Wine Advisor
Henri Germain, Bourgogne Aligote 2023
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2023 Bourgogne Aligoté has good presence on the nose, fine lift with lemon balm and light chai scents. The palate is well balanced with a pleasant rounded texture, good weight and a dab of stem ginger on the finish. I appreciate how it expresses the variety and will give immediate pleasure once bottled.
About the Producer
Based in Meursault, the domain was set up by Henri Germain in 1973. It is now his son, Jean-François Germain, who manages the 7 hectares of vineyard spread around Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and Beaune. In 2018, Jean-François was joined by his daughter, Lucie. Most of the production comes from Premier Cru vineyards in Meursault including the Meursault Premier Cru Perrières, and the sought after Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes. The admiration that Jean-François Germain receives in the region speaks volumes about the quality of the wines produced at this address. Producers such as Olivier Lamy, Thierry Pillot and Charles Lachaux have regularly made the claim that the wines of Jean-François are the best in Meursault! Henri Germain et Fils Wines are elegant and fine while displaying incredible richness, complexity and depth of flavour. In the vineyard， Jean-François methods in the vineyard are very traditional. He follows organic farming principles and ploughs the soils. Yields are kept low and the vineyards are mostly worked by hand. The grapes are hand-harvested. In the cellar, Jean-François keeps interference to a minimum. In his cold cellar, the alcoholic fermentation can take months and the malolactic fermentation is often late. The wines are aged on their lees and never racked. Aging lasts 18 months for the village wines and a full 22 months for the remaining wines. New wood is used very sparingly, just to replace barrels sold when they get to ten years old. When it comes to choosing his barrels Jean-François uses a number of coopers including the Meursault based Tonnellerie Damy, Seguin-Moreau, Rousseau and François Frères. The wines are rarely fined or filtered before bottling. “The more Germain wines I drink, the more I admire them” - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate.
