Aligoté

When most wine lovers think of Burgundy, two grapes come to mind: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They’re, by far, the most popular (and most expensive) wines in the region, but they’re not the only ones.

Burgundy winemakers also use other grapes, even if they don’t use them all that much. For red wine, there’s Pinot Noir and Gamay. For white wine, there’s Chardonnay, Aligoté, and even a little Sauvignon Blanc.

Aligoté grapes makes dry white wines that are tart and high in acidity. Because Aligoté lives in Chardonnay’s shadow, it’s also less expensive. The best examples are from a village in Burgundy called Bouzeron. So I tried one out.

The 2019 Maison Chanzy “Clos de la Fortune” Monopole is $21.99 on wine.com and gets 93 points from James Suckling. Let’s start by talking about where this wine comes from. Clos de la Fortune is Maison Chanzy’s flagship wine. It comes from a prime spot with excellent southeastern exposure. It’s a monopole—or monopoly—which means that Maison Chanzy owns the entire Clos de la Fortune vineyard. That earns you bragging rights in Burgundy.

This wine has a pale straw color and is really fragrant, with nuts and toast and some faint honeysuckle that I wasn’t expecting. It’s incredibly smooth when you taste it, with a buttery quality that’s elegant and creamy like salted French butter, not obnoxious or heavy like movie theater popcorn. It has more body and elegance than I anticipated. At 13.5% the alcohol is a touch hot, but it’s balanced by a nice tart acidity. It’s partly oak aged, which gives the wine those nutty, toasty rich flavors too. We had it with panko-crusted cod and it was a perfect match. I’d love it with other flaky white fish, shellfish, or chicken. This could also work really well with a creamy alfredo-style sauce.

Burgundy isn’t necessarily known for its bargains, but you can find some really fabulous values when you try some of its less popular grapes. At $21.99 this is a great one.

Chin!