and lists of crus/lieu-dits that are language agnostic…