Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne Aligote 2022

No estate has done more to restore Aligoté's standing than Sylvain Pataille, who farms Burgundy's other white grape with the same seriousness as his Pinot Noir and bottles a stable of single-site cuvées to prove the point. This estate bottling is Aligoté Doré, the old golden strain, from vines averaging half a century in age in two Marsannay lieux-dits: Champ Forey, on limestone and gravel, and Les Auvonnes, on clay and marl studded with small stones. The fruit is certified organic and farmed with biodynamic methods, fermented on ambient yeasts, and rested for 12 months in mostly used barrels and tank with minimal sulfur at bottling. The 2022 is wound tight, its chalky minerality carried on a texture broader than the grape's reputation suggests. If Aligoté still reads as an afterthought, start here.