2018 Domaine Fiona Leroy Bourgogne-Aligoté La Motte sur Chat

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 92 points

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  3/16/2021 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  The first vintage ever of this wine - Fiona Leroy started her winery in December 2017 - from a biodynamically farmed parcel planted in 1990. Fermented spontaneously in oak barrels, aged in used oak pièces. 12,5% alcohol.
  
  Pale straw yellow. A captivating, very characterful and slightly wild nose with fragrant aromas of ripe quince and elderflower, perhaps slightly bretty phenolic tones, a little bit of sweet creaminess, light apricot tones, a hint of stony minerality and a perfumed herbal nuance of tarragon. I'm seduced already by the first sniff. The wine is lively, slightly wild and perhaps a bit funky on the palate with a firm, medium body and vibrant flavors of tangy green apples, crunchy quince, some funky notes of leather, light sappy herbal notes of tarragon and thyme, a little bit of stony minerality, a sweet, floral hint of elderflower, a touch of creamy oak and a subtly understated nuance of volatile lift. The rather high acidity keeps the wine wonderfully balanced and quite structured, although the wine might lack the cut and crispiness of a classic Aligoté. The finish feels slightly funkier and more wild than the midpalate with more presence on the bretty notes of leather, phenolic spice and even some Band-Aid, followed by long, layered flavors of earth, tart green apple, some crunchy quince, light sweet notes of honeyed richness, a little bit of fresh greencurrant, a floral hint of apple blossom and a touch of saline tang.
  
  A beautifully characterful, distinctive and very complex Aligoté that is bound to be divisive: I can imagine many people thinking this is just too weird or funky, while other people will consider the wine unique and fascinating. I'm firmly in the latter camp. I wouldn't be surprised if the wine went south if it was kept open for much longer, but straight from the bottle this was just pure gold. Showing such depth and complexity many producer will never coax out of Aligoté. This tasty, broad and slightly (pleasantly) funky effort took me by surprise - I need to keep an eye on this producer. Thrilling stuff.

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  12/26/2020 - Bandreas wrote:

  Pronounced smell and taste. Good acidity. Medium length and weight.
  Not unattractive.

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