Bordeaux and Burgundy: two system logics, no ranking

The standard

A comparable frame of reference requires that both sides be named on the same level. Where a single site is set against an entire estate, the sentence compares two different magnitudes.

Criteria

• Both sides stand on the same level: site against site, estate against estate
• The role of the assemblage is named, because it shifts the reference unit
• The number of grape varieties counts as a system feature, not as an advantage
• The comparison names what it means to measure: structure, resolution of origin or course of ageing

Distinction

System logic ≠ ranking: two systems of origin can be distinguished without one standing above the other. System logic ≠ appellation logic: the latter governs admissibility, the former the reference unit of a statement about origin. Where a comparable frame of reference is missing, it is not two regions being compared but two habits of speech.