Section I · The Ranked Eleven
From best to eleventh.
Sorted by what each pocket does well at its price point. The number-one pick is the one we would book first given a free pick from all eleven.
No. I
The Beaune and Côte de Beaune château, eight-bedroom.
Typical: 8 BR, sleeps 16. Pocket: Beaune and the Côte de Beaune. Peak rate: $22,000 to $42,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef and full staff, arranged separately.
Why it ranks here: Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy, with the Hospices and its tiled roofs, the great négociant cellars, and the white-wine villages of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard, and Volnay on its doorstep, and it holds the best château stock with grounds and a pool. It clears the rest because no other pocket pairs the grand house stock with this concentration of the famous vineyards and the town.
What we would change: Beaune is the most visited and most expensive pocket, busiest in harvest and during the November wine sale, so the rates run highest. For the same grandeur at a lower number, look to the Côte de Nuits villages or south to the Mâconnais.
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No. II
The Côte de Nuits château, seven-bedroom.
Typical: 7 BR, sleeps 14. Pocket: the Côte de Nuits, Gevrey to Nuits-Saint-Georges. Peak rate: $18,000 to $40,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: the Côte de Nuits runs the grand-cru red villages from Gevrey-Chambertin through Vougeot and Vosne-Romanée to Nuits-Saint-Georges, the most storied vineyard land on earth, with château-domaines among the vines, near the Château de Gilly. A seven-bedroom here is the pick for a group that puts the great reds and the most famous climats first.
What we would change: the Côte de Nuits is the heart of the trade, so visiting the top domaines needs introductions and the villages are small and quiet. Book it for the grand-cru land, with Beaune and Dijon both a short drive for dining.
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No. III
The Chablis and the Yonne château, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: Chablis and the Yonne, northern Burgundy. Peak rate: $16,000 to $36,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: Chablis and the surrounding Yonne are the northern white-wine country, the crisp mineral Chardonnay grown on the Kimmeridgian slopes, with stone manor houses among the vines and the cathedral town of Auxerre nearby, the closest pocket to Paris. A six-bedroom here is the pick for a group that wants the great whites and the shortest run from the capital.
What we would change: Chablis sits an hour and more northwest of the Côte d'Or, so it is its own region rather than a base for Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. Book it for the whites and the proximity to Paris, with the main slope a day trip southeast.
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No. IV
The Dijon and Côte d'Or capital villa, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: Dijon and the northern Côte d'Or. Peak rate: $15,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: Dijon is the ducal capital and the rail gateway, under two hours from Paris, with the Palace of the Dukes, the restaurants, and the markets, and the manor houses just outside it give a central base at the top of the Côte de Nuits. A six-bedroom here is the pick for a group that wants the city, the dining, and the best rail access.
What we would change: houses nearest Dijon feel more suburban than vineyard château, so the grand setting is a short drive south. Book it for the city and the connections, with the grand-cru slope minutes away.
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No. V
The Mâconnais and Cluny château, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: the Mâconnais, around Cluny and Mâcon. Peak rate: $15,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: the Mâconnais in the south is the rolling white-wine country of Pouilly-Fuissé and the Romanesque heartland around the great abbey of Cluny and the rock of Solutré, a softer and sunnier pocket with stone châteaux among the vines, near Lyon. A six-bedroom here is the pick for a group that wants the southern whites, the abbeys, and a warmer corner.
What we would change: the Mâconnais is an hour south of Beaune, closer to Lyon than to Dijon, so it leans toward the southern wines rather than the grand-cru slope. Book it for the south Burgundy whites and the Romanesque country, with the Côte d'Or a day trip north.
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No. VI
The Auxois and Châteauneuf hill-town château, seven-bedroom.
Typical: 7 BR, sleeps 14. Pocket: the Auxois, Semur and Châteauneuf-en-Auxois. Peak rate: $15,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: the Auxois west of the Côte d'Or is the green hill country of medieval towns like Semur-en-Auxois and the fortified village of Châteauneuf above the Burgundy Canal, with real fortified châteaux and rolling pasture, the pocket for a group that wants the medieval, castle-and-canal Burgundy over the vineyard slope. A seven-bedroom here is the pick for history and grounds away from the wine crowds.
What we would change: the Auxois is rural and 40 minutes or more west of Beaune, so it trades the vineyards for the hills and the history. Book it for the medieval towns and the canal, with the wine country a drive east.
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No. VII
The Morvan estate, eight-bedroom.
Typical: 8 BR, sleeps 16. Pocket: the Morvan regional park, central Burgundy. Peak rate: $16,000 to $36,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff, a town nearby.
Why it ranks here: the Morvan is the forest-and-lake regional park at the heart of Burgundy, a country of granite hills, woodland, and private estates with grounds and lakes, the pocket for a large group that wants total seclusion and space at the end of a long drive. An eight-bedroom here is the pick for a buyout that wants a private estate over a village or vineyard setting.
What we would change: the Morvan is deep country with few towns and cooler, wetter weather than the slope, so it is a self-contained estate rather than a base for daily wine outings. Book it for the seclusion and the grounds, with the vineyards a planned drive east.
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No. VIII
The Côte Chalonnaise and Chalon villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: the Côte Chalonnaise, around Chalon-sur-Saône. Peak rate: $14,000 to $32,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: the Côte Chalonnaise around Mercurey, Givry, and Rully south of Beaune is the value wine country, the same grapes at a fraction of the grand-cru rate, with stone domaine houses among the vines and the Saône river town of Chalon nearby. A five-bedroom here is the value pick for the wine country at a lower number close to Beaune.
What we would change: the Côte Chalonnaise is less famous and the villages quieter, so the appeal is the value and the proximity rather than marquee names. Book it for the wine and the price, with Beaune 20 to 30 minutes north.
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No. IX
The Tournus and southern-Saône villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Tournus and the southern Saône. Peak rate: $14,000 to $30,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: Tournus on the Saône between Chalon and Mâcon has its great Romanesque abbey, a Michelin-starred dining tradition, and stone houses in the river country, a quieter southern pocket of good food and value between the Côte d'Or and the Mâconnais. A five-bedroom here is the value pick for a river-and-food base in the south.
What we would change: Tournus is a small town between the two famous slopes, so it is a comfortable midpoint rather than a vineyard center. Book it for the abbey, the food, and the value, with both wine regions a short drive.
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No. X
The Saulieu and Morvan-edge château, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: Saulieu, the eastern Morvan edge. Peak rate: $14,000 to $32,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff.
Why it ranks here: Saulieu sits on the eastern edge of the Morvan, a market town with a famous Romanesque basilica and one of Burgundy's landmark restaurant houses, the pocket for a group that wants the gastronomy and the green country together. A six-bedroom here is the pick for a food-led base on the edge of the forest.
What we would change: Saulieu is 45 minutes west of Beaune toward the Morvan, so it leans rural and the vineyards are a drive. Book it for the dining and the country, with the wine slope a planned outing east.
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No. XI
The Châtillonnais and northern Côte d'Or château, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: the Châtillonnais, the far northern Côte d'Or. Peak rate: $14,000 to $30,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, pool. Usually not: chef, full staff, the vineyards on the doorstep.
Why it ranks here: the Châtillonnais in the far north of the Côte d'Or is the quietest pocket, a country of plateaus, forests, and the Châtillon sparkling wines near the Champagne border, with stone châteaux at the lowest rates on this list, the contrarian pick for a group that wants space and calm over the famous slope. A six-bedroom here is the value pick for the quiet north and the grounds.
What we would change: the Châtillonnais is an hour north of Beaune and away from the grand-cru villages, so it is a rural retreat rather than a wine base. Book it for the quiet, the grounds, and the price, with the famous slope a drive south.
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