BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ 2020 (Domaine Maillard)

TERROIR

The Bourgogne Aligoté appellation is the only one in Burgundy to mention the name of the grape variety, Aligoté. Probably indigenous, the latter occupied an important place among the white grape varieties of Burgundy. Its winegrowing is nowadays concentrated in the villages of Pernand-Vergelesses and Puligny-Montrachet, but also in Chablis and in the Côte Chalonnaise.

The parcels of Aligoté do not exceed 36 ares. The vines are planted on soils that date from the Upper Jurassic, between -160 and -154 million years ago. They are composed of limestone marls which have sedimented in a warm sea whose depth has varied following its progressive regression.
These limestone marls are covered with a layer of colluvium carried by the Rhoin, a layer thick enough to hide the mother rock.
Naturally well-drained, these soils offer the vines a privileged position which prevents them from blocking their maturity during the hot years, as it can sometimes be the case on the slopes.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The grapes are harvested manually and the bunches are carefully sorted on site in the vineyard: only the most beautiful and ripe grapes are kept.
Once they arrive at the cellar, the bunches are immediately pressed by a low-pressure and very slow pneumatic pressing.

The juice which flows is then vatted to be settled and then racked into 228-liter barrels (including a small part of new barrels) to carry out its alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. It continues to mature there for 12 to 18 months depending on the vintage.
During the ageing phase, the must is regularly stirred in order to put the lees in suspension and to bring roundness to the wine.

Once the ageing is over, the must is fined and filtered before being bottled.