Domaine Giraudon Aligote 2022

Chitry-Le-Fort, as the name suggests, was once a fortified town and in the Middle Ages the main road, La Grande Rue, formed the boundary between the lands of the Count of Tonnerre in Champagne and the Count of Auxerre in Burgundy. In the 19th century wines of Chitry were sold under the name of Chablis and more recently in 1929 the wines were accorded the name of Bourgogne des Environs de Chablis. Today Chitry is one of four viticultural communes of the Auxerrois and wines are labeled as Bourgogne or Bourgogne Chitry.  

The Giraudon family has been farming and making wine in Chitry for centuries, and the current proprietor, Marcel Giraudon, follows very traditional methods in his work. Their vineyards are on hillsides of Kimmeridgian chalky marl as one finds in Grand Cru Chablis. Yields in the vineyard are kept modest and harvesting is done by hand. For the white wines, fermentation is carried out in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and for the pinot noir mainly fiberglass vats are used with a “drapeau d’eau” for temperature control. 

The terroir at Chitry is particularly well suited for the Aligoté grape which makes up 40 percent of the vines planted in the area. Marcel Giraudon has six of his 18.5 hectares planted to Aligoté. The wine goes through a malo-lactic fermentation which adds a lovely middle palate to its vibrant fruity and mineral qualities.