Sylvain Morey "Bourgogne Aligoté" Burgundy, France 2023
FROM ROSENTHAL: THE WINE: Sylvain owns a mere quarter-hectare of Aligoté, planted in 1997, in a vineyard called “Les Pierres”whose upper section is classified as Chassagne-Montrachet Villages. Round but tense, this spends 12 months in used 350-liter barrels, resting on its fine lees with no batonnage. Aligoté reaches a different textural register when given a proper élevage, and indeed Sylvain’s is of a piece with his remarkable Chassagne-Montrachet bottlings in that regard. Only 20 cases imported! THE PRODUCER: Two of the hallmarks of Burgundy are the minuscule size and the fractured distribution of the small domains that line the Cote d'Or. Centuries of division by inheritance and often family discord have fractured once-larger land holdings into microscopic parcels. Domains have become so small (and their fractured holding so atomic) that it is has become doubtful how these domains can continue to be passed down to the next generation. In the case of Domaine Sylvain Morey, this difficult tradition continues with the dissolution of Domaine Jean-Marc Morey. Jean-Marc's son Sylvain and his sister Caroline split their father's holdings in 2014, making this already small family domaine much smaller. (Domaine Jean-Marc Morey was founded in 1981 when Domaine Albert Morey was split between his two sons Jean-Marc and Bernard.) We feel fortunate to continue our relationship with these familiar family parcels, however small they may be, through the impressive and thoughtful work of Sylvain.