Pataille Bourgogne Aligoté

In the 1930s it was easier for Burgundians to sell Aligote than Chardonnay. Years passed, the once beloved Burgundy grape was pushed aside, modern, high yielding clones led to lower quality wines and Chardonnay dominated the vineyards. But not all Aligote is made the same way. With some very old vineyards in his hands, from the top Aligote Doré, the stunning pre-phylloxera version of the variety, Sylvain Pataille leaned with immense respect on the third grape of Burgundy. Low yields, gentle presses in an old vertical press, native yeasts, maturation in large foudres and demi-muids for longer than his Chardonnays, combined with minimal sulphites at bottling, reveal the true potential of the variety. Energy and salinity that even the best Chardonnays of the region would “dream of” but rarely can demonstrate, in a wine that literally “pulsates” in expressiveness in the glass.