Domaine de Villaine Bouzeron Aligoté 2024

Domaine de Villaine makes this Bouzeron from Aligoté, in the first village of the Côte Chalonnaise south of Beaune. Bouzeron is the only village appellation in Burgundy given over entirely to Aligoté, a grape often overlooked but capable of real precision on the right ground. The estate farms organically, with vineyards on slopes between 270 and 350 metres on poor soils high in limestone. That altitude and cool exposure hold the fruit's fresh acidity, while the limestone drives a chalky, mineral character and demands low yields of ripe, healthy grapes. The wine is vinified to keep it linear and unadorned, without new oak, so the site speaks clearly rather than the cellar. The colour is pale with green highlights. The nose is fresh and precise, lemon and green apple over white flowers and a touch of citrus peel. The palate is crisp and taut, with a fine, stony minerality, a saline lift and a subtle almond note on the finish. At 13% it stays bright and dry. Serve well chilled at 9 to 11 degrees.