Highlights: Dinner at Les Caves Madeleine, Beaune, with two exceptional Aligotés
Website: https://cavesmadeleine.com/
If you are heading to Beaune, two things you must do before travelling: make a reservation at La Dilettante, and make a reservation at Les Caves Madeleine. We had the latter, but not the former, so we stopped at La Dilettante for a drink, then dined at Caves Madeleine, which is a great experience both for the food, and also the amazing and fairly priced wine list. We chose two aligotés from the list, which were both beautiful.
Roulot Bourgogne Aligoté 2018 France
12% alcohol. Lovely aromatics: floral lime, pear and some lime oil. Vibrant and concentrated with lemony intensity and good acidity. Mineral, layered and complex, with a bright stony core. 94/100
Chanterêves ‘Les Chaignots’ Bourgogne Aligoté 2021 France
Lovely aromatics here: toasty, spicy and linear with lovely lime and pear fruit as well as fine toasty notes. This shows precision and mineral detail with subtle reductive hints. Such concentration and intensity: this is saline, expressive and quite remarkable. 95/100