Domaine Stéphane Aladame Montagny Prélude 2024
£26.25
The wine
An expressive bouquet of ripe apricot and poached peach, underlined with lemon verbena. Bright on the palate, with a balanced texture, and a zesty freshness completed by a mineral mouthfeel that lengthens the finish.
Montagny lies across a tangle of fault lines, so its vineyards face every which way. Prélude is drawn from two village sites in the lower part of the appellation on clay and limestone, in the communes of Montagny-lès-Buxy and Saint-Vallerin. Direct-pressed, settled, fermented in stainless steel, then given ten to twelve months of ageing after malolactic fermentation, which is where the texture comes from. Aladame took on his first vines at eighteen and has been the reference point for the appellation ever since.
The producer
Domaine Stéphane Aladame
View all Domaine Stéphane Aladame winesIn Montagny, in the Côte Chalonnaise, Domaine Stéphane Aladame is a reference for this often-overlooked appellation. Aladame founded the estate as a teenager and has spent decades championing Montagny pure, mineral Chardonnay. Few know these slopes better.
Farming sustainably across a patchwork of premier cru parcels, Aladame works with precision and restraint. Careful vinification and judicious use of oak give wines of both freshness and depth. The style is elegant and true to place.
The range spans crisp premier cru Montagny and a fine sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne. Each shows the quiet class of the Côte Chalonnaise at genuinely fair value.
To pour an Aladame wine is to discover Burgundy best-kept secret. Mineral, refined, and beautifully made, these are whites for those who love white Burgundy without the grand-cru price.
