Jeanniard Bourgogne Aligote Vielles Vignes 2021 Reserve Wines

Get to know: Jeanniard Bourgogne Aligote Vielles Vignes 

Tasting Note

A wonderful example of Aligote from Burgundy by talented and focused winemaker Remi Jeanniard. This is an easy drinking style of mineral driven Burgundy with light apply and citrus fruit with fresh acidity on a zippy palate with a little pear fruit and a slightly saline stone rich finish. There’s a lovely delicacy to the texture but hold in the mouth for a moment and there’s some nice concentration to the fruit too.

Try this with crab cakes served with alioli.

Producer Info

Domaine Rémi Jeanniard comes from the plot of land Rémi’s father split between him and his brother upon retiring in 2003. His first bottling was in 2004. The domaine is located in Morey-St.-Denis, in the heart of the Côte de Nuits, with plantings in Morey St. Denis, Gevrey Chambertin, and Chambolle Musigny. Rémi tends his six hectares of vines with great care and respect.

He practices sustainable farming, pruning in Spring to control yields, regularly working the vines to prevent the soil from settling, and refraining from the use of chemical fertilizers. The vines are much older than average, with all of his Vieilles Vignes village bottlings being at least 50 years old, and the Morey St Denis over 60. This gives a natural concentration to the wines which are both well structured and elegant.

Grapes are handpicked selectively, and are fermented using only natural yeasts, before being bottled without filtering or fining. He prefers to use very little SO2, choosing instead to preserve the wine’s freshness with carbonic gas, and uses barrels from Central France, the kind he believes best preserve the wine’s delicacy.