In the prestigious landscape of Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Leflaive stands as the definitive titan of Chardonnay. However, their Bourgogne Aligoté represents a fascinating, ultra-rare departure from the estate’s golden standard. While most of the world’s Aligoté is relegated to high-yield production for casual consumption (famously as the base for Kir), Leflaive treats this “other” white grape of Burgundy with the same biodynamic rigor and artisanal precision as their Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet.
The rarity of this wine is two-fold: geography and philosophy. Domaine Leflaive produces a remarkably small volume compared to their village and premier cru labels. The fruit is sourced from ancient vines, some over 80 years old, planted in tiny, prized parcels that escaped the 19th-century trend of uprooting Aligoté in favour of the more profitable Chardonnay.
Because the estate focuses almost exclusively on its 22 hectares of noble terroir, the Aligoté is often a “hidden” allocation, rarely appearing on retail shelves and typically vanishing into the private cellars of the world’s top collectors. To find a bottle is to experience a masterclass in tension; it is a high-acid, mineral-driven unicorn that proves even Burgundy’s “lesser” grape can achieve transcendence in the right hands.
Delicious stony, flinty reduction on the nose with aromatic layers of pithy white citrus, bergamot, lemon peel, sweet dried herbs and delicate limestone nuances. The texture is full in the mouth, the acids soft and beautifully integrated, deliciously harmonious and elegant, melting into waxy yellow stone fruits that coat the palate. There’s a weightless concentration, a delicate pithiness and a creamy, tangy vibrancy on the fresh finish. Super youthful at 10 years old, this wine is invitingly drinkable and an incredibly charming expression of Aligote. My first time trying it as well!
Good winemakers can make good wines in great vintages, but only great producers can make great wines in difficult vintages. This is what I saw when tasting Jerome Galeyrand’s 2024 wines at his new cellar in Gevrey-Chambertin in December 2025. I already commented the previous year, that he had produced some of the most serious Pinot Noir expressions in the “lighter and more accessible” 2023 vintage. But 2024 dished up an entirely different buffet of viticultural challenges, all of which Jerome seemingly brushed aside to produce one of the most complete and impressive line-ups of red and white wines of the vintage.
But for Jerome, the hard work never ends, because as soon as his back breaking toiling finishes in the vineyards, it continues in his new winery in Gevrey-Chambertin where he vinifies all his wines. But that’s not where it stops. For the past several years, Jerome has made an annual pilgrimage to London after harvest to showcase his newly bottled releases with his exclusive UK agent Musigny Wines, alongside a selection of recent back vintages. This year, Jerome and Musigny Wines hosted two superb private client tasting dinners that I was gratefully invited to.
Andrew Pavli from Musigny Wines with Jerome Galeyrand.
The first event was held in London’s Wimbledon Village at Light on the Common restaurant. A relaxed jovial evening, Jerome used this setting to show off a stunning selection of his newly bottled 2024 wines. Tasting through Jerome’s finished bottlings, not only were my enthusiastic En-primeur barrel scores and reviews vindicated, but they started to look almost conservative in nature compared to how the wines were showing in their completed state. Sitting alongside two very big Burgundy collectors for the evening, their reaction to Jerome’s 2024 wines was very insightful – both of them were simply blown away with the quality of the wines, and this was after both had already tasted many of Burgundy’s top domaines’ new releases during January’s En-primeur tasting week.
Below is the stunning selection of 2024s presented by Jerome:
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Bouzerons Cran 2024
A classical expression boasting the complexity of this village, packing in musky talc perfume, limestone minerality, lemon bon bons and a chalky sherbety depth. The acids are intense and tangy, the fruit weight fleshy, concentrated and glycerol.
Deep and broody, this shows depth and beautifully perfumed complexity, full of black cherry, saline cassis, and wild strawberry. Super precise, steely and tightly wound with piercing length. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes 2024
The 2024 NSG announces itself from the glass with aromas of damson plums, blueberries, Christmas spices, dark chocolate and delicate woodsmoke nuances. Medium-bodied, this impressive young wine is ample, fresh and perfumed with a sweet core of broody black berry fruits, powdery tannins, and an elegant persistence. This fourth vintage could be Jerome’s best yet.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice 2024
The aromatics resonate with rose petals, pink musk, lavender, and red cherry rock candy over subtle limestone nuances. The focus and the precision marry tart tangy acids, silky tannins and fleshy red and black berry fruits in a seamlessly balanced expression that rides high on its purity and finesse! Simply enchanting.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin En Billard 2024
An enticing aromatics of strawberry candies, violets, and cherry sherbet with a delicate undertone of limestone minerality. The concentration is massive with layers of unctuous black plum, black berry fruits, and strawberry jam nuances. Wow, what concentration and power. This is simply knock out.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin En Croisettes 2024
A seductive aromatics with a blueberry and black cherry lift, violets and saline cassis with a maritime nuance and a bloody, steely strictness. The concentration is intense, piercing with tart tangy acids and a rich, generous fleshy plummy finish. Very classy but also quite classically structured.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Marsannay Clos du Roy 2024
A mere 3 barrels (900 bottles) produced in 2024 of this benchmark expression that shows delicate notes of potpourri pressed violets, rose water and black cherry. The focus, purity and precision are phenomenal, seamless finesse, perfect ripeness, and a magical balance. This is not to be missed.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Cotes de Nuits Village Les Retraits 2024
This iconic vineyard next door to Frederic Mugnier’s Clos de la Marechale Monopole offers an intricacy and complexity almost unmatched. Layered aromatics with limestone, chalk, sapidity, wood spice and black cherry follow to a fully loaded palate packed with bramble berries, blueberries, piercing salinity and a velvety concentration that leaves you gasping for more. Massive concentration, effortless power, and undoubtedly one of Jerome’s finest Retraits expressions to date.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Meursault Village 2024
Aged for 14 months in barrel, 25% new oak, this is another very classy expression of Meursault with complex aromatics of green apple, lemon grass, and wet stone minerality. Youthful and punchy, the depth and power are eye-watering, full throttle tangy acidity, green apple cordial, white peach and a leesy, oatmeal biscuity depth. Phenomenal concentration, precision and harmonious balance. Undoubtedly Jerome’s best example yet.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Jerome’s second dinner in Chelsea featured a similarly stunning array of wines including a tighter selection of 2024 new releases alongside a line-up of slightly older vintages from 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. As always, Jerome’s opening salvo came from his delicious and highly accomplished Aligote. The Les Blanches 2022 was outstanding and certainly merits being highlighted even when tasted alongside Jerome’s superb Meursault Au Village 2024 white.
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Aligote Les Blanches 2022
Few producers produce Aligote with the verve and vigour that Jerome Galeyrand manages to illicit from this Burgundian white grape. His beautiful Les Blanches 2022 is another evocative examples with pithy aromatics of lemon and lime peel, crushed limestone, lemon grass herbs and hints of saline brine. This 2022 vintage bursts with tangy, salty yellow citrus, delicately savoury maritime notes, a liquid minerality and a finish that’s loaded with zippy sour yellow plum nuances. Such incredible energy in this beautiful expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Three superb Lieu Dit Gevrey Chambertin.
As the Domaine Jerome Galeyrand wines sell out so quickly on allocation, I normally only get the opportunity to taste older vintages when visiting with Jerome at his cellar in Burgundy. The opening line-up of reds commenced with the Galeyrand Marsannay Combe du Pre 2019, a wonderfully characterful wine that possessed all the blue – black fruit power of the best Marsannay reds but with extra sapidity, spice and mineral complexity. After another taste of Jerome’s Nuits Saint Georges 2024 offering, a real treat – tasting a back vintage line-up of his Gevrey-Chambertin En Billard 2020, the incredible La Justice 2020, and a stunningly fresh, mineral and structured En Croisettes 2019, the Cotes de Nuits only producer labelled ‘En Croisettes” lieu dit. After another reprise for the sensational Cotes de Nuits-Village Les Retraits 2024, it was time to enjoy two big guns… Jerome’s first and second vintage of his epic Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru.
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2023
Big and deadly serious, Jerome moves into the big league and knocks it out the park with four barrels of Clos de Vougeot! Packed full of blue and black berry fruits, it shows effortless power, a piercing acid vibrancy and freshness, layered with violets, cherries and pink musk. An incredibly substantial wine with taut power, structure and depth from a vintage associated with accessibility and upfront opulence.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2024 (Tank Sample)
Only two barrels produced with 18 months of ageing in barrel and bottled in April 2026. The aromatics offer up a wealth of depth and breath with plenty of earthy savoury black berries, wood spice and smoky complexity. The palate shows weight and power, creamy mineral limestone mineral depth with chalky tannins and ample black plummy bramble berry length. A very complete wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Magnum of Marsannay La Combe du Pre 2020.
The fine wine market is on an eternal crusade, vintage after vintage, to find the next big thing… and in Jerome Galeyrand, you not only have the next big thing but also the complete real deal. I expect his masterful wines to become some of the most sought-after and allocated wines in Burgundy in the coming years, and rightly so. After the tremendous showing of Jerome’s 2024s, the opportunity to visit him again in Gevrey-Chambertin later this year to taste his 2025s, the first wines he will have produced in his stunning new cellar, will be a tasting not to be missed. Collectors and connoisseurs will be dazzled and delighted when they taste his new 2024 releases – the precision, purity and focus of the wines complemented by impressive structure, acid freshness, and textural polish. These are, quite simply, wines collectors are going to want in their cellar.
The iconic Les Retraits 2024.
The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are exclusively imported into the UK by his agent Musigny Wines. For more allocation and pricing information, contact: andrew@musigny.wine
Jerome Galeyrand has been listed as one of the most exiting producers in Burgundy over the past few years, topping many wine critics’ lists of “winemakers to watch” in Burgundy in the past 5 years. His winemaking style, that is all about purity, precision and focus, has elevated both his whites and reds into the highly collectable ranks. But 2025 saw yet more seismic change when Jerome moved into his newly built winery in Gevrey Chambertin, just next to Brochon.
Jerome has also been a well recognized and highly influential member of Les Aligoteurs, the local grouping promoting everything that’s great about this often under appreciated Burgundian white cultivar. With my long running “Age of Bourgogne Aligote” series running a bit dry lately, it was suddenly revived when I tasted one of the finest expressions of Aligote in a very long time… just unfortunately from, A) a tiny production 2024 vintage, and B) from a vineyard that has now been replanted to Chardonnay. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly exciting, noteworthy example worth seeking out in the up coming Burgundy En-primeur 2024 campaign.
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Bourgogne Aligote Les Cailloux 2024
The 2024 Bourgogne Aligote Les Cailloux was actually sourced from an old vine vineyard in the Rully appellation that has since been uprooted and replanted with Chardonnay making this Jerome’s first and last creation. But boy, it’s as if that vineyard wanted to go out with a bang as this 2024 is one of the most profound Aligote offerings I’ve tasted in quite some time. Showing impressively intricate aromatics, the nose reveals complex layers of savoury leesy citrus, white blossoms, white peach, and a briney salinity before crushed limestone and lemon peel nuances. Super concentrated, this wine has a punchy, fleshy depth with a palate weight and power more akin to a top terroir driven mineral-laden Chardonnay. Wow, this really is phenomenal wine worth seeking out! Drink from 2026 to 2034+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are imported exclusively into the UK by Musigny Wines. Contact Andrew Pavli for an allocation.
There is simply no denying the global wine trade’s perpetual fascination with Japanese winemakers, whether they are plying their trade in New Zealand, in France’s Jura region or in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or. The focus, precision, balance, and purity they managed to coax out of their grapes is simply next level, whether the fruit is grown by themselves or bought in from the negociant market. Over the past two years, I have been privileged to visit one of the most exciting Japanese producers several times, namely Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa in Gevrey Chambertin.
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa’s new cellars in Gevrey Chambertin.
This domaine, located in Jean-Marie Fourrier’s father’s old cellars, was founded in 2000 by Japanese sommelier and oenologist Koji Nakada and his Korean wife Jae Hwa Park. The journey started back in 1996 when Koji Nakada moved to Burgundy to study oenology at the University of Beaune, after which Koji started a wine business with negociant fruit, bottling a maiden Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes in 2000. Their first domaine plots of land were only purchased several years later in 2012, including treasured vines in the village of Gevrey Chambertin and Marsannay.
Koji Nakada in Gevrey Chambertin
Koji Nakada’s respected negociant label, bottled under the Lou Dumont name, is a combination of the name of their goddaughter, Lou, and the French translation for ‘mountain’, which pays homage to the regions of Japan and Korea where Koji and Jae Hwa grew up. The Kanji symbol on the label – sky, earth and man – refers to the natural elements whose perfect balance is a key ingredient for making fine wines, allowing the unique characteristics of site and terroir to shine through in the wine’s purity, elegance, and complexity.
The tiny La Brunelle Gevrey Chambertin vineyard just behind the winery.
As a winemaker, Koji Nakada’s goal is to produce pure, authentic Burgundy wines that clearly show their unique terroir, made from grapes grown with organic viticulture and a minimal intervention approach in both the vineyards and the cellar, using indigenous yeasts for fermentation and only adding low quantities of sulphites at bottling. Koji also pays special attention to very light touch pumping over and punch downs to ensure utmost purity during extraction. Today, Koji and Jae Hwa produce a stunning array of red and white wines from over a dozen different appellations with fruit purchased from respected premium vineyards with vines averaging 30 to 40 years of age.
Tasting in London with Koji.
On the first of my two visits to Koji’s cellar in November 2024 with his exclusive UK importer Musigny Wines, we arrived only to be told that Koji was still in Champagne tending his precious 1.5 hectares of vines in the Aube region where he makes some stunning Champagne. So we were shown around the winery by Koji’s wife Jae Hwa and also tasted with their tall, semi-pro tennis playing cellar assistant. On our return visit, Koji was back from Champagne and was pleased to show us around the labyrinth of old and new cellars under Jean-Claude Fourrier’s old house.
My tasting notes below are a combination of bottle and barrel tastings from these two cellar visits but also include some subsequent additional notes taken during Koji’s recent Michelin star tasting dinner at Cornus Restaurant in London hosted by his UK importer Musigny Wines.
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Coteaux Bourguignons Blanc 2022, 13% Abv.
Parcel purchased in 2012 near Nuits St Georges, pulling out the Aligote and replanting Chardonnay. Potential for 2000 bottles but allows the younger vines to settle by only making 700 bottles. Incredible aromatics of struck match, flint, sweet pear, bergamot, and wet limestone. The palate is delicate yet intense, fabulously bright and concentrated with tangy lemon pastille, green apple, salty toasted sourdough, and a gently phenolic chalky finish. Absolutely delicious expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa La Hautes Cotes de Nuits Violette Pinot Noir 2022, 13% Abv.
1 hectare vineyard near Gevrey producing a meagre 1,500 bottles. First vintage 2019. 80% whole bunch. 30% of grapes vinified in oak barrels, 70% in Stainless. Biodynamic cultivation. Bright and striking cherry ruby red in the glass, the aromatics tower out the glass, perfumed, seductive, beautifully perfumed with notes of violets, rose petals, pink musk, red cherries, cranberries, and hints of darker saline black currant. The balance and precision are pinpoint, the texture silky soft, powdery, and incredibly elegant. The concentration is intense yet weightless, crystalline, and beautifully red and black fruited, finishing with tangy acids and mouth-watering pithy wild strawberry nuances. Simply astonishing quality.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Bourgogne Pinot Noir “Vieilles Vignes” 2022, 12.5% Abv.
80% whole bunch used. 30% of grapes vinified in oak barrels, 70% in Stainless. 70% of vines over 60 years old, some of the vines planted in 1908. The aromatics on this beauty are a little more earthy and dark fruited with pink musk, lilac, earthy strawberry, damson plum, and earthy black berry. The wine is impressively structured by the bright vibrant acids that are caressed by silky tannins, before pithy tangy red and black berry fruits, hints of wood spice and a long limestone mineral finish. Once again, beautiful clarity, finesse and purity. Wow.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Marsannay En Leautier Rouge 2022, 13% Abv.
A profoundly enticing aromatics of perfumed violets and lilac, white flowers, intense black cherry and saline earthy bramble berry fruits. The precision on the palate is majestic, crystalline yet lifted, cool and steely yet oh so genteel and seductive. The energy and purity very impressive, the focus, energy and strict structure classical and mineral. Beautifully sappy and mineral, this is a spectacular bottle of Marsannay that defies its appellation status but ably justifies the cult status bestowed on this great estate.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Maison Lou Dumont Marsannay “En Combereau” 2022, 12% Abv.
An enticing aromatics suggest seductively complex notes of violets, a blue and black berry fruit melange, and subtle soy and umami notes. The mouthfeel is a little more rich, tangy and fruit forward with only 50% wholebunch versus 80% on the Domaine Marsannay. The acids are bright and vibrant, the fruits crunchy and very intense. This offers incredible sweet fruited opulence with precision, brightness and crispness but perhaps with slightly less high toned perfumed intricacy seen in his domaine bottling.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Maison Lou Dumont Gevrey Chambertin 2022, 12.5% Abv.
Same production as domaine wines with a slightly lower 50% whole bunch portion employed and only 20% barrel fermentation. The aromatics are rich, dark fruited and complex with notes of earthy black berry fruits, pomegranate, blood orange, and a perfume of violets and white flowers, earthy musk and subtle rose petal hints. With Koji working these Gevrey vineyards, this negoc fruited red wine is much closer to his domaine style. The fruit profile is so cool, crystalline and pure, seductively sweet fruited and attractive, offering up a phenomenal quality not generally seen with most Negoc-fruit wine styles. This is a very serious expression of Gevrey that will definitely seduce a new generation of Burgundy drinkers.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Aligote 2023, Premeaux-Prissy, Burgundy
From over 100 year old vines (1908) from a vineyard near Nuits Saint Georges, fermented and aged in new oak. Shows attractive rich savoury notes of lemon and oak meal biscuit, buttered white toast, with seductive nutty hints. There is great intensity and concentration, vibrant energy and power, finishing with lemon herbs and delicious pithy white citrus. A unique style.
(Wine Safari Score: 91-92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Marsannay Le Desert Blanc 2023
From grapes sourced from within Les Champ Perdrix. Rich and expressive with toasty savoury aromatics of grilled nuts, waxy lemon peel, honeycomb, oatmeal, and leesy biscuit notes. The stony soils reveal themselves on the linear palate with ginger, lemon balm and limestone minerality. Rich but taut. Simply fabulous.
(Wine Safari Score: 92-93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Bourgogne La Violette Rouge Vieilles Vignes 2023
A beautifully complex aromatics of saline cassis, piercing red cherry, incense, lipstick perfume and an incredible fragrant intensity with an enticing reductive hint. The acids are deliciously tangy, the tannins taut and stony with an intense limestone minerality, black cherry and black currant intensity. Wonderfully mineral and mouth-wateringly saline. Delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 91-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Gevrey Chambertin La Brunelle 2023
0.1-hectare parcel delivers a broody, slightly reductive hint of smoky black plum, bramble berries, and earthy meaty, savoury black currant aromatics. The precision and focus on the palate are simply superb, revealing sleek, polished limestone mineral tannins, fresh glassy acids and an elegant, sweet berry fruited generosity on the finish. Really attractive style. Total class.
(Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100Greg Sherwood MW)
UK importer Andrew Pavli with Koji Nakada in London recently for a private client tasting dinner.
Maison Lou Dumond Fixin 2023
Another incredibly cool fine and fresh expression with delicate rose petal purity with hints of violets, cranberries, and tart red currant over undertones of limestone minerality. The purity is pinpoint, the palate tightly packed with saline black cherry and picante black currant fruits beautifully framed by polished mineral tannins, finishing with clear linearity and wound spring tension. A delicious glassful of wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 92-93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Maison Lou Dumond Gevrey Chambertin 2023
From the Belle Vigne lieu dit, the aromatics are elegant and delightfully perfumed with rose petals, violets, black berries and subtle saline limestone minerality. The purity is exceptional, with notes of oyster shell, nori seaweed, black cherry and pithy mineral spice. Lovely tension, purity and stony depth slightly out of the norm for this juicy accessible ‘23 vintage. Very classy but super serious too.
(Wine Safari Score: 93-94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Gevrey Chambertin La Brunelle 2017
Revisiting an archive Gevrey Chambertin La Brunelle 2017 release… shows a beautiful earthy savoury bramble berry depth, blue and black berry fruits, sous bois and hints of blood and iron. The purity and focus is clearly evident, layered with peach pith, wild strawberry, sweet guava, and exotic tart red plum nuances. The tannins are fine grained and spicy, the finish savoury and super sleek, revealing not only the class of the vineyard but also the winemaker.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Lou Dumond and Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Musigny Wines. Email Andrew Pavli to check vintage availability or to request a new vintage allocation:
It’s been a little while since I’ve added to my ‘Age of Bourgogne Aligote’ series, but after tasting another incredible wine from Burgundy wunderkind, Marc Soyard, the excitement of drinking top Aligote was well and truly reignited again. But who is this incredible new talent that is taking Burgundy drinkers by storm? To find out, you have to step off Burgundy’s well-trodden paths and head up a less promising gravel track north-west of Dijon to where you’ll find the home of Marc Soyard – possibly one of the region’s newest and most sought-after winemaking talents. Away from Burgundy’s golden slopes there are places never visited by tourists, where one can also discover winemaking geniuses like Marc.
If you head the wrong way out of Dijon (north-west instead of south) and turn up a dusty track at just the right place, you might just find yourself at Domaine de la Cras – the winemaking home of Marc Soyard. Even though his front door also has a small plaque announcing the name of his winery, you won’t be sure that you’ve come to the right place until this big, friendly, gregarious winemaker opens the front door and welcomes you into one of the newest sources of great Burgundy wine.
Marc spent seven vintages working with the famous Jean-Yves Bizot, and you can see that the pupil too has become a master of his trade. While his most noted wine is his Pinot Noir from Pommard, his intelligent handling of Aligote show just how fresh, delicious and energetic this cultivar can really be. This is a superb wine made with emotion, feeling and precision. These are definitely wines worth seeking out.
Marc Soyard Tercet Bourgogne Aligoté 2023, 11% Abv.
A dulled bronze yellow in the glass, this opulent 2023 expression from Marc Soyard captures the true essence of premium Aligoté beautifully. The aromatics are packed full of lemon and lime zest, honeysuckle, white flowers, lemon oil, Pink Lady dessert apples, and warm buttered white toast drizzled with melted honey. Medium to full-bodied in the mouth, the wine displays a generous tart apple and pear fruit concentration and a fleshy ripeness, all wonderfully underpinned by deliciously mouthwatering tangy lemony acids. The genius and talent of Marc Soyard to elevate a relatively modest grape like Aligoté to such heights of fruit texture, concentration and harmony speak of his brilliance as a winemaker. Drink now and over the next 3 to 6+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 92-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Domaine Marc Soyard wines are available exclusively to UK trade and private clients from http://www.Musigny.wine
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et Fils is one of the most famous red Burgundy domaines in the Cotes de Nuits and today the estate rests in the capable hands of Sébastien Cathiard, Sylvain’s son. Often described as a “thoughtful and focused winemaker” who seeks to improve the wines with each and every vintage that he’s in charge, is a philosophy that has helped make an already high collectable domaine even more so, with their profound Pinot Noirs commanding massive prices, elevating this Vosne Romanée producer to one of the perennial must-have allocations every vintage. But did you know that even this iconic winery produces an esteemed Aligoté white?
The 2020 Aligoté is normally bottled in around April along with their red wines after being vinified in stainless steel. Sourced from 2 hectares, 95% coming from Villiers Lafaye, which according to Jasper Morris MW, is mostly from vines planted in 1945 and 1948, with the remaining 5% coming from grapes in and around Nuits St Georges. Hitting the shelves at between £40 and £50 a bottle, this is certainly positioned in the premium premier league of Aligoté wine offerings. So how did it perform?
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et Fils Bourgogne Aligote 2020, 12.5% Abv.
Quite golden yellow in colour, this is classical Aligoté on the nose with notes of freshly cut apples, citrus oil, tangerine, greengage and white flowers. The palate is full, glycerol and opulently textural with a soft fleshy acidity and a luxurious mouthfeel more reminiscent of a Bourgogne Blanc or Cotes de Beaune village white wine made from Chardonnay than Aligoté. This is undoubtedly a serious expression that is full in the mouth, displays a fine harmonious balance with plenty of apple and pear puree honied intensity on the long, persistent finish. A lovely wine but be prepared to pay an extra premium for the fabled Domaine Sylvain Cathiard name on the label. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
Like one of my other favourite producers in Burgundy Francois Mikulski, Sylvain Bzikot is also the descendant of Polish immigrants and is a large broad-shouldered man who was known to enjoy playing the odd bit of rugby back in the day. Some say his wines resemble him, often being rich, full-bodied and expansive. But while I have heard of this producer and his highly respected wines, this was my first opportunity to make a humble acquaintance with his wines via his Bourgogne Aligote.
Sylvain is based in the heart of the Côte de Beaune village of Puligny-Montrachet making wines with real personality. His 13-hectare estate was originally created by his grandparents in the 1940s who had arrived as Polish immigrants to work in the vineyards around the neighbouring village of Meursault. After a few years working in the fields they were able to buy small parcels of land which they subsequently planted. Third generation vigneron Sylvain is traditional and respectful in his approach to winemaking and the effect really shows in the end product. The grapes for this modest Aligote were organically grown and the emphasis in bottle is all about minerality, purity and freshness, and ultimately, allowing the grapes to express their terroir.
This is another thrilling expression of Aligote that leans firmly in the direction of restraint and reserve. The aromatics are stony and mineral with notes of crushed limestone, white citrus and stone fruits intertwined with dried herbs, dried hay and a fresh fennel leaf complexity. The palate shows wonderful balance and poise, a medium textural weight enlivened by pithy rasping acids, lime peel zest, lemon bon bons and subtle yellow grapefruit nuances on the stony, phenolic, slightly grippy finish. So much energy and an abundance of mouth-watering tangy freshness with a classic wet river pebble stony finish. There are riper and sweeter fruited expressions than this Bzikot Aligote, but my money would be on throwing this into an opulent seafood and oyster dinner extravaganza for full effect! Drink now and over the next 2 to 3 years.
Jean-Marc Millot based in Nuits-Saint-Georges has been making elegant, understated, classical red Burgundy wines for over two decades and has more recently started to take on a new globally collectable cult wine status. In the last couple of years, Jean-Marc has also taken a step back towards retirement after being joined by his daughter Alix Millot as the family winemaking baton is slowly passed on to the next generation.
I first came across Jean-Marc’s Aligote in 2018 when he sent us a few samples of his 2017 vintage Aligote mixed in alongside his 2016 red En-primeur samples. With the 2020 En-primeur campaign well underway, I took the opportunity to retaste their latest Aligote release as the 2020 vintage is already in bottle and on the retail shelves, making this tiny production wine definitely something that gets the Burg geeks very excited. In 2020, a highly rated quality white wine vintage, the domaine has realised new heights of quality and intensity.
Tasted from a Zalto Universal glass, this delicious young Aligote is ripe and expressive with intense aromatics of cantaloupe melon, green pear, dried herbs and honey on white toast over an intense wet limestone minerality. The palate is every bit as expressive as the nose with a lovely mouth-filling sweet – sour yellow citrus fruit depth embellished with a pithy tangerine peel complexity. The texture is so balanced and harmonious, tangy and fresh, one sip inviting yet another. This has the glycerol mouthfeel of a serious white Burgundy with the alternative, exotic flavours of Aligote. This superb wine exemplifies the upward quality spiral of Aligote and further justifies its growing cult following around the world. Drink now to 2025+.
Followers of my blog will know that there are a couple of more obscure wines I follow with close interest and try and feature regularly. One such wine is the poor cousin in Burgundy, Aligoté. With the stellar rise of prices across Burgundy over the past decade, every plot of land has had to pay its way and that includes gnarled old plots of once unfashionable Aligoté. But of course, the grape is experiencing a complete renaissance, one that I am following with great interest.
At a recent new release En-primeur 2017 tasting, I had the pleasure to meet Nicolas Faure, a passionate and driven winemaker running a small negociant business alongside an equally small domaine in Meuilley in the Hautes Cotes de Nuits. But he is also a member of a 50+ producer grouping called “Les Aligotéurs” who champion top premium quality Aligoté from Burgundy. Created by the French Chef Philippe Delacourcelle and winemakers Sylvain Pataille, Laurent Fournier, Pablo Chevrot, Anne Morey and Nicolas Faure, members are required to have some track record of Aligoté production and the wines need to be quality wines of note. April 2018 saw the first professional meeting of Les Aligotéurs in Burgundy in Flagey-Echezeaux. Nicolas’s 2017 is another worthy addition to the premium ranks of collectable Aligoté.
Nicolas Faure Bourgogne Aligoté ‘La Corvee de Bully’ 2017, 13 Abv.
Another exciting Aligoté discovery, this time made from old vines planted in 1914. Nicolas Faure farms 0.13 hectares of the total lieu dits block of around 4 hectares of La Corvee de Bully. The grapes were picked on the 17th September which is more than a week later than most other Domaines. The grapes were vinified using wild yeast natural fermentation in old 4th and 5 fill 228 litre Burgundy barrels and the results are truly profound. There is an incredible aromatic complexity with serious layers and nuances. The nose is packed full of white citrus, cut straw, dusty minerality, bruised pears and a leesy savoury earthy yellow orchard fruit depth. The palate is no less tantalising, showing impressive artisanal winemaking that has captured the fantastic old vine fruit concentration perfectly with incredible stony minerality and a delicious depth of flavour. Everything you could possibly expect and hope for from a top Aligoté… serious vigour, balance, finesse and an almost Chardonnay-like premium Burgundian complexity. Very classy expression indeed and a wonderful new discovery. Drink now to 2024+
Jean-Marc Millot based in Nuits-Saint-Georges has been making elegant, understated, classical red Burgundy wines for several decades but is seldom mentioned in the critic’s lists of winemakers / wineries to watch out for… until recently. But the last couple of years has seen Jean-Marc joined by his daughter Alix Millot as the baton is slowly passed on to the next generation.
So no surprises then when visiting last year, Jean-Marc pointed out a lone Amphora in the winery containing of all things Aligote! The bottling and release of this tiny production curiosity wine was awaited with great anticipation. An En-primeur Amphora sample was reviewed here in January 2018…
As a firm Aligote convert, I have covered some super exciting versions on the Fine Wine Safari from producers like Thibault Ligier-Belair, Francois Mikulski and Michel Lafarge. Well, here is another cracker! 🦄
Domaine Jean-Marc Millot Amphora Aligote ‘Les Deux Terres’ 2017, Burgundy
One sniff and I felt a certain familiarity. But this wine also reveals a truly complex aromatic melange with a pronounced dusty minerality, sake rice wine notes, white citrus, white blossom and an earthy, savoury note of intrigue. The palate shows a beautiful crystalline purity, pear and apple fruits, bright acids and a koshu meets sake rice wine character. If this single Amphora Aligote is exported to Asia, well, European allocations are simply history such is the Asian allure on the palate. The finish is bright and pure with wonderful citric clarity and intensity, with the most mouth-watering edge and stony liquid mineral finish. This has cult written all over it. Drink now to 2022+
