Bourgogne Aligoté Blanc

Since the 19th Century, generations of the Pillot family have cultivated the hills of Chassagne-Montrachet on over 35 acres of land spread across 22 different appellations. The vineyards are mainly concentrated on Chassagne-Montrachet and Pommard terroirs, but also on the soils of Santeany, Saint-Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Volnay, and Beaune. The father-and-son team of Fernand and Laurent focuses tirelessly on maintaining quality with their practices: low yields, minimal use of fertilizer and strict hygiene. All of their wines are vinified and matured in a modern winery but Laurent pays special attention to keep with traditional Burgundy practices: barrel fermentation for the whites, minimal stirring of the lees, and aging the wines in French oak barrels from a variety of forests and coopers. The vineyards are worked “agrobiologie” with care taken to see that soils are cultivated without the use of chemical weed-killers. The family is also a member of the research group DEPHY-EcoPhyto since 2012, which aims to decrease the amount of pesticides used and to better agricultural techniques for an environmentally sound ecosystem.

Aligoté is grown in a 1.21-acre parcel that was planted in 1992. The grapes are hand-picked, pressed, and the juice is then fermented in tank. After a few months the wine naturally goes through malolactic fermentation giving the wine roundness. The wine is then kept in tank on its lees to conserve its fruity aromas. It is then bottled at the winery after aging for 8-10 months.

The Aligoté is a rustic variety. It produces a lively and perfumed white wine, with peach, citrus, and acacia flower aromas. Pairs well with cold meats, salami, ham, also with snail or frog legs. Due to its liveliness it pairs especially well with crustaceans, oysters, or a seafood platter