Why it matters
The producer
Edmé Champy founded the business in 1720 as a barrel-maker and wine merchant. The red range gives that history a bottle-level form: Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvée Edme is a regional Bourgogne red, while Pernand-Vergelesses Clos de Bully names the Pernand-Vergelesses locality and is 100% Pinot Noir. One bottle speaks in regional terms; the other ties Pinot Noir to a named place and marl limestone.
Maison Champy's history changes scale in 1889. The winery building was designed in Eiffel-style architecture and equipped with a Houdard pasteurizing machine. A business founded by a barrel-maker and wine merchant now had a winery and named cellar technology. The past is something you can picture: a designed building, a named machine and a working wine house. Maison Champy follows traditional Burgundian techniques, so the old equipment sits beside indigenous yeast, whole-cluster pressing for whites and barrel fermentation.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Start with the label language. Bourgogne is the regional name carried by Cuvée Edme, so its place is broad within Burgundy's wine geography. Clos de Bully narrows the frame to Pernand-Vergelesses and a named locality. The change in wording changes the question asked of the bottle: Cuvée Edme introduces the house through regional Bourgogne Pinot Noir, while Clos de Bully asks you to follow one named locality through Pinot Noir, marl limestone and a mineral-fresh finish.
The Clos de Bully locality is on limestone marl. Maison Champy dates the planting to 1158 and attributes it to monks of Abbaye de Maizières, describing the locality as one of Burgundy's oldest vineyards. Its tasting note carries the site into the glass through a mineral and smoky background behind small red and black fruits. The marl limestone is more than a line on a label: it sits beside fruit, fine tannin and mineral freshness in the wine's description.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Organic farming and HVE certification define the vineyard work. In the cellar, indigenous yeast is used across the range, whole-cluster pressing is used for whites, and fermentation takes place in barrels. Those are broad house practices, while the named reds keep their differences in the glass: Cuvée Edme brings small black fruit, vanilla and coated tannins; Clos de Bully brings mineral smoke and fine tannins. Farming, grape and cellar technique stay distinct, so each bottle can be read through its own fruit and mouthfeel.
Wines to know
The range in view
At the regional Bourgogne level, Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvée Edme is a red Pinot Noir with a very open nose of small black fruit, vanilla and a finely woody background. Its palate is fresh, supple and round, with a lively shape, coated tannins and a tart finish. The wine moves from dark fruit and vanilla through fine wood to a palate that stays rounded before the tart close.
Clos de Bully changes the register through a named locality and a single grape. Pernand-Vergelesses Clos de Bully is 100% Pinot Noir, dark garnet in colour, with small red and black fruits over mineral and smoky notes linked to the marl limestone. Its red and black fruit, mineral background and fine tannins give the more specific place a different bottle shape from the regional Bourgogne red.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvée Edme is the first bottle to try because its regional Bourgogne name and Pinot Noir grape make the place and variety visible from the label onward. The nose is very open, with small black fruit and vanilla over a finely woody background. On the palate, it is fresh, supple and round, with a lively shape, coated tannins and a tart finish. The bottle joins place, grape, aroma, mouthfeel and finish in a clear sequence. Begin here with the regional red, then let the rest of the range add more specific place names.