2022 Bourgogne Aligoté, Aux Boutiéres, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Jean Fournier

Fournier noted that while this is also 100% aligoté, it’s not stated on the label.

A cool, airy, and very pretty nose also reflects notes of Granny Smith apples nuanced by plenty of citrus, pear, and wet stone hints. There is impressive volume to the utterly delicious medium-weight flavours, which also exude a subtle minerality on the more complex and persistent bone-dry and youthfully austere finale. This is a terrific example of the genre and is highly recommended.

Drink 2027

The 2022 Bourgogne Aligoté Aux Boutières, which comes from Savigny-lès-Beaune, misses a bit of personality on the nose. Timid at the moment. The well-balanced palate offers lime cordial and orange pith with fine acidity and a pure, what you might call a "punter-friendly” finish. This will have wide appeal.

The final visit during my six-week marathon was to see Laurent Fournier. I have praised his wines for quite a few years now, and he’s always a fun person to taste with, chatty and animated. “We were not impacted by the storm at the end of June,” he tells me at his winery in Marsannay. “The vintage respected the terroirs. I started picking on 31 August. I decided to pick the Aligoté one week earlier than planned, as it was ripening so quickly.

There was only a little problem finishing the end of the fermentation, but otherwise, it was straightforward.” These excellent wines lean more towards the black side of the fruit spectrum, and Fournier is a skilled winemaker who exploits the full potential of his modest holdings. They represent some of the best values in this report, and I cannot recommend them enough.

Drink 2024 - 2029

Vins from the 1920s. A clean, fresh, and intense primrose colour. Less perfume but more intense, more chiselled, apples and fresh quince on the palate. This is very classical and intense, and it is a brilliant example.

Drink 2025 - 2030