Bouzeron

Overview

Bouzeron is the first village of the Côte Chalonnaise south of the Côte d'Or, and the holder of a unique distinction in Burgundy: it is the only village appellation reserved for Aligoté. While the grape elsewhere carries the regional Bourgogne Aligoté designation, Bouzeron's slopes, and specifically its old plantings of the superior golden-berried strain, Aligoté Doré, earned a dedicated AOC in 1998.

History

Aligoté has been grown at Bouzeron for centuries, and the village's reputation for it predates phylloxera. The modern appellation is inseparable from Aubert de Villaine, co-director of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, who with his wife Pamela established Domaine A. et P. de Villaine in the village in the 1970s and led the campaign that took Bouzeron from Bourgogne Aligoté de Bouzeron, granted 1979, to full village status in 1998, the appellation the grape had never had.

Terroir & Climate

The village occupies a narrow valley with east- and south-facing slopes at roughly 250 to 350 metres, on the Chalonnaise's limestone and marl. The best Aligoté sits high on thin, stony ground that restrains the variety's natural vigor, concentrating fruit the grape rarely achieves on the plain. The climate follows the Côte Chalonnaise pattern, marginally drier and breezier than the Côte d'Or.

Grape Varieties & Wine Styles

The appellation is Aligoté alone, with the Doré strain its qualitative heart. Bouzeron is dry, taut and stony: lemon, white flowers, green apple and a saline finish, with more texture and less rusticity than regional Aligoté, and an aging capacity of five to ten years that surprises drinkers who know the grape only as kir base. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in the village are labeled under Côte Chalonnaise designations, not Bouzeron.

Notable Producers

Domaine A. et P. de Villaine, now run by the founders' nephew, is the appellation's flagship and the wine most responsible for its standing. Domaine Chanzy and Domaine de la Folie hold significant vineyard, and Chalonnaise and Côte d'Or growers, including Aligoté specialists drawn by the village's name, have added bottlings as the grape's fashion has risen.

What to Know

Bouzeron is the argument for Aligoté taken seriously: old vines, the Doré strain and hillside sites, versus the plain-grown regional norm. The de Villaine connection has given the appellation visibility beyond its size, and the grape's recent revival across Burgundy has followed the village's lead. Prices remain modest for wine of this pedigree.