by Patrick Ogle
Alice et Olivier De Moor Bourgogne aligoté 2015 is yet another wine to make you rethink Burgundy's "other" white grape. I hesitated to open this because it is a tough wine to find. But I did because I am that way; I prefer drinking wines to cellaring them.
I was also concerned it might, like De Moor chardonnays and need a little time. There was nothing to worry about as this wine was ready to go. You COULD hang onto it for awhile but no real need. Aligote has a general reputation as a "drink it now" wine but the pronounced acidity makes me think a little time won't hurt them and this is a more complex version of the wine than usual.
The wine starts off with green, fresh herbal hints. There is less of the green apple and citrus that spring to mind when I think of aligote from Burgundy (the grape's most likely home). Oddly on mid palate I got pineapple or more pineapple juice. There is a difference in these. It is slightly bitter on the finish and has a minerality and a richness throughout. The acidity here is strong and this is a wine that could work well with rich, even oily foods. At the same time this acidity and what (to me) seems to be lots of dissolved CO2.
It is a wine to prove aligote is a grape that can reach higher levels in the right hands. You often see the grape described as the poor red-headed step-child of Burgundy's white grapes. It is just a different from chardonnay which is neither a badnor a good thing. Aligote wines can be simple but they can have complexity. As a guess areas that limit yields probably produce wines with more complexity. This is a good guess in general. When vines produce lots and lots of grapes the plant's resources are stretched; fewer grapes, more concentration of sugar, phenolics, etc.
This wine goes for around $30 a bottle but you can usually find good aligote for a good deal less than that--not as good as THIS but good nonetheless. You can find out more about De Moor HERE.
Alice et Olivier De Moor Bourgogne aligoté 2015 is yet another wine to make you rethink Burgundy's "other" white grape. I hesitated to open this because it is a tough wine to find. But I did because I am that way; I prefer drinking wines to cellaring them.
I was also concerned it might, like De Moor chardonnays and need a little time. There was nothing to worry about as this wine was ready to go. You COULD hang onto it for awhile but no real need. Aligote has a general reputation as a "drink it now" wine but the pronounced acidity makes me think a little time won't hurt them and this is a more complex version of the wine than usual.
The wine starts off with green, fresh herbal hints. There is less of the green apple and citrus that spring to mind when I think of aligote from Burgundy (the grape's most likely home). Oddly on mid palate I got pineapple or more pineapple juice. There is a difference in these. It is slightly bitter on the finish and has a minerality and a richness throughout. The acidity here is strong and this is a wine that could work well with rich, even oily foods. At the same time this acidity and what (to me) seems to be lots of dissolved CO2.
It is a wine to prove aligote is a grape that can reach higher levels in the right hands. You often see the grape described as the poor red-headed step-child of Burgundy's white grapes. It is just a different from chardonnay which is neither a badnor a good thing. Aligote wines can be simple but they can have complexity. As a guess areas that limit yields probably produce wines with more complexity. This is a good guess in general. When vines produce lots and lots of grapes the plant's resources are stretched; fewer grapes, more concentration of sugar, phenolics, etc.
This wine goes for around $30 a bottle but you can usually find good aligote for a good deal less than that--not as good as THIS but good nonetheless. You can find out more about De Moor HERE.
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