Aligoté

Over the last couple of years, I’ve tasted some excellent Aligoté which has come as something of a surprise. Aligoté has long been dismissed as a boring variety that produces wines with incredibly high acidity. There were only two things it was good for: cheap wine in the local bar and for use in the Kir cocktail. Kir is a simple mix, popularised by a priest, Félix Kir, who was also mayor of Burgundy. The cocktail makes a basic white wine richer and redder by the addition of Crème de Cassis (blackcurrants are widely grown in Burgundy). There’s no way Premier Cru Chardonnay is going to be used, so Aligoté was the common wine used.

All of which to say is that Aligoté hasn’t been viewed favourably and that it comes from Burgundy. Just like Chardonnay and Gamay, it’s the off-spring of Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir, part of the family of varieties found across central and eastern France. It’s an historic variety, first mentioned in the late 1700s. The negative attitude to Aligoté is seen in a document from 1807, suggesting it should be removed. Those negative attitudes have remained consistent over the last 200 years, but that’s slowly changing.

It doesn’t help that countries in which Aligoté is planted outside France aren’t associated with quality wine. In 2009, there were over 9,500ha planted in Ukraine, which accounted for 11% of all plantings; though what the figures are now may be very different. Moldova has nearly 16,000ha and Romania just over 7,000ha. In comparison, the entirety of France has just under 2,000ha. These are warmer climates where the high, tart acidity of Aligoté is less of an issue; they’re also countries where there has been an emphasis on high yields rather than quality.

As regions warm up, the naturally high acidity of Aligoté becomes an advantage rather than a disadvantage. It also makes Aligoté a very useful variety in regions which are already warm. The high acidity gives Aligoté potential for sparkling wine. Maybe it’s time to rethink Aligoté—after all, it’s been planted for hundreds of years.

There is one appellation in Burgundy which is dedicated to Aligoté: Bouzeron. It’s to the north of Côte Chalonnaise, just south of Côte d’Or. The first major proponent of Aligoté was Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, one of Burgundy’s most prestigious producers. His plantings in Bouzeron made people pay attention, but they were seen as something of an anomaly: yes, the owner of Domaine de la Romanée Conti can make very good Aligoté but could anyone else?

It turns out they can. Twenty years ago, Julien Chuchandreau, a former musician, took cuttings that Aubert de Villaine had given him. He now has established plantings just outside Bouzeron in a vineyard called Champs de Chêne; several months lees ageing gives the wine depth and texture while acidity remains naturally racy.

Buisson-Charles are in Meursault, considered one of the leading producers for that famous Chardonnay appellation. They also make two Aligoté wines: “Sous le Chemin” is aged for twelve months with a little bit of new oak which rounds out the wine with a creamy texture. It comes from a vineyard planted just outside Meursault: this is a very different expression of Meursault. There’s also “Hors Classe,” from a larger vineyard also just outside Meursault. Tasting these gives a very different impression of classic Burgundy regions.

Charles Audoin is based in Marsannay, at the northern tip of Côte d’Or. The vines are 90 years’ old, which lowers yields and concentrates the structure of the wine. It also receives a small amount of lees ageing, which adds a light creaminess to the wine.

Edouard Lepesme is based in the cool climate of the village of Vaux-Auxerre near Chablis. Because of its high acid, Aligoté shouldn’t really work here but this is perhaps a prime example of how climate change (as well as much better viticulture and winemaking) is changing how we think about Aligoté. The Domaine d’Edouard Aligoté also has a short period of lees ageing which allows the high acidity to express itself.

All of this would make it apparent that Aligoté is well suited to both cooler and warmer climates, but because of its historic reputation it’s not planted that much elsewhere outside Europe with some small exceptions. One unexpected location is in Baja Calfiornia, Mexico. In 1965, Italian Camillo Magoni moved to Valle de Guadalupe and experimented with plantings of dozens of European varieties to discover what worked in the warm climate. One of those varieties was Aligoté; even though there’s only half a hectare planted, I’ve tasted a wine made from the vineyard. TreSomm is a label which three US somms put together after they stumbled across the Magoni property a few years ago. The Aligoté maintains its racy acidity, and shows that there should perhaps be more planted in California to the north. It’s not an aromatic wine, but it cuts through fats and spices. Mexican food can be difficult to pair with but Aligoté in general has possibilities.

Is Aligoté the future of Burgundy? Obviously not. But as the climate warms and land for Chardonnay remains extremely expensive, Aligoté has a role to play. And I would encourage more wineries to plant Aligoté in warmer climates as there is great potential. Keep an eye on Aligoté.