A quick 30 aligotés from 2015 for you. 2015 certainly offers good ripeness but rarely a flabby experience. The vast majority of these wines are available ex-domaine for less than €10 – some significantly so – of-course your (pricing) mileage may vary when buying locally.
The wines…
Bright fresh and citrus – very appealing. Good volume in the mouth and a nice halo of acidity to this wine – not particularly intense, but mouth-watering flavour and long finishing too – suggestions of honey in the finish. This is simply a delicious wine – and its only the first wine!
2015 Jean-François et Pierre-Louis Bersan (St.Bris), Bourgogne Aligoté
More depth to this nose – chunky fruit. In the mouth, a little like the nose the fruit is a little lumpy maybe there’s a hint of sulfur here? But there’s good volume and concentration and certainly more weight of finishing flavour – it’s just less delicious than the last today.
2015 Denis Père et Fils, Bourgogne Aligoté
40 year-old vines.
A wide nose, not particularly fruit driven. Plenty of volume in the mouth – a savoury style of wine, certainly with a some salinity and complexity. Interesting, complex, a little perfumed as well as saline – I expect a great wine with food – but less delicious than most alone…
2015 Sylvain Dussort, Bourgogne Aligoté
A little reduction, a little agrume fruit on the nose. There’s plenty of concentration here, nice layers of flavour too. Long finishing. Quite good…
2015 Domaine de Jobeline, Bourgogne Aligoté
A deep nose, a nose that suggests not much sulfur in elevage. Fresh, bright, intense and layered. This has a kind of bruised apple fruit but really I surprise myself by saying it tastes very attractive. Clean finishing. Yum!
2015 Edmond Chalmeau, Bourgogne Aligoté
Nice, deep, faintly reduced nose, slowly adding a little pyrazine-style herbaciousness. In the mouth the texture is quite silky with modest fat – good balancing acidity – a green herb component again, but still quite an attractive wine.
2015 Pascal Bouchard, Bourgogne Aligoté
Not so deep a nose, but the width of aroma is quite nice. Lovely in the mouth, with energy, layers of fresh and ebullient flavour. Fine finishing with an intense and persistent line of flavour. This is lovely!
Here is a bright and intense nose – almost vibrant with quince. Hmm, this is rather forward with its acidity, almost a little tart, yet the flavour as it settles and moves across the palate is really very attractive, and this is the first wine that makes me think of minerality in the finishing flavours. Super, and maybe even a phenolic kiss in the finish!
2015 Clotilde Davenne, Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles Vignes
75 year-old vines…
This is quite a deep nose – fresh too. Plenty of gas left in this but it’s still bright and ebullient, lots of energy, a great line of flavour moving into the finish too. There’s a small component here that is distracting me from what is otherwise a really great performance. As it develops in the glass it focuses and adds more salinity. 95% excellent!
2015 Domaine du Remparts (St.Bris), Bourgogne Aligoté
Not the most overt nose, yet slowly it adds a hint of herb. Sweet, wide, quite weighty flavour. There’s a herby component here too. But it’s tasty as moves into the finish…
A modest nose, something faintly sweet in the depth, but only that. A little reductive flavour but it’s anyway interesting and tasty – plenty of mid-palate concentration and plenty of complexity. This is very good, and holds an excellent line of flavour into the finish. Super!
40 year-old vines.
Bright, peppy, grapefruit nose. Some gas, plenty of energy, lots of width of fresh flavour. Intense and very, very tasty. Super wine!
2015 Domaine Felix, Bourgogne Aligoté
Almost 40 year-old vines.
Hmm, this is also very good – fresh fruit with a faint, sweet citrus. In the mouth this is much more tart after the last – mouth-watering, getting better as I become accustomed to it. Perhaps better to leave this as an apero – the acidity is to the fore – but the flavours are very lovely…
Fresh, bright nose. Nice in the mouth with plenty of volume – good concentration too, of insinuating flavour, layers of flavour. Hmm, this is excellent, despite a little caramel oak flavour in the finish.
Fresh but seemingly a little oaky nose. Bright, layered, energetic in the mouth – frankly this is an absolutely delicious wine, despite the trace of oak. Super-yum!
2015 Les Heritiers St.Genys, Bourgogne Aligoté
60 year-old vines
A fresh nose, but the most attractive yet. In the mouth this is full – plenty of volume, lots of insinuating flavour too – intense and layered finishing. Rather concentrated and quite a tasty wine, needs just a hint more freshness.
2015 Jean-Claude Royet, Bourgogne Aligoté
Quite fresh, very faintly citrus. Good freshness and a growing intensity of flavour – a persistent flavour in the finish too – it holds really well. Quite good.
Over 80 year-old vines.
A modest nose but it’s both fresh and attractive. Good volume, lots of flavour intensity – a little agrume, a little saline. This is very good indeed – almost mineral in the finish too. Excellent!
2015 Domaine de l’Ecette (Daux Vincent), Bourgogne Aligoté
A very herby nose – it’s not an invitation to drink! Better in the mouth, indeed this is quite tasty – but I can’t get over the nose….
Fresh, faintly oaked – quite attractively done. Good volume, round, fresh and with good energy. Delicious with a fine finishing intensity. Absolutely yum!
Fresh, wide, complex and very attractive. In the mouth too this has plenty of volume, and an intense, persistent flavour – not quite as attractive as the nose but not bad – I find lots of interest here and very little that detracts – big, complex and very interesting. Yum! For just €7, ex-domaine, it’s impossible not to recommend!
Nearly 40 year-old vines.
Fresh and wide, some herby complexity. Hmm, this is pretty good, really mouth-watering, sweet fruit flavour. Lots of weight here – absolutely delicious!
2015 Domaine Chevrot, Bourgogne Aligoté Tileul
Over 50 year-old vines.
A rather oaky nose but with freshness too. Good shape in the mouth, round but slowly melting over the palate – plenty of oak flavour too. A delicious wine with a little too much oak for me today – return in 2 years(?)
2015 Cave des Vignerons de Buxy, Bourgogne Aligoté
Nice, subtle reduction, depth but still freshness too. Definitely fresh in the mouth – direct and mouth-watering – almost tart. Love the finish though, waves of mouth-watering flavour.
2015 Cave des Vignerons de Buxy, Bourgogne Aligoté Château du Cray
Hmm – bright, overt, attractive fresh aligoté! In the mouth this is a little less energetic, seemingly mineral, wine, missing attractiveness. A great nose but less interesting in the mouth…
2015 Cave des Vignerons de Buxy, Bourgogne Aligoté Domaine de la Guiche
A tighter nose than most – faintly citrus. Quite large in the mouth, some complexity and a modest energy. Nice mouth-watering flavour complexity though. Long finishing….
2015 Domaine Perraud, Bourgogne Aligoté
A nice nose, perhaps with a modest mineral reduction. Some gas. Freshness and melting flavour – again a suggestion of minerality. Hmm – this has a very lovely finish – yum!
And to finish, two Bouzerons:
An oaky freshness of aromatic. Very nice in the mouth, wide, growing intensity, lovely intensity and waves of oak-inflected flavour. This is very tasty wine indeed, really tasty, but a little oaky for today – have patience.
2015 Domaine de l’Ecette (Daux Vincent), Bouzeron Les Corcelles
The nose is very savoury – it’s not particularly attractive. In the mouth it’s really much better with lots of intensity and very tasty flavour – there’s a background note that reminds of the nose. Shame. Half a great wine… seemingly.