Aligote, The OTHER WHITE GRAPE OF BURGUNDY

Philippines wine supplier Manila wine shop discusses wine by the grape variety Aligoté.

Date: October 13, 2010

Bouzeron . . . located in the Cote Chalonnaise of southern Burgundy . . . Chassagne-Montrachet to the north, Rully and Mercurey to the south.

[At this point I would normally explain that the white wines of Burgundy are always Chardonnay . . . and they always are . . . usually . . . except when it comes to Bouzeron.]

In Bouzeron you can forget about Chardonnay . . .

ALIGOTE’ is THE white varietal.

Some history . . . Aligote’ has always been grown in Burgundy . . . even preferred some time ago in Meursault and Pernand-Vergelesses. But tastes change and Chardonnay has by far become the dominant white grape of Burgundy . . . and the world.

Along came Aubert de Villaine . . . co-owner of Burgundy’s most illustrious estate, Domaine de la Romanee Contee. He built Domaine de Villaine in Bouzeron, a project intended to revive the status of the practically discarded Aligote’ grape.

Aligote’ is planted only on the slopes of Bouzeron . . . using a version of Aligote’ which offers lower yields and higher aromatics . . . only organic techniques are used . . . no pesticides or herbicides . . . and only vegetal compost as fertilizer.

The result is a lively, racy wine with bright fruit and a round mouthfeel . . . the color is so delicate it is close to colorless . . . nose of honeysuckle and morning glory. To appreciate its freshness, de Villaine recommends drinking within three years of the vintage . . . but well-cellared it will age up to ten years, becoming fatter and full-bodied. Drink it as you would any other Bourgogne Blanc . . . especially delicious as an aperitif, with goat cheese or shellfish.

De Villaine’s colleagues agree that he has accomplished his mission . . . Bouzeron is the only appellation dedicated to the Aligote’ grape . . . de Villaine’s Aligote’ is considered the finest in the category.

Source: http://www.pearsonswine.com/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=1345

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices.  Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world.  As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years.  Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

For more information, email Wine@Yats-International.com or visit http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila

Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple:  after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave.  From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City.  From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.