Quality of Bouzeron Aligotés shines at Maison Chanzy tasting
As Bourgogne Chardonnay becomes ever-more eye-wateringly expensive so the canny wine buyer needs to look for alternatives. In Burgundy that means seeking out lesser-known appellations and sites which, through climate change, have started competing with some of the top slopes. And it could also mean rethinking Aligoté – the region’s other white grape – that, in the hands of top winemakers such as Maison Chanzy, can seriously compete with Chardonnay – not just on the palate but for vignerons in the vineyard too.
28/10/2022 The Buyer
“As a late ripening variety with such good acidity, Aligoté can counter global warming. It is also more disease-resistant than Chardonnay and doesn’t require much green harvest if our work on the soil is well done,” says Maison Chanzy’s Xavier Badinand
Quite how good the best Aligoté can be was well illustrated by a tasting at 67 Pall Mall of three labels of the variety produced by Maison Chanzy from the 2020 vintage. The varying styles of Aligoté were very much apparent, with one matured predominantly in stainless steel and the other two embracing much more of an oak regime. Retailing between £18.99 and £38.99, these alternative Burgundian whites are fair value for their quality, and distributed by Alliance Wine, which began working with Chanzy just over a year ago and has a broad selection of its range.
