Domaine Sylvain Pataille Aligoté Bourgogne 2023

If Aligoté (pronounced "al-uh-GO-tay") has a patron saint, it's Sylvain Pataille. This Marsannay legend has spent 25 years dragging Burgundy's most underrated white grape out of the shadows and into cult status – and his 2023 Bourgogne Aligoté even earned a whopping 93 points from Wine Review Online.

Wine geeks, gather 'round – we’ve got something special waiting for you! Domaine Sylvain Pataille sits in Marsannay-la-Côte, just north of the Côte de Nuits, and has steadily become one of the most respected names in modern Burgundy. Sylvain made his first vintage in 1999 with a single hectare of vines while still working as an oenologist at a lab– and today the estate spans fifteen times that, all centered on his beloved Marsannay. The reputation is well earned… and if you ask any sommelier who does Aligoté best, Sylvain's name comes up first, every time. He's practically a magician with the variety.

This is Aligoté Doré – the "golden" strain – from vines averaging around 50 years old, farmed certified organic with biodynamic methods. Fermentation takes place on indigenous yeasts after gentle pressing, with aging around 12 months to refine the wine without ever masking its purity. Sulfur is kept minimal, added only at bottling. Old vines matter enormously for Aligoté, as they lend the weight and texture that keep the grape's naturally electric acidity in perfect balance. In other words… this is not the thin, tart Aligoté of decades past.

It happens that 2023 was a sunny yet balanced vintage that ripened the fruit beautifully while holding onto that vibrant, signature acidity. On the nose and palate, this wine takes your senses on a delightfully scenic journey of candied lemon, crisp pear, and white flowers up front, threaded with the wine's characteristic quince-and-pear snap, a burst of pink grapefruit, and a whisper of ginger. Let it breathe, and roasted almonds and a delicate buttery-mineral tone emerge. It’s fabulously lively, saline, and shot through with crystalline minerality, carrying this luminous tension without a hint of aggression. It pulls your brain and your palate in a dozen directions at once, and every one of them is a good time.

There isn’t much to come out of Burgundy with 93 points, this much prestige, a whole mountain of character, and an under $35 price tag… what’re you waiting for?!