Aligoté

VIVC records Aligoté as variety number 312 under the prime name Aligote, with its berry skin colour recorded as blanc and France given as its country of origin. Its parents are Gouais Blanc, catalogued in VIVC under the prime name Heunisch Weiss, and Pinot, a pedigree confirmed by markers. The DNA study behind this pedigree, 'Historical Genetics: The Parentage of Chardonnay, Gamay, and Other Wine Grapes of Northeastern France', found that sixteen wine grapes that have long been grown in northeastern France, Aligoté among them, 'have microsatellite genotypes consistent with their being the progeny of a single pair of parents', Pinot and Gouais blanc. Auxerrois, Chardonnay and Melon de Bourgogne are full siblings sharing both parents, and Gamay, Riesling and Furmint are among Aligoté's half-siblings.

• VIVC variety number 312; prime name Aligote; country of origin France
• Pedigree: Heunisch Weiss (Gouais Blanc) crossed with Pinot, confirmed by markers
• Full siblings: Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Melon de Bourgogne

Accounts of its history in Bourgogne differ: one has the Aligoté grape grown in Bourgogne since the 17th century, while Burgundian historian Guillaume Grillon dates the first written records of Aligoté to the 18th century. The Bourgogne Aligoté appellation, granted in 1937, is restricted to white wines grown from the Aligoté grape anywhere in the Bourgogne region; most Aligoté is still bottled under it, the grape is also an allowed variety in Crémant de Bourgogne, and it is found from the northern Auxerrois near Chablis to the southern reaches of the Mâconnais. It is grown in Chitry in the Yonne, Pernand-Vergelesses in the Côte de Beaune and, most notably, Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise. The grape is generally found on limestone soils, often combined with marl or clay, is suited to hilly locations and higher altitudes, and is a vigorous vine with larger and more plentiful grapes than Chardonnay. The grapes have high natural acidity, which they retain until late in the ripening cycle, but because Aligoté is less profitable than Chardonnay or Pinot Noir it is often relegated to lesser sites too high on the slope or in the deep soils at its base. Outside France, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Romania have significant vineyard area planted to Aligoté, and it is also grown in Bulgaria and Russia; the OIV's 2017 survey of the distribution of the world's grapevine varieties lists Aligoté at 6,000 ha in Romania, 3.1% of the national vineyard area.

• Bourgogne Aligoté appellation granted in 1937; covers white wines from Aligoté grown anywhere in the Bourgogne region
• Allowed variety in Crémant de Bourgogne
• Generally on limestone soils, often combined with marl or clay; suited to hilly locations and higher altitudes
• Outside France: Moldova, Ukraine and Romania, also Bulgaria and Russia; Romania 6,000 ha in the OIV's 2017 survey

Bouzeron lies in the Côte Chalonnaise in northern Saône-et-Loire, and among some 44 Village appellations in the Bourgogne it is the only one that allows for the production of a wine made exclusively from the Aligoté grape. Accounts date the appellation differently: one has Bouzeron recognised in 1997 as an appellation Village, at the instigation of Aubert de Villaine and his wife Pamela, while the appellation decree of 17 February 1998 replaced the former appellation Régionale Bourgogne Aligoté Bouzeron; another has Bouzeron first recognised in 1979 with the regional appellation Bourgogne Aligoté de Bouzeron and upgraded to AP Bouzeron in 1998. The commune was recognised for exceptional Aligoté, chiefly from the superior Aligoté Doré clone, and the Aligoté grown in Bouzeron is known as golden, with skins less thick than the traditional Aligoté grown elsewhere in Bourgogne, allowing a better alcohol and acidity balance during ripening. The vineyards lie at an altitude between 270 and 350 metres; the upper portion consists of white marls derived from Oxfordian limestone, and Bouzeron is made exclusively with grapes grown in white marly limestone on the upper slopes, while the lower slopes are used for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sold as AOC Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise. Clos de la Fortune and Les Clous are now seen as among the best sites in Bouzeron. Domaine de Villaine is based in Bouzeron and is run today by Aubert de Villaine's nephew, Pierre de Benoist; Maison Chanzy is the proprietor of Clos de la Fortune, the only enclosed vineyard in the village.

• Only Burgundy appellation dedicated specifically to Aligoté; the only one of some 44 Bourgogne Village appellations for a wine made exclusively from Aligoté
• Recognised in 1997 by one account; appellation decree of 17 February 1998; another account gives 1979 for the regional appellation and 1998 for AP Bouzeron
• Vineyards at 270 to 350 metres; Bouzeron made from grapes grown in white marly limestone on the upper slopes
• Clos de la Fortune and Les Clous are among the best sites

Bourgogne Aligoté is traditionally associated with Kir, the local Bourgogne specialty of white wine mixed with crème de cassis blackcurrant liqueur and the classic Burgundian aperitif. Bourgogne Aligoté has its own qualities, though, and one regional view holds that it deserves to be enjoyed in its own right. In his 1982 book Burgundy, Anthony Hanson MW judged that Aligoté's wine 'has higher acidity and less length, flavour and roundness than that of the Chardonnay', yet today a generation of young winemakers is experimenting with Aligoté. Among them is Sylvain Pataille, who was instrumental in the foundation of the growers' group Les Aligoteurs and produces single-vineyard wines including Champ Forey in Marsannay and La Charme aux Prêtres, and Jérôme Galeyrand, one of the group's founders, who makes wine from his base in Gevrey-Chambertin. Domaine Ponsot has supported Aligoté since William Ponsot replanted his Clos des Monts Luisants with the grape in 1911, and these vines are classified as premier cru Morey-St-Denis, the only climat in Burgundy to produce premier cru wine from Aligoté. Until the end of the 19th century, before phylloxera, rows of Aligoté grew alongside Chardonnay in the vineyards of Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet.

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=312 ; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5433.1562 ; https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2025/the-unsung-grapes-behind-some-of-the-world-s-most-famous-wine-regions ; https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-grape-varietals-our-colors/aligote/aligote-a-100-bourgogne-varietal,2799,10609.html ; https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/bourgogne-and-its-appellations/bouzeron,2458,9253.html?args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MjU3Jnw%3D ; https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/bourgogne-and-its-appellations/bourgogne-aligote,2458,9253.html?args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MjI4Jnw%3D ; https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/5888/en-distribution-of-the-worlds-grapevine-varieties.pdf Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/aligote ; https://www.decanter.com/wine/grape-varieties/aligote/aligote-burgundys-other-white-wine-plus-26-of-the-best-to-seek-out-503611/ Last verified 2026-10-04