INSIDER'S PICK: 2023 CHATEAU DE LA CHAUME BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE $19.99

To borrow from the infamous pork promotional commercials in the 1990s, the Aligote grape is 'the other white grape' in Burgundy. It plays a distant secondary role to Chardonnay, which gets planted in all the best vineyards and deservedly earns top dollar for the high quality wines it produces. But Aligote still has an important place at the table, especially for fans of value and lower abv wines. The grape is probably best known as the blending partner with regionally made blackcurrant liqueur to make a kir, but attentive wineries can make very nice, approachable and racy stand-alone wines like this that are very enjoyable. Bright and lemony on the nose with some cool green apple and saline notes, this is all about refreshment and easy enjoyment. On the palate you get the roundness of Burgundy in the texture aided by a small portion of the blend aged in neutral oak, but is all about the bright nervy citrus and apple skin tones throughout to the finish. The cooler the temperature, the more the wine leans into the minerality on the finish, while it gets more juicy green apple as it gets to room temps. Either way this is a great match with lighter seafood and Summer salads, or even a quenching sipper on its own.
​

---