Bourgogne Aligote

This is mostly from 90-year-old vines of Aligoté Doré in Meursault, and a younger vineyard in Volnay; there was no lees contact this year, and it was aged in large 600-litre barrels – of which there are only three this year. The domaine ’s total yield of Chardonnay was only four buckets of grapes, so that’s in here this year too. Doré is rather on trend at the moment, even if it is unclear whether it is a separate strain from Aligoté Vert. There is always a wonderful beeswax texture to this wine and an almost verbena top note. Distinctive, delicious and, this year, quite rare. Drink 2018-2020.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

The family of the Comte Armand has owned the vineyard of Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard since 1826. The vineyard wasn’t replanted post-phylloxera until 1930, but has since confirmed its rating as one of Pommard’s very finest sites. The modern era began under Pascal Marchand followed by Benjamin Leroux and, from 2014, Paul Zinetti, Benjamin’s second-in-command. Further vineyards were acquired in 1994: Auxey-Duresses, Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru, Volnay and Volnay Frémiets. The 2016 harvest is Paul Zinetti’s third after succeeding Ben Leroux, and a subtle but discernible change is under way. The Clos des Epeneaux’s famous dense, rich, tannic composition, so individual and impressive, is being gently moderated towards a wine that will be accessible a little earlier, while in no way undermining the ageability of one of Burgundy’s great terroirs . The firmest tannins are less evident after only gentle pumping-over and a very limited number of punch- downs. A new de-stemming machine is also delivering much better quality whole berries. This is a vintage which reveals a whole new, sunnier and accommodating aspect of the Clos’s character.

This is mostly from 90-year-old vines of Aligoté Doré in Meursault and a younger vineyard in Volnay belonging to the estate. Vinified in 500- and 600-litre puncheons, the wine has lovely notes of citrus and pineapple, with an indulgent side-order of old-vine creaminess. Drink 2019-2024.

Paul Zinetti was realistic yet confident in the quality of his 2017s. Such an early harvest, which started in Volnay Frémiets on 3rd September and ended in Auxey on 11th September, provided new challenges which Paul addressed creatively and sympathetically. The wines were fruity and direct but he found that colour and structure were slow to come, so he kept the wine on skins for a week or more after fermentation. There is less whole-bunch this year as the stems weren’t always fully ripe, but his de-stemmer preserves a lot of whole berries anyway. He will bottle all the reds before Christmas without filtration but he will trial some fining to round out the tannins.