Bourgogne's Grape Revolution: The Renaissance of Aligote

Though sharing genetic material with Chardonnay, being offspring from the same parents, Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, Aligoté has not always enjoyed the same recognition as Chardonnay. Its lineage was already well-recognised as early as the 17th Century. A few synonyms exist including “Plant de Trois” used in Gevrey and Châtillon, with reference to its three bunches per cane. Before phylloxera, Aligoté was considered an equal to Chardonnay, and was found planted in Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet. Though naturally vigorous as a variety, it gradually lost ground to the easier-to-cultivate Chardonnay that was producing more pleasing and accessible wine. In fact, its hardy ability to withstand the cold and tough environments had it relegated to being planted on less favourable locations, leaving the better vineyard sites in favour of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir after the ravages of phylloxera in Bourgogne. Even though there now still exist parcels of Aligoté in Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Pernand-Vergelesses amongst other villages, its plantings dwindled substantially, making it the second white grape variety of Bourgogne. Difficult to grow well in less favourable locations, Aligoté gained the notoriety of making tart neutral wines. At the end of the Second World War, the mayor of Dijon, Canon Félix Kir, made an effort to promote Aligoté by using the wine as the base of the eponymous cocktail, blended with a dash of Crème de Cassis to make it more palatable. He could not have anticipated that it would take three quarters of a century for Aligoté to make its comeback as a serious grape variety.

 

Perfect cheese pairing with Aligote wines from Bourgogne: Dome de Vezelay and Comte

With an area under vines of 1,800 ha, Bourgogne represents around 5% of the world’s total plantings of this variety. Elsewhere in France, only another 200 ha exist. According to “Wine Grapes” by Jancis Robinson et al, the majority of the world’s plantings are found in Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and parts of Russia), with about 34,000 ha. Here the vines tend to be high yielding, thus producing wine of lesser quality. Some minor plantings can be found in Switzerland, California, Washington, Canada and Australia. To make high quality wine from Aligoté, it is important to control its yield.

Therefore, the recent renaissance of Aligoté in Bourgogne is a very welcomed development. Through the efforts of a group of dedicated growers, Aligoté is gaining traction with a new generation of Bourgogne lovers seeking wines of personality, vigour and a unique mineral expression.

 

An eager audience learning about this enigmatic variety

To celebrate the refreshed focus on Aligoté, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) kicked off the 2019 programme of live training with a special look at this long under-appreciated and misunderstood variety.

Apart from its role as a blending grape in Crémant de Bourgogne and Coteaux Bourguignons, Aligoté has its special place as the only permitted grape variety at two appellation levels in the Bourgogne hierarchy. The regional appellation of Bourgogne Aligoté was created in 1947, after a succession of laws recognising the place that this grape held in Bourgogne, a grape variety that faithfully translates the terroirs in which it is grown. Growers in the village of Bouzeron in Côte Chalonnaise understood that the terroirs in their village enabled Aligoté to be interpreted in a very unique manner and led by Aubert de Villaine, lobbied hard for this recognition by INAO. In 1979, the village name of Bouzeron was permitted to appear alongside the Bourgogne Aligoté appellation. Eventually, Bouzeron was formally awarded a village appellation in 1997 for wines made uniquely with Aligoté. At the height of its expression, Aligoté is the key varietal for a premier cru vineyard, Clos des Monts Luisants, in Morey-Saint-Denis, Côte de Nuits.

An expert from each of these three expressions of Aligoté was invited to speak about their experience with Aligoté in this edition of BIVB live training.

Sylvain Pataille explained how he started with just Gamay and Aligoté vines in 1999. He did not wish to make fruity wines, rather he wanted to make wines that spoke of terroir. He regarded Aligoté as a serious variety, that could be grown in limestone, marl or granite, in different regions. Besides the Bourgogne-Aligoté, Pataille makes 4 different cuvées of Aligoté from single vineyards. They are: the pure and saline Champ Forey, the powerful and precise Clos du Roy, the balanced and textural Auvonnes du Pépé and La Charme aux Prêtres, the ultimate expression with an intensity, complexity and minerality that is not like the others. Pataille believes in the ageing ability of Aligoté wines, and how it can develop into complex vines with 30-40 years of cellaring. When asked to compare Aligoté to an animal, he suggested “alligator”, not only for the phonetic similarity but also for the survival instincts in both grape and animal!

Pierre de Benoist of Domaine de Villaine, also admired the “wild” and “untameable” character of Aligoté by likening it to the wild horse from the Camargue, with unrestrained freedom to gallop in the wild. Bouzeron became the only village in Bourgogne to honour this variety by making it the lynchpin of its village appellation. Aligoté in Bouzeron does not taste like any other Aligoté because of the microclimates and slopes of this village and the special clone Aligoté doré.

Aligoté doré is a mutation of the Aligoté grape and has thinner skin than the original variety to allow better ripening and better balance between alcohol and acidity. Only wines made from Aligoté can be bottled as village appellation wine. When Pierre de Benoist became President of the village appellation 12 years ago, he encouraged the other growers to work with him to create a nursery to preserve the genetic material of Aligoté doré. The work based on massale sélection has allowed them to identify 11 selections of Aligoté doré that adapt best to the terroirs of Bouzeron for future plantings.

Map of Bouzeron (www.bourgogne-wines.com)

The village of Bouzeron is nestled in a dry valley, flanked on both sides by Montagne de La Folie on the east, and Montagne de L’Ermitage on the west. Vineyards adorn both hillsides of Oxfordian marl, at heights between 250 and 350 metres, thus benefiting from different exposures and the abundance of poor soils to limit the yield. To appreciate the differences, one has to taste the wines from the climats. Jean-Pierre Renard, the Official Educator of L’Ecole des Vins of BIVB, explained that climats such as La Tournelle, Les Pertuzots and Les Corcelles have a north-west exposure and vines take longer to ripen, translating into sinewy wines of greater freshness and distinct herbal complexity. On the opposite side, the climats of La Fortune, Les Clous and La Digoine for example benefit from a southeastern exposure and the morning sun, and tend to show more generosity and fuller body. Not only are the exposures different, the soil compositions vary as well. For example, Les Clous is more stoney, with more limestone, whereas Les Corcelles is more marl. While Aligoté enjoys prime hillside locations, the lower slopes are planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, contrary to other villages, and wine made from these two varieties could only be bottled as Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise.


Finally, Rose-Marie Ponsot of Domaine Ponsot spoke about these special vines planted by “Uncle William” in the east-facing monopole climat of Clos des Monts Luisants, as far back as 1911. From the 2005 vintage, this premier cru has been made 100% with Aligoté grapes from vine stocks dating to 1911, despite Chardonnay and Pinot Gouges being included in this vineyard at earlier times. With cellaring, Aligoté takes on layers of complexity, almost like curry spice with iodic character, not unlike an aged Vin Jaune. Rose-Marie Ponsot shared her experience of tasting the domaine’s 1985 bottling of Clos des Monts Luisants and how it was extraordinary.



This BIVB live training finished with a tasting of 6 different expressions of Aligoté:

Bourgogne Aligoté, 2017, Domaine Catherine et Claude MARECHAL

Bourgogne Aligoté, 2016, Caves BAILLY-LAPIERRE

Bourgogne Aligoté, 2016, Domaine Manuel OLIVIER

Bourgogne Aligoté, 2015, Domaine Pierre-Louis et Jean-François BERSAN

Bouzeron, 2015, Maison Louis JADOT

Bouzeron Les Corcelles, 2016, Domaine Les Champs de Thémis

The characteristic floral, herbal and citrus scented notes were present in all six wines, with some showing more of the flinty mineral note than others. Cellar-ageing helped develop a slightly honeyed note. The two Bouzeron wines showed a rounded mouthfeel, balanced by vivacious freshness, but could both be described as youthful with much development potential. The Bouzeron Les Corcelles by Xavier Moissenet and the Domaine Bersan’s Bourgogne Aligoté received the most votes from the participants in Hong Kong, but not exclusively, with Domaine Marechal’s Bourgogne Aligoté finishing a close third.


To compensate for not being able to participate in the Q&A with Jean-Pierre (HK missed the original live session as it took place during the Chinese New Year holidays), I decided to prepare a little something extra and special to share with my guest participants. As if inspired by Rose-Marie’s comment, I brought to this tasting a bottle of 2001 Bourgogne Aligoté from the home collection to pair with a piece of Comté 18 months. The pairing was exceptional, as a beautiful Vin Jaune with some maturity would have delivered a similar effect with the nutty savoury cheese still with a fruity edge! The younger Bourgogne Aligoté was perfect with the demi-affiné Dôme de Vezelay. 

I wish to thank Berry Bros & Rudd Hong Kong for letting me host this session in their lovely tasting room.

Comte 18 months

Becoming Gevrey-Chambertin: a village synonymous with the notion of terroir

The last edition in 2018 of BIVB Live Training by the Bourgogne Wine Board was broadcast to an eager audience in world markets on 5 December. We ended the year with one of the most famous villages of the Côte d'Or, Gevrey-Chambertin. Boasting 9 Grand Cru appellations covering 73 hectares and 26 Premier Cru climats covering 81 hectares, Gevrey is a large village in terms of surface area.  The total area under vines in Gevrey is 402 ha, compared to 112 ha in Morey-Saint-Denis or 150 ha in Chambolle-Musigny.  At Gevrey, the Premier Cru production is about 20% of the total production of the village.  Only one colour (red) is permitted here, and with a single variety, Pinot Noir.

Traces of vines planted on the plains dating to the 1st Century were uncovered in the village in 2008. Vines were not planted on slopes until the monastic communities became involved in viticulture and winemaking in the 6th and 7th Centuries. An abbey built in the village in 630 CE, at the location of Bèze, received donations of vineyards, one of which was to become Clos de Bèze. The abbey of Cluny which was created in 909 CE also received vineyards in Gevrey and built a château here. During the 16th and 17th Centuries, the vinous reputation of Bourgogne was defined by the wines of Dijon and Beaune. Then in the late 18th Century, the wines of Chambertin and Clos de Bèze began to sell for more prices than those of the Dijon wines. This prompted the village to devise an initiative to boost the reputation of the village wines. In 1847, the village name was changed from Gevrey to Gevrey-Chambertin. This ingenious and effective initiative was followed by Chambolle and other villages.

To understand the diversity of this prestigious village, Jean-Pierre Renard, the Official Educator of the L'Ecole des Vins of BIVB, guided us through an explanation of the geology of Gevrey-Chambertin. Essentially, the geology of Gevrey is defined by the presence of two combes (closed-end valleys) which cut through the escarpment of the Côte de Nuits. They are Combe Lavaux, which is the largest combe in the Côte de Nuits, forming an alluvial fan of 2 - 3 metres into the plain, and the smaller Combe Grisard.

 

Source: www.bourgogne-wines.com

It is possible to divide Gevrey into three zones. The first zone starts from the northern side of the Combe Lavaux, continuing along a semi-circular slope into the village of Brochon. (Note that despite being a winemaking village, Brochon is not entitled to its own village appellation. Therefore, the vineyards on the southern side of Brochon, abutting Gevrey, are classified as Gevrey village vineyards. Those at the northern end are classified as either Fixin village wines or Côte de Nuits-Villages wines.) For this first Gevrey zone, vines are planted from 280 metres to around 380 metres near the climat of Combe Aux Moines. The vines either face fully south near Combe Lavaux to fully east at Brochon. The soils are rich in limestone and clay. The vineyards near the top of the slope often have very thin topsoil of marl, around 30 cm. The mid-slope is largely formed from a stratum of crinoidal limestone from the Middle Jurassic period, whereas near the bottom of the slope, it can be around 60 cm of topsoil on marl. Renard noted the presence of fossiled marl from the Bajocian period, Marnes à Ostrea acuminata , at the Premier Cru climats of Clos Saint-Jacques, Lavaux and Poissenot. The soil's high mineral content or its accessibility to minerals for vine roots explains the finesse and structure of these wines.


The second zone largely consists of the alluvial fan that is formed by the Combe Lavaux. At places, the top soil lies above Comblanchien limestone several metres deep that offers good drainage properties.  This area accounts for over 50% of Gevrey's production.


The third zone begins from the southern side of the Combe Lavaux, following the hillside curve where the Grand Cru appellations are located, and finally stretching to the border with Morey-Saint-Denis.  Most of these vineyards face east, with some village appellation near the top of Combe facing north east.  The altitudes are from 260 metres to 300 metres for the Grand Cru climats stretching to 340 metres for the Bel Air climat.  A number of prestigious premier cru climats are located near the Grand Cru appellations, including Champonnet, Le Fonteny, Les Corbeaux, La Petite Chapelle and Aux Combottes. The presence of  Marnes à Ostrea acuminata is noted here, in particular in the climat of Chambertin.  

Jean-Pierre Renard, L'Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne, BIVB

Renard gave us an interesting illustration of the notion of terroir. Near the exit of Combe Lavaux, the vineyards on the southern side are less sheltered from the winds and face north east.  As a result, Combe de Lavaux and Les Marchais are only classified as village appellation lieux-dits, whereas the vineyards that are on the opposite side of the Combe face fully south and they are classified as Premier Cru climats, for example, Les Verroilles, Lavaux Saint-Jacques, Poissenot and Etournelles.

Grégory Patriat, winemaker of Maison Jean-Claude Boisset, added to the demonstration of the notion of terroirs by talking about his two favourite Premier Cru climats, Lavaux Saint-Jacques and Les Cazetiers. Both are located in the first zone described above, and separated by a few hundred metres. Lavaux is a south-facing climat and generally the vines are harvested earlier here than for Les Cazetiers. There is a higher limestone content and thus explains the greater finesse and elegance of the wines, perhaps a more feminine style with more fruit-forward aromas, such as dark berries and spices.  At Les Cazetiers, whose name refers to a little castle, there is more clay in the soil and the wine here is more restrained and structured,showing silky but firm tannins.  The style is much more masculine, with perhaps a greater ageing potential than Lavaux.  The wines of Gevrey can age very well. Patriat recalled opening a bottle of 1969 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Bel Air a week ago for a client and the almost 50-year-old wine still showed vibrancy and no sign of deterioration. 

Gregory Patriat, Maison JC Boisset (source: www.jcboisset.com)

Of the 26 premier cru climats, Renard highlighted some renowned ones including Aux Combottes, Les Cherbaudes, Les Corbeaux, Clos Saint-Jacques, Champonnet, Les Cazetiers and Champeaux.  He also remarked that a number of winemakers had started to indicate on the labels the lieu-dit for some village level production.  Some noteworthy lieu-dit names include Les Corvées, Les Etelois, Les Jeunes Rois and En Songe. 

A village with so much prestige to its name has only the reputation of its wines to defend and sustain. The current generation is working hard at ensuring the quality of the soils.  Nicolas Rossignol of Domaine Rossignol-Trapet mentioned the increased use of ploughing to work the soils and control the vegetative growth around the vines, to give the soils better aeration and improved organic content of the topsoil. The village now has about 8 domaines certified organic or biodynamic, evidence that the growers are keen to preserve nature for the sustainability of this prestigious heritage.

Source: www.bourgogne-wines.com

This unique delivery of masterclass finished with a tasting of six wines, from one village lieu-dit and six premier cru climats of Gevrey.  In fact the lieu-dit is Clos Prieur, which is partly a village lieu-dit and partly a premier cru, below Mazis-Chambertin.  

The six wines were:

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur, 2016, Domaine Marc Roy

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru les Cherbaudes, 2015, Domaine des Beaumont

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos du Chapitre, 2015, Nuiton-Beaunoy

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques, 2016, Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Champeaux, 2016, Domaine Henri Magnien

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Cazetiers, 2016, Domaine Henri Magnien

Being faithful expressions of their climats and vintages, the six wines all varied in styles. Some showed more violet and darker fruit, others more red fruit and roses. Oak was overall very well-managed and was nicely integrated, even for the three younger Premier Cru wines from 2016.  All three wines showed an invigorating freshness and a classic vibrancy, while flaunting some lovely ripe fruit, a generous mid-palate and long finish.  It was indeed difficult for us to choose a favourite. However, the most votes did go to the Lavaux Saint Jacques by Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy, followed by the Les Cazetiers by Domaine Henri Magnien.  Les Champeaux by Domaine Henri Magnien and Les Cherbaudes by Domaine des Beaumont shared an equal third. 

Kudos to this new generation of winemakers in Gevrey for having made these high quality and expressive wines. Their work has enabled us to appreciate the nuances of the climats and the rich diversity of Gevrey-Chambertin. Gevrey was a village made by the prestige of Chambertin but its future is a living tale of application, sensibility and persistence of its men and women.

Thank you BIVB for allowing me to host this masterclass and to share this experience with our trade and media friends in Hong Kong. #BIVBRDV