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Aligote has been a part of the Burgundian wine landscape for more than 200 years, planted alongside Chardonnay. It has now found its place in the less-rated sites, on the plateaus and in the valleys, away from the more expensive land reserved for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Regions
The variety is at its best in the wines of the regional Bourgogne Aligoté appellation, and particularly in Bouzeron, in the northern Côte Chalonnaise. Aligote also has a key role in the sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne wines.
Aligote is an early-ripening variety, and is more frost-resistant than its more renowned cousins, meaning that its presence in these cooler sites is ensured for some time to come. Just south of Burgundy, small amounts of Aligote can be found in the Rhône Valley, mostly for blending with Chardonnay to create the light, fruity white wines of Châtillon-en-Diois.
Despite being best known as a French grape, Aligoté is grown in more significant quantities in other locations, notably in Eastern Europe. Many thousands of hectares are currently planted in countries like Bulgaria and Romania, where Aligoté wines have a surprisingly strong following. Plantings in these countries are many times bigger than in the variety’s traditional home in eastern France.
Suited terroir
When it comes to growing conditions, Aligote is not as fussy as many other varieties. It is able to produce delicate wines when grown on the chalky soils of Burgundy, but will also thrive in sandier soils, such as those found in the Rhone.
Perhaps counter-intuitively, this hardiness and reliability has only served to lower Aligoté's status to "useful" and "reliable" rather than "mysterious" and "enigmatic". Wine lovers and producers alike are naturally drawn towards challenging grape varieties like Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo – difficult to grow well, but more rewarding as a result.
Wine style
Wines produced from Aligoté are generally dry in style, with floral and herbal notes, naturally enhanced by the variety’s high levels of acidity. It is often used in blends, particularly those made in California for the U.S. market, where it can bring much-needed acidity and aroma to richer, less-structured wines.
There are a few mentions of an Aligoté Vert and even red Aligoté forms of the variety, but there is little data to suggest that these names are anything other than synonyms of other, unrelated grape varieties.
Synonyms
Plant Gris, Blanc de Troyes, Vert Blanc, Chaudenet Gris, Giboudot Blanc, Griset Blanc.
Food pairings for Aligoté
- Crab cakes with aioli
- Japanese dumplings (gyoza)
- Smoked fish
