Bourgogne Aligoté 'Corvée Eglise' Henri Richard 2021

“Corvée de l’Eglise” is the label of Domaine Henri Richard, evocative of a rural and ecclesiastical past, as only Burgundian nomenclature can be: the reference to an ancient plot owned by the local church is evident, which had to be worked on mandatory days by local farmers. The two brothers Sarah and Richard represent the new generation of the Bastien family, the current owners of the Domaine, and have taken the historical Burgundian concept of artisanal processing to new levels: first obtaining organic certification and then biodynamic certification.

To create this bottle, Domaine Henri Richard dedicates time, care, and attention to the great forgotten grape of the Côte d’Or, the Aligoté: a variety normally confined beyond the southern borders of the region, or on the heights or valleys of the slopes. The parcel from which these Aligoté grapes come, from vines that are between 30 and 45 years old, is located in the municipality of Morey-Saint-Denis and is located at the exit of the alluvial cone of Combe Grisard, benefiting from the influx of fresh currents. The soil has characteristics that are rarely found within a simple regional denomination: it is particularly draining, thanks to the high presence of sand and pebbles that cover the underlying limestone plate. The fully ripe clusters are hand-harvested and vinified whole. Fermentation occurs spontaneously through indigenous yeasts in oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation also naturally takes place. The aging process involves a period of 12 months in oak barrels. Clarifications and stabilizations before bottling occur naturally, through static decantation.