Vini Viti Vinci Bourgogne Aligoté 2019

Nicolas Vauthier sources Aligoté grapes from organically farmed vineyards across northern Burgundy's Yonne department, working with growers in appellations like Chitry, Irancy, and Coulanges-la-Vineuse. The vines grow on limestone soils layered with marl and clay, the same geology that gives this corner of Burgundy its characteristic mineral tension. Vauthier operates as a négociant, hand-selecting parcels and bringing in his own harvest crew to control fruit quality.

In the cellar, the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in a combination of vats and barrels, then bottled unfined and unfiltered with little to no added sulfur. No fining agents, no commercial yeasts, no intervention beyond what the fruit requires. The approach follows the model Vauthier absorbed while working under Philippe Pacalet in Beaune before launching Vini Viti Vinci in 2009.

The 2019 vintage in Burgundy was warm and dry, producing ripe, concentrated fruit with good natural sugar. For Aligoté in the northern Yonne, that warmth translated into fruit that is rounder than usual without sacrificing the variety's defining acidity. The result is a wine with more texture than a typical Bourgogne Aligoté, while still showing the citrus and mineral character the grape is known for.

Bourgogne Aligoté is Burgundy's second white grape, a natural crossing of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc — a sibling of Chardonnay. It received its own regional AOC in 1937, covering communes across the Yonne, Côte-d'Or, and Saône-et-Loire departments. Aligoté ripens early, produces wines with naturally high acidity, and is typically planted on higher slopes and cooler sites where Chardonnay would not thrive.