Description
The wine
Aligoté has a reputation problem it doesn’t deserve. At its best — from old vines in a good site, made by someone who takes it seriously — it is one of Burgundy’s most characterful and food-friendly whites.
Du Grappin sources the Aligoté from the lieu-dit of Mainbey, high up in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune behind Pernand-Vergelesses in the commune of Fussey. Old vine Aligoté trained on high wires with wide-spaced rows, farmed organically. The approach in the cellar is as considered as the farming — hand-harvested and then foot-crushed, a portion of the grapes macerated with their skins for several hours before a long, slow pressing in a traditional basket press. The juice drains directly by gravity into old, large-format barrels for a native fermentation, with plenty of grape solids for texture and healthy yeast. One year in barrel, then seven months in stainless steel with fine lees for finesse and extended palate length. Bottled unfined and very lightly filtered.
Eric Asimov featured this wine in The New York Times, writing that it “demonstrates how pleasing and refreshing the grape can be.” That assessment holds across every vintage.
Winemaker’s note
”Hand-harvested and then foot-crushed, a portion of the grapes were macerated with their skins for several hours. After a long and slow pressing in a traditional basket press, the juice was drained directly by gravity into old, large-format barrels for a native fermentation, with plenty of grape solids for texture and healthy yeast. The wine spent a year in barrel and a further seven months in stainless steel with fine lees for finesse and extended palate length. Bottled unfined and very lightly filtered."
— Andrew Nielsen, Le Grappin
Vineyard & vintage details
Appellation: Bourgogne Aligoté AOC
Lieu-dit: Mainbey, Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Commune: Fussey
Grape: 100% Aligoté
Training: High wires · wide-spaced rows
Farming: Organically farmed
Harvest: Hand-harvested · foot-crushed · partial skin maceration several hours
Vinification: Long slow pressing in traditional basket press · gravity drained to old large-format barrels · native fermentation · grape solids retained for texture
Élevage: 12 months in old large-format barrels · 7 months in stainless steel with fine lees
Fining / Filtration: Unfined · very lightly filtered
Tasting notes
Lemon zest, green apple, white flowers, chalky mineral tension. The palate is crisp and precise — the foot-crushing and skin maceration add a subtle texture that lifts the wine beyond typical Aligoté. Long, saline finish with real freshness. More serious than most Aligoté at this price point. Drink now through 2028.
Service: 10–12°C. Oysters, steamed mussels, goat cheese, charcuterie. A natural aperitif.
2024 vintage note
2024 was a demanding vintage requiring careful work in the vineyard — wet conditions and disease pressure across Burgundy. For old-vine Aligoté in a well-drained site high in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, the natural acidity of the grape and the elevation of the Mainbey lieu-dit are assets in a fresh, challenging year.
About Du Grappin
Du Grappin is Andrew and Emma Nielsen’s more accessible range — wines from Beaujolais, the Mâconnais, and Vézelay made for the table, the by-the-glass list, and everyday drinking. The same organically farmed growers, the same obsessive attention in the cellar, at friendlier prices.
Andrew and Emma Nielsen founded Le Grappin in 2011. They source from the same organically farmed single parcels every year, work without additions, and bottle everything by hand. Named one of The 10 Best Unsung Burgundy Producers by Wine-Searcher.
