2023 Domaine Derain Allez Goûtons Blanc

WINEMAKER: Julien Altaber & Carole Schwab
REGION: Burgundy, FR
VARIETY: Aligoté
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

"This vintage was made with Aligoté from a parcel of aligoté planted in 2019 in the commune of Corpeau, which is a few minutes drive to the south-east from Julien and Carole’s Saint-Aubin cellar and just south of Puligny-Montrachet. The soil is clay which is rich in ferric oxides. The wine was directly pressed and aged in a stainless steel tank. It was bottled approximately 3 months after the harvest. The wine has a line of lemony acidity, saltiness and minerality common with Derain white wines but all in the context of providing an uncomplicated, fun moment. It’s not a wine to contemplate but interesting enough that it might cause you to stop briefly and, while enjoying its savoury fruitiness and liveliness, think about the rocks that contributed to its flavour." - Living Wines

Dominique Derain started his career making wine barrels but decided, instead, to study winemaking in Beaune. In 1988 he and his wife Catherine purchased 5.5 hectares of vineyards in Saint-Aubin just south of Beaune and began tending the vines biodynamically and making their wines in a non-interventionist way as well.

A few years ago, Dominique officially retired. His long time assistant Julien Altaber and his partner, Carole Schwab (who also worked for Dominique managing the administration) bought the domaine from him. Julien, in addition to working for Dominique, had started his own domaine (Sextant) some years before, initially making his own wine in Dominique’s cellar, so it was a natural changing of the guard.