2021 Bourgogne Aligoté, Château de Charodon, Burgundy

Château de Charodon

Located just five minutes from Beaune, Château de Charodon is the project of Louis Vallet, his brother Thibault and their father, Bernard. The Vallet family is from Gevrey-Chambertin, where Bernard is still part-owner of the successful Pierre Bourrée estate. However, Louis decided to take a different direction. For many years, he lived the life of the flying winemaker, making two vintages each year: one in Burgundy and one in the Southern Hemisphere. He picked up experience from the likes of Pascal Marchand. He made his first vintage at Ch. de Charadon – a grand total of 1,200 bottles – in 2010. By 2021, he was producing more than 10 times this volume. While Louis stands to inherit several hectares from the family holdings, these are presently rented out on long term contracts; the production currently comes from a mix of bought-in fruit and farming contracts. This is a hugely exciting project which we are delighted to be a part of.

Louis’ production is growing quickly to keep up with demand, and he has made 42,000 bottles this year. The biggest struggle is perhaps renovating the buildings around the château to make more space for tanks and barrels. While he is always optimistic, Louis is clearly much happier with the 2022 vintage than the ‘21s. Last year, he was missing several cuvées because he couldn’t get hold of fruit, but ’22 has allowed him to make the full range of wines, and add a couple of new lines. In both colours, Louis has made the kind of wines that he likes; forward, fruit-driven and generous. Like him, these wines wear their heart on their sleeve.

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.