Aligoté Returns—Raise a Glass to Its Comeback!

AN UPDATE FROM SARAH ATWOOD, ENTOLOGIST

A little bit of rain goes a long way! The hillsides are turning green around Santa Maria Valley and the wildflowers are getting ready to bloom, which makes for one of the most picturesque times of year on the central coast. It is also budbreak in the vineyards—the start of new growth on the vines and a signal to the winery that the 2025 season has officially begun.One block that we are particularly excited about is nestled in the alluvial flats of Bien Nacido just down from the winery. In 2022, we worked with the Bien Nacido team to field graft a couple acres of Aligoté exclusively for Au Bon Climat. Aligoté, the “other” Burgundian white grape, has always been a critical blending component of our Hildegard white wine and often shown exceptionally well as a single varietal wine. This austere, high-acid variety was originally planted at the Le Bon Climat estate vineyard. When the vineyard sold, we quickly made plans to have vines grafted to Aligoté so we could continue to work with this wonderful grape. While the first crop from the new vines in 2024 made great wine, we are excited to see the potential of this fruit with one more year of maturity along with the great growing conditions we have witnessed so far this year.

INPUT FROM WINEMAKER, MARC PIRO

The reprobate grape of burgundy has made its way back to the Au Bon Climat winery. After a short hiatus, we are excited to announce the return of Aligoté to the Clendenen Family lineup.

Aligoté has a long history in Burgundy, fabled as one of the first white grapes planted in the region, suggested by Queen Hildegard. We pay homage to those original white grapes in our ancient Burgundian white blend, aptly named “Hildegard.”

Our winemaking history with Aligoté began 30 years ago, first sourcing the grape from Mistral Vineyard in 1995, then our Santa Maria Valley estate vineyard Le Bon Climat, and most recently in the alluvial flats of Bien Nacido.  Our 2024 single varietal Aligoté is true to its Burgundian roots. It is barrel fermented in neutral French oak barrels. Its acid driven core highlights lemon zest and pear flesh on the palate, while maintaining exquisite minerality.  This limited production wine will be bottled in May.