Aligoté, Burgundy’s “other” white grape, has historically been used in Kir, an aperitif because it needed a dollop of crème de cassis to balance the screeching acidity inherent to the grape. A combination of climate change and renewed focus by producers such as Sylvain Pataille has created a renaissance for Aligoté.… Read more

Santenay, a village in the Côte de Beaune abutting the southern border of Chassagne-Montrachet, makes far more red wine than white. Guillaume Marko, the winemaker at Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, explains that the sites in northern Santenay, bordering Chassagne-Montrachet where they have their small, 0.25-ha plot, are also especially well-suited for Chardonnay.… Read more

Aligoté, another white grape permitted in Burgundy, used to be planted in Grand Cru sites, like Corton Charlemagne and Montrachet, along with Chardonnay in the 19th century, but has fallen out of favor and now represents only about seven percent of Burgundy’s plantings.… Read more

Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, which owns 5-ha of prime vineyards in Givry and has their state-of-the-art gravity flow winery there, specializes in red wines from that appellation even though Givry can produce whites. For white wines, they have purchased small plots in appellations in the Côte de Beaune, and have long-term farming contracts in Montagny, the source for this wine.… Read more

Containing all of the Grand Cru of Bienvenues-Bâtard Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet and large portions of both Bâtard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet is the finest source for white wine in all of Burgundy. Les Pucelles, lying just across a narrow road from Bâtard and Bienvenues ranks as one of the village’s top Premier Cru.… Read more

Domaine Faiveley has practically dispensed with its négociant business except for a small amount of Bourgogne Rouge and now focuses on the extensive and well-suited vineyards it owns. Faiveley, one of the largest landowners in Burgundy, owns over 300-acres of vineyards throughout Burgundy, about 100 of which are in Mercurey, giving them a strong presence there.… Read more

Adjacent to the famed Clos du Roi vineyard sits La Mission, another Premier Cru vineyard, but in this case, planted only to Chardonnay and solely owned by the Château de Chamirey. Aurore Devillard, who along with her brother run the Château de Chamirey, explains that they have moved away from small barrels and now use larger, 400-liter ones for the whites.… Read more

Pinot Fin, a high-quality biotype of Pinot Noir, produces smaller berries and thicker skin. It’s even more finicky than most strains of Pinot Noir, so it’s rarely grown in Burgundy today. Domaine Geantet-Pansiot insists on perpetuating it and grows it both in Gevrey-Chambertin, the primary source for this wine, and Marsannay.… Read more

The combination of a top producer, Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, and old vines explains why this is such a great village wine. Founded in 1954, the estate has grown over the decades and now includes more than 32 acres of vines mostly in Gevrey Chambertin, including holdings in the Premier Cru, Le Poissenot, and the Grand Cru, Charmes-Chambertin.… Read more

Domaine de Villaine makes a stunning array of wines from Bouzeron, an appellation for only white wine and one that mandates the use of Aligoté, not Chardonnay. Aubert de Villaine, who was a previous director of Domaine Romanée Conti, oversees the Domaine, and as you might imagine, knows something about making wine from Pinot Noir.… Read more

Burgundy lovers must look outside of the revered Côte d’Or as prices for village wines there approach and sometimes exceed three digits. Rully, along with other villages in the Côte Chalonnaise, is a good place to look, as this charming white shows.… Read more

The way to find value in Burgundy these days is to look for wines from down-market appellations made by great producers. This one fits the bill perfectly. Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, a top producer based in Gevrey-Chambertin, makes a stunning array of wines from the village and Chambolle-Musigny.… Read more

Marsannay, practically a suburb of Dijon and the northern-most village appellation of the Côte de Nuits, lacks cachet. Its lack of prestige may be secondary to its relative youth since it gained a village appellation only in 1987, roughly 50 years after every other village (or maybe because it is the sole village in the Côte de Nuits that lacks Premier Cru vineyards).… Read more

Most village Chambolle-Musigny cost less than $100 a bottle, so the price might put you off. Don’t let it. This is no ordinary village wine! Indeed, you would be excused for thinking it is a Premier Cru. The grapes come from 75-year vines planted in three different plots around the village.… Read more

Erwann Boivin, the Commercial Director at Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, explains that the Le Poissenot vineyard is a cool site because sits high on the slope just under the forest and in the path of cooling breezes that come down the valley. Boivin thinks the site explains the wine’s elegance and liveliness in a warm vintage like 2023.… Read more

The Château de Chamirey, a top producer in Mercurey, has extensive holdings there. Their white is a blend of multiple plots throughout the appellation, giving the consumer a good idea of the character — the firmness — of the white wines from this primarily red appellation.… Read more