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Aligoté |
After Chardonnay, Aligoté is Burgundy’s second white grape both in planted area and prestige, trailing in both respects at a considerable distance. Consequently, it is usually excluded from the finer mid-slope vineyards and confined to hilltops and flats in the Côte d’Or.
The vine may find its best expression in Bouzeron, in the northern Côte Chalonnaise. Prior to the institution of the appellation d’origine contrôllée laws, many white Burgundies were a blend of Aligoté, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and sometimes Melon de Bourgogne.
In the early 1990s, research conducted by plant geneticist Carole Meredith at the University of California at Davis revealed a common heritage between Aligoté and a number of other grape varieties indigenous to northern France, most notably the members of the Pinot family.
Based on DNA fingerprinting, she concluded that an original Pinot prototype and an obscure vine called Gouais Blanc are the parents of Aligoté and fifteen other Gallic varieties, including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Aligoté is a vigorous vine of variable productivity, with yields averaging well below those of Chardonnay. The clusters are conical-cylindrical in form with berries of irregular dimension. They produce wine of relatively elevated acidity, higher than that of Chardonnay, and ill-suited to oak contact which suffocates its delicate aromas. It is the traditional wine used in the Burgundian kir, mixed with a splash of cassis.
Also widely planted in eastern Europe, the western republics of the former Soviet Union, and particularly in Romania, where it is used primarily for the production of sparkling wines. |
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Alternate Names: Chaudenet Blanc; Giboudot Blanc; Griset Blanc; Troyen Blanc; Plant Gris |
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See Also: Chardonnay Gamay Noir Melon de Bourgogne Pinot Blanc Pinot Grigio Pinot Meunier Pinot Noir |
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