2020 Maison Chanterêves Bourgogne Aligoté Les Monts de Fussey

WINEMAKER: Tomoko Kuriyama & Guillaume Bott
REGION: Burgundy, FR
VARIETAL: Aligoté
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

This lieu-dit is located above the village of Echeveronne, just below Fussey at the border between the Hautes Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits (on the Beaune side). At 400m, thissoutheast-facing slope,rich in stone and limestone/marl, is the lowest altitude parcel for Chanterêves in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune. It sits as whole bunches for six days before being pressed, which adds an alluring salty tang.

Last year we wrote of good news at Maison Chanterêves, they had just acquired 4.5 hectares of vines, located in the Hautes-Côtes, Chorey-LèsBeaune and some high-sited Savigny parcels. 2020 sees the first release of wines from these new plots, and from a Burgundy vintage that has most people in the wine world humming with excitement. It’s been over ten years in the making, but the journey to domaine production at Chanterêves has been well worth the wait, with Kuriyama and Bott seamlessly translating their signature style of purity to the new wines.

The winemaking hasn’t changed; the style has always leaned toward purity, finesse and vineyard expression, with very little winemaking artifice. The reds are wild-fermented in wooden vats, with 100% whole-bunch contributing fragrance and a lithe structure. Pumping is avoided at all costs, with the team utilising buckets and their feet for a gentler pigeage. Without exception, the reds are aged in used oak barrels.