2022 La Chablisienne Aligote Emotions Minerales Bourgogne 750 ml

We start salivating the second we hear the word “Aligoté.” With its mineral drive, citrusy electricity, and zesty stone fruit accents, it’s a grape that starts the meal off with a bang. And one of the best bottles we’ve tried is made by Chablis super-producer La Chablisienne.

Unlike much Aligoté in Burgundy, which is planted on the outskirts of the Côte d’Or or in the southerly Mâcon, theirs comes from choice vineyards around Chablis. These sites, in Saint Cyr les Colons, Dannemoine, Saint-Bris, and Chitry, all have coveted Jurassic soils that boast a mixture of clay and chalky limestone—and they seem to supercharge Aligoté in the glass.

Founded in 1923, La Chablisienne is one of the top cooperatives in all of France, one that Burgundy expert Jasper Morris MW called “one of the great successes of the wine cooperative movement.” What distinguishes them is their meticulous control over every aspect of winemaking, from vineyard management to bottling, despite being a cooperative. Their member-growers, who collectively own many of Chablis' finest vineyard sites, maintain exceptionally high standards in viticulture while benefiting from the cooperative's state-of-the-art winemaking facilities.

They've developed a house style that emphasizes precision, minerality, and purity of fruit while respecting the individual character of each vineyard—and that comes into play here. The fruit is harvested from vines that average 30 years old before fermenting in stainless steel under precise temperature control. The wine is allowed to go through malolactic fermentation—essential to keep the wine from becoming too bracing—and then aged for a full six months on its fine lees before bottling.