Ask anyone to name a white wine from Burgundy and chances are you’ll get the familiar refrain of Chardonnay. No surprise! Many “in the know” wine folks don’t even realize Aligoté exists. And amongst the wine savants who do, Aligoté parades around under numerous aliases - Chaudenet Gras, Giboudot Blanc, Griset Blanc, Plant Gris and Troyen Blanc. Never mind that Aligoté has its own appellation.
So why is Aligoté considered Chardonnay’s ugly stepsister? It could be that wines made from Aligoté are often deemed as tasting thin and acidic. So much so that as much as 15% Chardonnay can be blended with Aligoté, to round it off, in order to make Bourgogne Aligoté AOC a wine that many consider only suitable as a quaffing wine. Adding to this insult, if one ever requires a wine aperitif ‘cocktail’ Aligoté is believed the prefect base wine for mixing with sweet cassis to make Kir, no doubt because of its economical price.
Even French wine producers have shunned Aligoté. In Burgundy, the vineyard area of Aligoté plantings covers barely an eighth of its supposedly superior cousin, Chardonnay. The Aligoté grape is also relegated to the nether and poorer vineyard sites at the tops of the slopes. Here in these colder areas the grape persists and ripens, producing a wine with aromas of citrus and apples sometimes with herbal nuances.
Drive south, through Burgundy’s Cote d’Or with a grower, and he/she might just point out some Aligoté vines along the fringes of the area; and a little more of it in the Mâcon and in the Côte Chalonnaise. Last month, I visited Laurent Ponsot, of Domaine Ponsot, who is an icon in Burgundy and produces one of the finest Clos de la Roche wines. Down in his cellar, I had prepared myself to taste red wines, and imagine my surprise when I was greeted with a barrel sample of a white wine. What I held in my hand was nothing short of exceptional. On the nose the wine was pure with citrus aromas allied with pear and a hint of white florals. In the mouth, there was such an intensity of flavour; it opened up and was broad and textured, yet quite fine with good structure and a long finish. “What an excellent white Burgundy – a grand Cru Chardonnay perhaps” I remarked. But Laurent said quietly, “A Morey St. Denis, 1er Cru, ‘Clos de Monts Luisants’ – a 100% Aligoté”.
Now did I have a story to write!
Why not Chardonnay? After all, it had the good looks and reputation. For Laurent, the choice was simple. But first, the history lesson. To explain why Chardonnay is so popular in Burgundy today, one had to go back in time – to the late 1800’s. A phylloxera epidemic had wiped out most of the crops and desperate winegrowers choose to plant Chardonnay only because it ripened well and produced good wines much earlier than Aligoté. Laurent attests Aligoté is the superior grape. His ancestor must have come to the same conclusion in 1911 when he decided not to replant the family’s Clos Monts Luisants with Chardonnay but Aligoté. Until the late 1960’s the Clos Monts Luisants still contained some Chardonnay that had survived the scourge. But today, having uprooting all the remaining Chardonnay vines, Laurent Ponsot proudly attests to producing the only 1er Cru Aligoté in the Cotes de Nuits!
Aligoté also thrives in the Bouzeron village, located in the Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy’s southernmost sub region. Here, producers have discovered that when limited to yields of to about 45 hl/ha (usually the grape produces 25% more) Aligoté produces outstanding grapes. Because of this success, Aligoté now has its home in Bouzeron – the only village in Burgundy where Aligoté is cultivated exclusively on the slopes, hence it’s own appellation. In 1997, Bouzeron gained its well-deserved AOC status. Taste any Bouzeron- Aligoté AOC wine and you will detect white florals, minerals, cooked pastry and has a charming mouth feel. Another champion of Aligoté must surely be Aubert de Villaine, one of the directors of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. This co-owner of the holy grail of vineyards has himself, over 10 hectares of Aligoté planted in the Bouzeron appellation. De Villiane, explains that the topography of Bouzeron is an ideal fit for Aligoté. Here, topsoil of marl and limestone is not very deep and as such the Aligoté vine produces less leaves, resulting in more concentration in the grapes and resulting wines. As I tasted a delightful Domaine A. et P. de Villaine Bouzeron, it confirmed for me that the days of Aligoté playing second fiddle to Chardonnay are gone.
So where can we find more Aligoté? My research reveals that Aligoté can be found in the Rhone, in Eastern Europe, Chile and California. But the best examples remain in Burgundy. It is interesting to note that that some of the best wine growers in Burgundy produce Aligoté wines – Coche-Dury, Michel Lafarge, Jayer-Gilles, Denis Mortet, Bize Leroy, Jean-Marc Roulot and Daniel Rion, to name a few. And there are specialists like Florent Giboulot.
The big surprise for me was when I visited Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Often after tasting the reds, a white (yes, the Domaine makes a Montrachet) will be poured. The cellarmaster, Bernard Noblet pulled out for tasting a bottle of white wine. It was incredibly complex with butter, hazelnuts, truffle, rice pudding and crème caramel. Yet it was refreshing with minerals, had a velvety texture and lots of volume one finds in youthful whites. Could this have been the Montrachet? What a surprise. A 1996 Vendange Tardive, Noblet was finally disclosed, adding that it was an Aligoté, and a house wine that is never released.
And voila…I found out that Aligoté is indeed a belle at the Burgundy ball.
By Ed Soon - a.k.a. Broad Nose
