Côteaux Bourguignons, the Basic Building Block of the Burgundy Quality Pyramid

I think the general assumption is that Bourgogne AOC is the foundational regional appellation of Bourgogne, and to be fair, my WSET D3 book never even mentioned Côteaux Bourguignons, but this AOC is actually one step below Bourgogne AOC.

Fast facts about Côteaux Bourguignons:

(1) The AOC spans all 4 departments of Bourgogne, but the vineyard area is actually distinct from those of Bourgogne AOC.

(2) Producers can de-classify their vineyards from the higher tiers on the Bourgogne appellation pyramid, provided that the resulting wines are still wines (i.e., you can't de-classify Crémant vineyards to Côteaux Bourguignons).

(3) The AOC covers red, white and rosé wines and has the most generous regulations in terms of varietal mix. For example, red wines can be blends of Pinot Noir, Gamay and César or just be single-varietal.

(4) It's a relatively young appellation! It was created in 2011 to replace the prior Bourgogne Ordinaire and Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire appellations.

(5) The wines are generally not meant for ageing.

This was my first time having a Côteaux Bourguignons that I know of, and to be honest, it was not really one of my favorite Burgundies - tart plum skins, a bit rustic with green tannins and I couldn't get past the intense volatile acidity. However, at USD $16 a bottle, it's one of the cheapest Burgundies I've seen on a shelf and not a high level of investment to check out one of the building blocks of Bourgogne.