2021 Bourgogne Aligoté, Aux Boutiéres, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Jean Fournier, Burgundy
Critics reviews
Not ready for bottling, being still on its lees. More complex perhaps than its stablemates, with a generosity of fruit across the palate, a little touch of oak, but also more grip. The stones of the Corton hill showing through, maybe (despite being on the flat)? Excellent.
Drink 2024 - 2027
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (December 2022)
Moderate reduction presently renders the nose unreadable. Once again, there is fine density and richness to the vibrant flavours that manage to retain good delineation on the lightly stony, very dry and austere finale that is supported by citrus-tinged acidity. In contrast to the prior two wines, this is borderline tannic and mildly rustic.
Drink from 2024 onwards
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (June 2023)
The 2021 Bourgogne Aligoté Aux Boutières is a little richer and more exotic on the nose than Fournier’s other Aligotés, lemon verbena, lemon curd and frangipane. The palate is tight and controlled on the entry, gooseberry mixes with green apple and citrus lemon, and livewire on the finish. Superb!
“I lost a lot to the frost,” winemaker Laurent Fournier tells me at his winery, “around 50% in Gevrey-Chambertin, but less in Marsannay. There was a large difference depending on the pruning, which I finished on 31 March for plots usually pruned later. Those parcels were a normal crop. All the wines spend one year in barrel, not 18 months as before. I did the same in 2017. I started the harvest on 22 September. I have worked with a laboratory to create our own pieds de cuve [pre-selecting yeasts]. I will bottle…when I find bottles! No, seriously, I expect to bottle in March, though my supplier in Switzerland stopped production to conserve gas.
I don’t think it is a vintage for long-term ageing. There is good balance and freshness; the wines are open, so why wait and risk losing freshness.” The most underrated winemaker in the Côte de Nuits? I’d put Fournier up there – what he does with modest holdings often makes me wonder what he’d be capable of with a raft of Grand Crus. Prices remain cheaper than many, and I cannot recommend these wines highly enough.
Drink 2024 - 2030
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2023)
About this WINE
Domaine Jean Fournier
Laurent Fournier has achieved a lot since taking charge of the domaine established by his father, Jean, in the 1960s. In 2011, he was voted the Cotes de Nuits’ young vigneron of the year. He has since dedicated much of his considerable energy campaigning to establish Premiers Crus in Marsannay. Although he has begun leasing parcels in the Côte de Beaune, Gevrey-Chambertin and Clos de Vougeot, Laurent’s heart remains in Marsannay. All of the vineyards are farmed organically, with certification.
For Laurent, the 2022 season wasn’t too complicated. He explained that the grapes perhaps ripened more through concentration than by traditional means because there was insufficient water. However, the vines did not appear to be struggling, with no loss of leaves or obvious signs of stress, as had been the case in 2019 and 2020. Laurent doesn’t subscribe to the theory that the vines are adapting, though he does find the wines surprisingly fresh, perhaps because more fertiliser is being used after several years when everyone ceased to do so. For him, 2022 is a vintage with excellent clarity of terroir expression.
Bourgogne Aligoté
Bourgogne Aligoté is a regional Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) for white wines produced in Burgundy from the Aligoté variety of grape, which dates from 1937.
Aligoté grapes have played a prominent role in white Burgundy production since the 1600s, but are now being phased out in favour of the more popular and profitable Chardonnay grape: in 2007 only 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) of Aligoté were grown compared to the 12,800 hectares (32,000 acres) of Chardonnay. The AOC regulations permit up to 15% Chardonnay to be blended with the Aligoté.
Bourgogne Aligoté is usually regarded as a somewhat more acidic wine, best enjoyed in its youth due to its lighter nature. It is also a primary component in the production of the popular French cocktail kir, by combining the Aligoté wine with the blackcurrant liqueur crème de cassis.
Aligoté has one appellation exclusive to its grape: Bouzeron, in the Côte Chalonnaise region of Burgundy, where 53 hectares are dedicated to this unique Aligoté based wine.
Aligoté
A grape that was first recorded in Burgundy in the 18th century and is still planted almost exclusively there, though there are limited plantings in Bulgaria, Moldavia and even California. It is a moderate-yielding grape that tends to perform best on south-east facing slopes and in warm, dry years.
For your Burgundian vigneron, Aligoté is not nearly as profitable to grow as Chardonnay - consequently it tends to be relegated to lower quality vineyards. In the wrong hands and in the wrong sites it can produce thin, raspingly acidic wines that are remarkably undistinguished. However the best growers produce balanced examples with nutty and citrus hints which are most appealing to drink. The best Aligoté wines traditionally come from Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise. Along with blackcurrant liqueur, it is the key ingredient of Kir.
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Description
Not ready for bottling, being still on its lees. More complex perhaps than its stablemates, with a generosity of fruit across the palate, a little touch of oak, but also more grip. The stones of the Corton hill showing through, maybe (despite being on the flat)? Excellent.
Drink 2024 - 2027
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (December 2022)
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