An introduction to Domaine d'Auvenay, Bourgogne Aligote, Sous Chatelet, Burgundy

Bourgogne Aligoté is an appellation title for still white wines produced in Burgundy made exclusively from the Aligoté grape variety. Bourgogne Aligoté Sous Chatelet is arguably the most iconic of all Domaine d’Auvenay’s wines. Located in the Sous Chatelet climat in Auxey-Duresses on a north-facing steep slope comprised of chalky stony soils, the small 0.33ha parcel was only replanted with Aligoté in 1989. Powerful, with ripe fruit and taut mineral acidity, this cult wine with an average annual production of 1,000 bottles, is probably the most expensive Aligoté in the world. Neal Martin has said of the 2018 vintage: ‘Even the ludicrously priced Bourgogne Aligoté can prompt superlatives usually reserved from a premier cru’.

Performance

Understanding Domaine d'Auvenay, Bourgogne Aligote, Sous Chatelet, Burgundy

Like all Bize-Leroy’s wines, this Bourgogne Aligoté Sous Chatelet comes from hand-picked, biodynamically farmed grapes, which are whole bunch pressed and fermented with natural wild yeast in wooden vats. The wine then undergoes extended élevage on lees in 100% new oak barrels before bottling without fining or filtering. It possesses concentration, purity and energy rarely expressed by the Aligoté grape. The wine has a long drinking window of over ten years. William Kelley (The Wine Advocate) called the 2014 vintage ‘a legendary Aligoté that transcends expectations of this humble variety’.

Price Index