Bourgogne-Aligoté

Let’s put Aligoté in the spot today!⁣

:open_book:Aligoté, Burgundy’s ‘other’ white grape variety, may be very much Chardonnay’s underdog but in a fine year, when ripeness can compensate for its characteristic acidity, Aligoté is not short of champions and is arguably a beneficiary of climate change. The vine is vigorous and its yield varies enormously according to the vineyard site⁣.

Bad examples are dry wines that are usually thin, acidic andoften not very pleasant. Such Aligoté can be improved by adding crème de cassis, a local blackcurrant liqueur, to create an aperitif known as a Kir⁣.

:ok_hand:When good, if grown on Burgundy’s best slopes on the poorest soils in warmer years, it can make a refreshing change with more nerve from ubiquitous Chardonnay wines. Whilst it can age, it’s a wine for drinking young⁣.

Bourgogne Aligoté may be sold as primeur or nouveau from the 3rd Thursday of November following the harvest⁣.

:round_pushpin:The finest Bourgogne-Aligoté wines come from the village of Bouzeron in the Mercurey region, which has its own appellation⁣⁣⁣.

:point_up:The 1er cru 1911 Aligoté vines of Domaine Ponsot in Morey St.Denis — the only 1er cru Aligoté in Burgundy⁣⁣⁣.

2012 Domaine Leroy Aligoté (:medal_sports:90+) Herbal, flowers, Époisses cheese. Ripeness. Huge concentration, complexity, sublime, driving freshness. Must be among the best Aligoté I tasted.⁣⁣⁣
The Domaine Leroy Aligoté is separate from Leroy’s Collection label: it’s produced from avg. 55 yo vines, owned and worked by Leroy themselves, with each bottle individually numbered.⁣⁣⁣
In the vineyard Madame Bize-Leroy practises biodynamism as well as severe pruning and crop-thinning. This is clearly visible in her Aligoté which is made in tiny quantities. Special wine from one of the world’s top producers⁣.

2017 Domaine Charles Audoin Aligoté (:medal_sports:87) Pale yellow with greenish hue. Medium intensity grassy herbal aromas. Floral midpalate. Fresh with no signs of oak, acidic, but round finish. Citrus aftertaste. Edgy and young.⁣⁣ Vines in Marsannay⁣⁣.

2017 Domain Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Aligoté Les Petits Poiriers (:medal_sports:87) Vibrant, light and fresh with plenty of citrus and yellow fruits, somewhat exotic.⁣⁣⁣ 60yo vines growing on deep clay soil in Puligny.
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Gotta drink some Domaine A. & P. de Villaine Aligote!

I can’t claim a lot of knowledge on the subject or producers. I can just say that every time I’ve had a Bourgogne aligote, I’ve really enjoyed it.

Èpoisses aromas in a wine? You’re a brave man Stas!

I had Bouzerons from Julian Cruchandeau and de Villaine this month. Silly values at less than $30; this is my new favorite white.

2017 Lucien Jacob Bourgogne-Aligote is racy, pure, fine, unadorned.

I love the De Villaine Bouzeron. I’ve had trouble finding another one that I like nearly as much. Recent attempts have been Audoin and Faiveley.

Another vote for A&P Aligote.

At the Leroy Aligote price point I think Coche does a better job.

Best Aligote I’ve ever had was a 1979 Roulot Aligote:
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no experience re the Leroy Aligote, the best Aligote I have tasted came from A+P de Villaine…Kermit Lynch had it recently at $40…Is the De Villaine Bouzeron a different wine? Nick mentions it as being <$30.

The Anne Boisson Aligote is very good and can be had for $25-$30 (Anne Boisson, Boisson Vadot & Pierre Boisson are all in the same winemaking group).

Same wine. Prices have varied quite a bit.

Thanks Craig, appreciate the feedback…At <$30, will keep an eye out for it, wd not buy at $40.

My favorite Aligote is from Domaine Goisot in Saint Bris - a stunning bargain as well (under $20).

Pataille single-vineyards are exceptional.

Dore.


-mark

I understand that sentiment, but good Bourgogne Blanc (like PYCM) is often $35-40 now too. I don’t think the price has been going up out of proportion to other Burgundies.

De Villaine Aligoté isn’t something I buy to cellar but I’ll continue to try it at restaurants and buy the occasional bottle at retail.

Bourgogne Aligoté (here in Europe) is at app. the same price point as Bourgogne blanc/Chardonnay … between 8/9 € and sometimes up to 20 €. Higher only a few famous producers like Leroy, PYCM, Coche-D. …

I see no reason to buy Aligoté - usually most Bg bl. are better.
Moreover I have so many great Austrian whites available, it doesn´t make much sense to me to buy Aligoté … (except sometimes in a restaurant in France …).

I have 0.014% Aligoté in my cellar … [cheers.gif]

Craig/Gerhard: thanks for the feedback…I haven’t bought any Aligote in quite a while, tho I will keep an eye out for the Goisot mentioned by Thomas…These days I tend to drink Macons, St Veran’s, Les Setilles from Olivier LeFlaive and a number of Muscadets.

Just picked up a bottle from Ramonet, at $50, I feel it’s worth a fun try for me.

Ramonet Bouzeron is a good wine, and probably my favorite aligote (not having hadthe Leroy, d’Auvenay, or Ponsot (at least a non-corked version of the Ponsot)).

I’ve been trying aligote a fair amount recently. Off memory, the Charles Audoin was very good for its price level, as was the Jadot Bouzeron (something like $16 from Envoyer). Unlike others here, I did not like the de Villaine (at least the 2016, which I found too round, and a bit too honeyed for my taste). de moor (I forget the vintage) was probably the worst I tried. So green and bitter and borderline undrinkable.

Had previously bought a 1/2 case of the Chavey Chouet 2017 mentioned in the OP for $15. Thought that would make a good sipper. Thanks for that note

My best experience with Aligote has been Roulot. I snuck a 2014 into a blind Chardonnay lineup (both old and new world) and it unexpectedly won. Not great value though. Ramonet and De Villaine aren’t too far behind

I’ve also really enjoyed the 2015 Jadot Bouzeron that I got from Envoyer at the low low price of $13.49