2015 Didier Montchovet Bourgogne Aligoté

Region: Burgundy < France
Grapes: Aligoté
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: certified biodynamic, conserves rainwater and repurposes throughout the year, operates the wine cellar by gravity only, 30-70 year old vines, fermented in inert, enameled vats, aged 6 months; 12.5% ABV
Winemaker: Didier Montchovet

Burgundy is the historic home of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as we all know but Aligoté is the regions unsung hero. We’ve stumbled across a few of incredible quality recently, mostly because the large négoces have ignored the grape in favor of Chardonnay. Thanksfully, however, the remaining older vines have fallen into the hands of small producers like Didier Montchovet. who has slowly grown his estate from just half a hectare to 9.2, keeping with the same vineyards-first philosophy and turning out stunning wines with low intervention. As you’ll see with both the Aligoté and his Crémant de Bourgogne, also featured this month, Didier captures the terroir of his land with wines that are deep and soulful. Bright and aromatic, this wine is full of lemon merengue and lees-y goodness. There’s a note of pie crust and a rich mouthfeel, cleaned up with zippy acid and a long, savory finish. Bring it on with any of your latke versions or other celebratory fried foods, and it will cleanse your palate like no other. Or, go the other direction and pair with sushi – she’s a super versatile food wine!