Description
Domaine Boyer-Martenot, Bourgogne Aligoté
Fact: Having called Meursault home since the 1890s, Domaine Boyer-Martenot has evolved into one of its most prestigious and classic interpreters, bottling no less no less than nine cuvées with the $100+ standouts being Premier Cru titans Charmes, Genevrières, Perrières, and Cailleret. We’re mentioning this because whenever a historically rich and deeply rooted producer in a big-ticket village like Meursault releases a “Bourgogne,” there’s a good chance it holds a thrilling secret.
Today’s over-delivering $29 stunner has two: (1) it’s sourced from within the confines of Meursault and (2) it’s entirely from Aligoté, Burgundy’s “other” white grape. Aligoté is the hardier, earlier-ripening cousin of Chardonnay that was widely planted and enjoyed across Burgundy in the 19th century. Now, only a few hidden pockets can be found throughout the Côte de Beaune, but several elite producers (Roulot, Lafarge, Coche-Dury, Ramonet, Leroy, Marquis d’Angerville) are keen on its resurgence. Boyer-Martenot’s 2018 release is simply brilliant, every bit as textural, aromatic, and terroir-expressive as its Chardonnay counterparts. If you’re still reading books by their covers, we’ve failed at our jobs—this is sensational white Burgundy!
Grown in Burgundy since the 17th century, Aligoté gained appellation status in 1937, but today it is often relegated to less-desirable sites i.e. flatter land with more fertile soils. There are, obviously, exceptions, and those wines are, well, exceptional. Those listed above are great examples, but today we’re focused on Boyer-Martenot. This jewel-box property in Meursault is run with hands-on passion by fourth-generation proprietor Vincent Boyer.
His fine-tuned Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet bottlings are complemented by this Aligoté, sourced from a vineyard within the Meursault village limits. The more clay-rich soils in this site don’t fully support Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, but they deliver an Aligoté with some of the richness, depth, and precision its home town is known for. Sourced from vines ranging from 10 to 70 years of age, the Aligoté is hand-harvested and fermented in stainless steel on indigenous yeasts. The resulting wine is then aged in older French oak barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration.
In the glass, Boyer-Martenot’s 2018 Aligoté exhibits a deep straw-yellow with hints of green, and high-toned aromatics reflecting its kinship with Burgundian Chardonnay funnel out: ripe green and yellow apple, salted lemon, white peach skin, acacia, honeysuckle, lime oil, and crushed white stone. The minerality and acidity are bracing and electric, but there’s also plenty of depth to each richly textured layer that keeps its Meursault origins at the front of your mind. Decanting never hurts, but it’s not required here: Simply pop the bottle and serve at about 45-50 degrees in Burgundy stems. Enjoy now and over the next 3-5 years. Cheers!
