As prices for top level White Burgundy attain planetary escape velocity and exceed the financial abilities of anyone lacking a discretionary couple of mil in the bank, what do the rest of us drink when we want to drink White Burgs? We’ll take Aligoté! It’s been a fixture in Burgundy for generations, something for the workers to drink, but winemakers have lately been applying their Corton-Charlemagne or Puligny-Montrachet skills to the not-so-lowly-anymore Aligoté.

Top Aligoté releases like Rollin’s are racier than Chardonnay but still reflect a sense of place; they pair well with seafood and cheese, and did we mention that they’re not in the stratosphere? The vines in the Rollin vineyard are 50+ years old, which adds to the body and richness of the wine. There’s ample acidity and definite aging potential if you like your white wines with a touch of age.

This 2022 Rollin Aligoté is quite special. The family is in their fourth generation as vignerons, with all the wine they make now bottled under their own label. They know what they’re doing. Rollin’s Aligoté is considered to be at the very top rung of the Aligoté hierarchy, with the only serious competition coming from Aubert de Villaine and his Aligoté de Bouzeron. Aubert keeps his day gig though – he owns the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and the other white he releases at DRC is Montrachet. For $10K+ per bottle. On releases. Good thing he still makes Aligoté, just in case things don’t go well at the other property (he must have listened to his mother when she told him to ‘always have something to fall back on.’) By comparison, the Rollins are all-in on their property, with Aligoté being just one of their shining stars. One of their affordable shining stars.