[B540] CHANTEREVES BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE MAINBEY Élevage Prolongé 2023 750ml

The vineyard - The lieu-dit “Mainbey” is located on the other side of the small valley that separates it from the village of Fussey, at a high altitude of 470 meters. The vines are some of the oldest of the domaine at 41 years, and hence the yield is low. It is our stoniest parcel of Aligoté. We can’t remember how many times Guillaume and I needed to collect big blocks of limestones so that our Denis would be able to plow with his caterpillar without the machine breaking down.

The farming is comparable to our other Hautes Côtes parcels.

The Wine - Nose : lightly smokey, yellow fruit, grapefruit. Palate : well balanced and generous with fresh acidity. (by Chanterêves)

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Since both Chardonnay and Aligoté are planted in this lieu-dit, it will be a true pleasure to appreciate the characteristics of this terroir along with the distinct personality of each grape variety.

Producers often say they “faithfully express the terroir.” While the winemakers themselves can surely spot the differences, it is no easy task for us as drinkers. It is virtually impossible to fully comprehend after just a sip or two at a tasting once or twice. Even so, we try our best to understand by coming up with creative approaches, such as vertical or horizontal tastings.

In that regard, a vineyard like Mainbey is a rare case, as it is planted with both Chardonnay and Aligoté and yields both as serious, fine wines. (Granted, in the past, it was common for Chardonnay and Aligoté—and sometimes Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris—to be co-planted within the same vineyard in Burgundy, but this was intended for casual field-blend wines.)

While there are rare instances where red and white wines are produced from the same lieu-dit—such as Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé’s Musigny Grand Cru or Domaine Chandon de Briailles’s Île des Vergelesses Premier Cru—the points of comparison between a red and a white are entirely different. On that point, Chanterêves’s Mainbey and Les Monts de Fussey each offer two different white wines, making it much easier to spot the commonalities and contrasts.

2023 Mainbey – Aligoté

There is more to the story regarding the 2023 vintage. The Mainbey that arrived this time is a special version called “Élevage Prolongé,” which spent a full 22 months in barrel aging (compared to the usual 12 months or so). The label design is also slightly different. Among the Aligoté Lieux-Dits Series, Mainbey is a cuvée defined by its striking acidity and minerality. Right after release, some might find it a bit sharp or edgy. However, thanks to the extended aging period, this version feels beautifully integrated, transforming that initial sharpness into a sleek, glossy elegance. Tomoko & Guillaume might have anticipated these unique characteristics of the lieu-dit when they decided to attempt this Élevage Prolongé. We’ll have to ask them next time.

In our Hautes Côtes parcels we generally engage a contractor to mulch the mid- row with his heavyweight tractor only twice, at the beginning and the end of the growing season, as we don’t own any tractor. Otherwise there’s no other heavy mechanic intervention. This all contributes to limiting soil compaction. As far as the rest of the farming goes, it’s comparable to that applied in “Les Chagniots”. We farm organically, using phytotherapy approaches researched and recommended by Eric Petiot. As far as spraying goes, minimal copper is used against downy mildew and low-fat milk against powdery mildew, with zero sulfur use. The vineyard is plowed by horse by Gilbert Simond. The soil is tilled from mid-April to mid-July only, with no tilling for the other 8 months of the year.

The Wine - Carbonic maceration with whole bunches for a week before pressing, with no added sulfur until July 2021. Nose: intense with ripe yellow fruit. Palate: complex, salty, mineral. Aromas of ripe pear. (by Chanterêves)