Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Grand Champs Aligoté 2023

This is the first release of this old-vine label. Looking for a new source of high-quality, old-vine Aligoté, Leroux ‘chanced across’ this parcel of vines late in 2022. His plan was to simply find a great source for massale cuttings to work with in the future, but after tasting the first vintage from cask, he knew he had found something special. The Grands Champs vineyard lies in Chassagne Montrachet, below the village and next to the restored 19th century washhouse of Fontaine Saulx. The plot of 97-year-old vines is unusual in that all the vines are completely healthy and there are no replacements. Vinified in a 12-hectolitre cask, it’s a wonderful and full-bodied example. It shows considerably more texture and spicy complexity from the small bunches than the straight Aligoté.