Domaine Francois Mikulski Bourgogne Aligote 2018
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Entirely fermented in stainless steel to emphasise what Thomas Boccon calls the 'freshness of Aligoté', this is one of a handful of impressive examples of the grape from the commune of Meursault. The concentration of vines planted in 1929 Is apparent on the palate, with top notes of white flowers and bracingly fresh acidity.
François’ Mikulski’s father was Lieutenant Mieczyslaw Mikulski who escaped from occupied Poland in 1939, fleeing to England and joining the Resistance troops of the Free Polish Forces. There he met his future wife, a Burgundian woman working on an English army base, and moved to Brussels where François was born and raised. Luckily for us and the world of wine, François spent his formative summers in Burgundy, where he fell in love with the agrarian lifestyle and determined that he would one day make wine himself. He inherited his first plots of Meursault in 1992 from his late uncle, Pierre Boillot. Since that time, he has relentlessly pursued his authenticity, purity and elegance through acute attention to biological balance in the vineyard and terroir minded élevage practices in the cellar. After meticulous sorting in the vineyards the grapes are de-stemmed and lightly pressed. Natural yeasts are used in the fermentation after which the wines undergo an élevage 10-12 months. François typically restrains his new oak use to about 20%, believing that excessive wood masks full expression of the terroir.
A native but unique white grape to Burgundy, Aligoté is a light bodied white that often ends up unfairly lost in Chardonnay’s shadow. In Côte Chalonnaise, in a quaint village named Bouzeron, just south of the Côte de Beaune, Aligoté has its very own appellation where yields are limited in order to enhance flavors, acidity and overall quality. Somm Secret—Curiously, the famous producer, Domaine Ponsot, bottles a 100% Aligoté from its Premier Cru in Morey-Ste-Denis, Les Monts Luisants, made from Aligoté vines planted in 1911.
A classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.