Closerie des Alisiers Trilogie de Terroirs Pouilly-Fuissé 2020 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is an excellent Chardonnay from Burgundy that is new to the LCBO, arriving in stores this weekend as part of the LCBO VINTAGES Release on December 17.

It is produced by Stéphane Brocard, son of renowned Chablis winemaker Jean-Marc Brocard. After it started getting a bit too crowded at his father's family business, Stéphane set out on his own in 2007 and moved to Marsannay, founding his Trading House and the Closerie des Alisiers property in Chablis. In addition to owning his own vines in Pommard and the village of Daix, Stéphane set up a boutique négociant business contracting small parcels of carefully selected grapes because he had an intimate knowledge of the region, as well as the drive to blaze his own trail. He works with the same winegrowers and plots year after year to offer authentic wines based on purity of fruit and freshness, while also having the greatest respect for the terroir and environment. He encourages his vignerons to use organic farming methods and champions minimal intervention at all stages of production. Between Closerie des Alisiers and the wines of their partner estates, Maison Stéphane Brocard covers all of the appellations and diversity of Burgundy.

Crafted with 100% Chardonnay, this particular wine is called Trilogy of Terroirs because the grapes come from the three same selected plots, year after year, in the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation of the Mâconnais subregion in Burgundy. Grown within the communes of Solutré and Vergisson, the 70-year-old vines are based on limestone soils with very hard fossil corals. The vineyards are situated on fairly steep slopes with exposure to the east and south-east, and between 200 to 300 metres above sea level. The vines are tended to in reasoned culture with the greatest respect for the soil and the environment.

The growing season in 2020 in Burgundy produced classic wines despite the hot and dry conditions, and the wines of the vintage can be characterized and fresh, vibrant, and classically styled. From an exceptional year, let's see how this 2020 white wine from Burgundy is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS TRILOGIE DE TERROIRS POUILLY-FUISSÉ 2020 - AC, Burgundy, France (#26440) (XD) - $37.95
This 100% Chardonnay has a nose that seems a bit shy and tight, but with some coaxing offers ripe lemon citrus, mineral, apple, melon, and peach aromas with nutty notes emerging with time in the glass. It is beautifully structured on the medium to medium-full bodied on the nicely balanced palate with spicy apple, lemon citrus, melon flavours with a twist of honey. It has fresh and firm acidity, while mineral, nut, and mealy notes emerge on the long, juicy, and mouth-watering finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 92+ pts

Other excellent wines by Maison Stéphane Brocard can be ordered through their Agent - Connexion Oenophilia.

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Closerie des Alisiers Bourgogne Aligoté 2020 and Petit Chablis 2019 (Burgundy) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wine reviews are a pair of lovely white wines from Burgundy that arrived at the LCBO this weekend as part of the January 8th LCBO VINTAGES Release.

These are wines are produced by Stéphane Brocard, the son of a Chablisian winegrower Jean-Marc Brocard. Stéphane founded his Trading House after he moved to Marsannay in 2007, and in addition to his own vines in Pommard and in the old winegrowing village of Daix, Stéphane also works with the same winegrowers and plots year after year to offer authentic wines based on purity, fruit, and freshness while also having the greatest respect for terroir and the environment.

In Burgundy, the concept of 'clos' is very old, with the first clos appearing in the 7th century. Initially of religious influence, these stone walls multiplied in the 19th century and made it possible to retain the soil of each estate, giving each Burgundy estate its own personality. A Closerie is a small clos - a small property surrounded by walls or hedges.

Maison Stéphane Brocard established Closerie des Alisiers, and together with partner estates is able to craft wines from all of Burgundy's appellations representing the region's diversity, with an increasingly large range of organic wines. The wines of Closerie des Alisiers represent a range of Burgundy wines almost exclusively from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as few Aligoté wines. Together, they present the complexity and authenticity of Burgundy wines.

I've had the pleasure of tasting previous vintages of both of these wines - the 2017 Closerie des Alisiers Bourgogne Aligoté and 2016 Closerie des Alisiers Petit Chablis - and expect wines of similar quality, if not better this time around. Let's see how these Burgundy white wines are tasting tonight...

Tasting Notes:

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ 2020 - AC, France (#557728) (XD) - $17.95
Crafted with Burgundy's second white grape - Aligoté - this unoaked white wine has a medium-high intensity nose that is very pretty with lovely white floral, ripe apple, and zesty lime citrus aromas with mineral accents. The medium+ bodied palate has good weight and concentration with slightly honeyed notes of ripe apple, white flowers, lime citrus, and oyster shell mineral with a hint of orange in a dry flavour profile. Acids are fresh, succulent, and juicy. Slightly chalky textured with oyster shell minerality and lime citrus notes lingering on the long, juicy finish. Keeps you coming back for another sip. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90 pts

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS PETIT CHABLIS 2019 - AC, Burgundy, France (#557769) (XD) - $22.95
100% Chardonnay grown at altitude on Kimmeridgian soils of limestone, rich in marine fossils, and in particular small comma-shaped oysters. Raised entirely in stainless steel vats, the nose seems somewhat quiet, offering delicate aromas of lemon/lime citrus, oyster shell and limestone minerals, and a whiff of white flowers. The creamy, slightly chalky textured, mid-weighted palate is lightly honeyed and dry with ripe stone fruits, apple, lemon, pear, mealy, and nutty flavours flecked with minerality. Bright acids are fresh and juicy, while oyster shell minerals, ripe stone fruits, and light spice notes linger on the long, succulent finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90 pts

Other lovely wines from Closerie des Alisiers can be ordered through their Agent - Connexion Oenophilia.

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Closerie des Alisiers Bourgogne Chardonnay 2019 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a lovely, unoaked Chardonnay from Burgundy. It's a new arrival to the LCBO that's included in the August 21st LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Closerie des Alisiers wines are produced by Stéphane Brocard, son of renowned Chablisian winegrower Jean-Marc Brocard. in 2007, Stéphane moved to Marsannay and founded his Trading House. In addition to owning his own vineyards, he also works with the same winegrowers and plots who share his philosophy to create authentic wines based on purity of fruit, freshness, and great respect for the terroir and environment.

In Burgundy, the concept of clos is very old, with the first clos appearing in the 7th century. The stone walls that formed a clos were initially of religious influence, but also made it possible to retain the soil gave personality to each Burgundy estate. A Closerie is a small clos, a small property surrounded by walls or hedges.

This Chardonnay was crafted using fruit from various regional appellations within Burgundy, from vines averaging 25 years of age that were farmed using Reasoned Agriculture. It was vinified in Burgundian tradition by sorting in the vineyard (or table), then pressing and settling, followed by fermentation in stainless steel vats to preserve freshness, fruit, and minerality of the terroirs. Typical for white Burgundy, this Chardonnay has no oak contact.

The 2019 vintage in Burgundy is described by many as "one of the best ever" due to the long, hot and dry summer, yielding ripe and concentrated fruit to produce rich and deeply aromatic wines. Let's see how this 2019 Bourgogne is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY 2019 - AC Burgundy, France (#20911) (XD) - $18.95
This unoaked Chardonnay has a rich, deep nose that delivers generous aromas of lemon citrus, white flowers, and earthy mineral with hints of ripe stone fruit, apple, and white peach. On the medium+ bodied, it has lovely ripe yellow fruit, citrus, earthy mineral, apple and floral flavours framed by bright acidity. Hints of honey and yellow plum join the mineral, citrus, and apple notes on the spicy mid-palate. Excellent length on the long, minerally finish. Highly recommended buy. Score: 90 pts

Other lovely wines by Stéphane Brocard are available through their Agent - Connexion Oenophilia.

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Closerie des Alisiers Bourgogne Aligoté 2017 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a lovely white wine that is made using Burgundy's other white wine varietal - Aligoté - and will be arriving on VINTAGES shelves this weekend as part of the August 17th LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Stéphane Brocard, son of famed Chablis winemaker Jean-Marc Brocard. Closerie des Alisiers was founded by Stéphane when he settled in Marsannay (south Dijon) in 2007. In addition to working his own vines in Pommard and in the old wine village of Daix, Stéphane has also been working for years with the same growers and on the same plots for the wines he sources according to his philosophy that focuses on purity, fruit and freshness. He likes to produce genuine wines while having respect for terroir and environment. Stéphane's main objective is to highlight terroirs through the each grape variety.

This white wine was vinified in stainless steel vats and made in order keep in line with his philosophy to preserve the purity of the fruit, minerality and freshness. Ageing for 6 to 9 months and malolactic fermentation also occurred in stainless steel vats.

Tasting Note:

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ 2017 - AC, Burgundy, France (#557728) (XD) - $18.95
The medium+ intensity nose offers enticing aromas of apple and lime citrus mingling with flinty minerality. It is medium+ bodied, a touch creamy, and quite fleshy with good fruit concentration on the palate. Nicely balanced with more flavours of apple and lime citrus with a distinct oyster shell note. It has crisp and fresh acidity, while the finish is long and minerally. Recommended buy. Score: 89 pts

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Closerie des Alisiers Petit Chablis 2016 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's lovely little white wine is a Petit Chablis that arrived as a new release into LCBO VINTAGES on November 10.

It is produced by Stéphane Brocard, the son of a Chablis winemaker. He settled in Marsannay in 2007 and founded Closerie des Alisiers to craft wines of purity, fruit, and freshness, while respecting the land and environment, and highlighting the terroir for each wine.

In addition to work in his own vines, he has worked with some selected winegrowers throughout Burgundy over many years, carefully selecting small parcels of grapes. He has worked with many of these growers to establish organic farming practices. The grapes for this particular wine were hand-harvested at peak maturity and direct pressed, followed by fermenting and ageing exclusively in stainless steel tanks.

Tasting Note:

CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS PETIT CHABLIS 2016 - AC, Burgundy, France (#557769) (XD) - $25.95
Fermented and aged completely in tank, this unoaked Chardonnay has a fresh and fragrant nose with lemon and citrus with hints of white peach and leesy notes. It is light-to-medium bodied on the palate with more lemon, citrus, ripe apple, and white peach flavours with a fine mineral underpinning. Some grapefruit and floral notes arrive with air, adding complexity. Nicely balanced with clean, crisp, and bright acids providing freshness. Fine mineral and apple notes linger on the long aftertaste. Score: 89 pts

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