Dominik Mueller

I started things off in January with a nice Aligoté flight. The three wines you see in the picture below are the Bourgogne-Aligotés from Dominique Lafon, Remoissenet, and Alice et Olivier De Moor, respectively. They were not the latest expressions and thus had a little age on them. The Remoissenet a bit more so with the 2018 vintage, bringing it closer to the latter part of its drinking window. Still, all three wines were in good order storage-wise and age-wise, so let's get into it!

Aligoté in Burgundy

The variety has been growing in popularity lately as a new generation of vignerons in Burgundy is taking it more seriously again. More than 1,500 hectares of Aligoté vines are planted in Burgundy. The wines, which must be made out of 100% Aligoté these days, are typically dry, crisp and fresh in style, with high acidity, and made to be drunk young.

2018 Remoissenet Père et Fils Bourgogne-Aligoté

The Remoissenet was the weightiest of the trio. High intensity fruit flavours, good length, just not very much depth in terms of other components and complexity. This is still a good wine that, to be fair, I presume had more freshness on offer when it was younger.

2020 Dominique Lafon Bourgogne-Aligoté

I'd already tasted this wine about half a year earlier and I didn't have much to change in my tasting note: Impeccable balance, just the right degree of succulence versus freshness. This Aligoté is very well-made, charming, refreshing, drinking nicely. Just what you're looking for. The best amongst these three wines, in my opinion.

2020 Alice et Olivier De Moor Bourgogne-Aligoté

This wine left me wondering. Is it natural or conventional? Something of both. Fresh citrus on the taste. The nose was impaired, with hints of volatility. You could drink around the VA, but it's still not something I like to find in my wines. Plenty of CO2 and slight green notes suggested potential issues with this De Moor 2020 wine. Two tasting notes on CT confirmed my thoughts, beyond bottle variation. The weakest of the trio, but I'll seek a De Moor Aligoté from another vintage. Given the producer's reputation, Alice et Olivier De Moor can surely make more solid wines.