The 2009 Bourgogne Aligote Plantation 1902 is made from vines that are over 100 years old and is aged in oak barrels. It possesses breathtaking depth in its expressive, delineated fruit. Though texturally quite rich and intense, there is not a hint of heaviness to be found in this old-vines Aligote. The Plantation 1902 is another jewel of a wine from Olivier and Alice de Moor. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. My visit to this tiny estate in Courgis was a highlight of my recent stay in Chablis. These fabulous wines from Olivier and Alice de Moor are all the more remarkable because the de Moors own no premier or grand cru land. Through diligent, painstaking work Alice and Oliver de Moor have elevated their wines well above their humble pedigrees, showing just how much can be done when the focus is purely on growing the best fruit possible. Biodynamic farming and artisan winemaking are the rule here. The wines are aged 10-12 months in oak, see one racking and are bottled with no fining or filtration. Simply put, these are some of the most pure, striking wines readers will come across in Chablis, where so many wines are quite industrial. I was blown away by what I tasted. Readers should do whatever they can to taste these fine, handcrafted wines. The world could use a few more vignerons like the de Moors. I have listed the wines from Le Vendangeur Masque, the de Moor’s negociant line, separately.Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191

The De Moor’s “regular” Aligote bottling (from vines in Chitry) was impressively concentrated but almost severe in its tart citricity, and revealed a faintly funky overtone I suspect crept in from some older barrels, but their 2008 Bourgogne Aligote Plantation 1902 (albeit at a much higher – indeed, for its variety and save for Domaine d’Auvenay record-setting – price) reveals not only the concentration born of ancient vines in Saint-Bris and their tiny, millerandanged berries, but also offers yet another demonstration that this grape’s potential is underrated. Ripe peach, cherry, lime and grapefruit along with piquant, sizzling, well-integrated notes of zest, pit, and pip are joined by saline, chalky, Saint-Bris-typical mineral inflections. This is firm and bright but not austere. Suggestions of toasted nuts no doubt reinforced by the subtle influence of barrels lend depth to a gripping finish. I suspect this will be worth following for at least 4-5 years. The high acids and sheer concentration of Alice and Olivier De Moor’s 2008 raw material came close to getting the better of a couple of their wines, making for a collection qualitatively more heterogeneous than usual, but culminating in the best Chablis I can recall from this address (which I have been visiting off and on for more than 15 years).Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191