2022 Domaine Goisot Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Rouge

WINEMAKER: Guilhem Goisot
REGION: Burgundy, FR
VARIETY: Pinot Noir
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

Goisot’s old-vine Aligoté is drawn from parcels of mature vines planted on the high, cool slopes of Saint-Bris. Aligoté is notorious for requiring old vines and suitable soils to produce wines of high quality and Goisot’s holdings nail the brief. The core vineyard is a parcel of 90-year-old Aligoté Dore planted on the high slopes of an old Chardonnay terroir northwest of Saint-Bris. This soil, known as barrémien, is made up of ancient, dense clay littered with blue-grey fossilised oyster shells, several inches long. It's a soil that is difficult to work and yields “small grapes, like pinot noir”. These older vines are today joined by younger material from the lieux-dits of Croix Rougeot, Côte de Coutance and Côte de la Canne.

Goisot’s biodynamic management and commitment to harvesting ripe fruit results in a far more textured and pulpy wine than you might normally associate with this variety. As always, this wine was fermented with native yeasts and raised entirely in tank. From a fine, “ripe and steely” vintage at this address, expect limpid orchard fruits and citrus notes counterbalanced by hints of brine and lees, and a fleck of green herbs. That said, it’s more mineral than fruity in its flavours and there’s a spine of juicy, chalky acidity that runs the length of the palate, finishing with sappy length. Some years ago, Burghound’s Allen Meadows wrote, “No one but no one delivers more quality for the price than Goisot.” This wine typifies what he was talking about.

Goisot’s vineyards are planted to 10,000 vines per acre as opposed to the regional average of roughly half this density. The viticulture is certified biodynamic, and yields are kept very low. They use only homeopathic, natural treatments in the vineyard and harvests are done exclusively by hand, with several passes through the vineyard. In the winery, the philosophy is classic ‘minimalist’ with natural yeasts, a long, slow élevage, minimal fining and/or filtration only if required. Very few, if any, Chablis producers can match these exacting viticulture standards.

The wines of Domaine Goisot are for those open-minded drinkers who don’t drink vineyard names but rather are more concerned with the quality and integrity they find in the glass – in this case, they will find a great deal of both. These are intense, textural yet racy, mineral wines with a rich, stony, earthy complexity that speaks loudly of the chalky soils that typify the greater Chablis area. Think of everything you would want from a great Chablis producer (i.e, more richness, complexity and breed than you typically find) and you will be on the right track.