The Ansonia team arrived in France this morning, after the longest stretch away (three years) in more than two decades. The world has changed a bit since March 2019, as has the market for Burgundy, our business, and even your trusty tasters. We’ve added new offspring, new family members, new customers, new vignerons and even a few new gray hairs. But our passion for France and its winemakers has remained unchanged, and if anything we bring a renewed enthusiasm for our overdue visit.
We’ve got a packed schedule for the next few weeks, and we invite you to follow along on our Instagram and YouTube channels as we post (hopefully daily) updates from our trip. And if we answer emails a bit slower than usual, we kindly ask your patience – there’s three years’ worth of foie gras to be eaten over here…
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Aligoté is having a moment in Burgundy. Vignerons have grown the grape here for centuries, but for most of that time it’s been considered an afterthought – a high-acid grape producing humble, refreshing, unserious wines.
But as summers grow ever hotter and growing seasons shorten, Burgundian growers perennially in search of freshness have begun to rethink the grape’s potential. There’s even a movement to consider allowing blending with Chardonnay for major appellations, should the trend of ever warmer and drier summers continue.
Vincent Boyer’s Bourgogne-Aligoté makes a powerful case for the grape’s potential. It’s not in the same class as his magnificent cuvées from Meursault and Puligny, of course; but it’s the classiest Aligoté we know, and a startling bargain.
Boyer’s 2019 Bourgogne-Aligoté continues to get better. The nose is floral and gorgeous, with notes of white flowers, pear, and chalk. The mouth is smooth and round, with far more weight than the grape typically offers. The finish is clean and compact, with precise freshness and a lovely dollop of stones.
This is Aligoté that would beat out many a Bourgogne blanc in a head to head. There’s a regal character to the wine that would have been unthinkable for the grape a decade or two ago. Burghound found it “wonderfully fresh,” citing its “vibrant middle weight flavors” and “unusually refined texture.” Forget what you know about Aligoté; Boyer’s refines the genre.
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Boyer-Martenot Bourgogne Aligoté 2019
bottle price: $24