Bourgogne Aligoté "Sous-Châtelet" AOC 2023

A dry, varietal Aligoté at 13.5% ABV, built on tension and grip. Medium straw yellow in the glass, with grain on the nose, zesty notes of calamansi, white currant and pear, alongside stone, petrichor and fresh garden herbs.

The Sous-Châtelet vineyard lies in Auxey-Duresses and takes its name from the Montagne du Châtelet. Its 60 ares are steep, northeast-facing, and made up of fairly calcareous Oxfordian marl; this parcel has always been dedicated to Aligoté. The vines date back to the 1930s and bring a correspondingly rich genetic heritage. Since 2019 the vineyard has belonged to the Trapets, who farm it biodynamically, ploughing rather than using herbicide, with early-limited yields and hand harvesting.

Pure Aligoté from direct, gentle pressing. Vinification takes place in the family cellar in Gevrey-Chambertin, a former coaching inn where concrete eggs stand alongside wooden barrels and demi-muids. The wine is aged without fining and bottled unfiltered.

Vigorous and energetic, with a distinctly phenolic texture. A light sweetness of extract with a touch of caramel gives way again to fresh citrus and pungently zesty notes. A little more bottle age would still suit this Aligoté well.

Pierre and Louis Trapet, the sons of Jean-Louis Trapet, bottled their first joint vintage from 1.8 hectares around Auxey-Duresses in 2020; the parcels came into the family through Justine, Louis's wife. The brothers vinify the grapes from this vineyard in three ways: direct-pressed, fermented on the skins, and as passerillé. This is the direct-pressed rendition.