2023 “Two Eggs” Aligoté, Swick Wines, Willamette Valley, USA

The Moment

Some Aligotés are built around straight-line freshness.
Others bring a little more curve.

The 2023 “Two Eggs” Aligoté feels like a bottle that takes Aligoté’s natural brightness and gives it a little more shape, softness, and intrigue. Profile of zesty lemon, crisp green apple, flinty minerality, and a hint of white flowers. That already sounds like a very good lane: lifted, stony, and clean, but not too severe.

What makes this bottling especially interesting is the way it appears to have been raised: Wine was aged in two 700-liter concrete eggs with no skin contact. Thus a more textural, rounded feel than a simple tank-raised white. That fits the name, and it fits the style too — Aligoté with real tension, but also a little extra body and polish.

What It Feels Like

Think oysters, fries, a roast chicken with lemon, and a white that makes everything on the table feel a little sharper and cleaner.

What makes this wine work is the balance between citrusy lift and mineral structure. Lemon and green apple keep the wine vivid, while the flinty edge and egg aging suggest something a little more layered than a basic porch white. It feels like the kind of bottle that starts crisp and refreshing, then quietly reveals more shape as it warms in the glass.

In the Glass

Aromatics
Zesty lemon, crisp green apple, white flowers, and a flinty mineral lift.

Palate
Bright citrus and orchard fruit with a clean, stony line running underneath.

Texture
Fresh and focused, but likely a little rounder and more textural than a strictly stainless version because of the concrete-egg aging.

Finish
Clean, mineral, and lifted, with citrus and chalky freshness carrying through the close. 

Why We Love This Bottle

Aligoté With More Than Just Snap
The lemon, green apple, and flinty edge sound very true to varietal, but the concrete-egg élevage hints at a little more presence and shape than the leanest examples.

A White Built Around Precision
This sounds like a bright, mineral, natural-leaning white that stays clean and food-friendly rather than aromatic or plush.

A Very Good Oyster-And-Fries Bottle
The mix of citrus, minerality, and likely textural polish makes this exactly the kind of white that works with shellfish, salty food, and simple dinners that want a little edge.

Pair It With

• Oysters
• Fries
• Roast chicken with lemon
• Goat cheese
• Simple fish dishes

Technical Notes

Producer: Swick Wines
Cuvée: “Two Eggs” Aligoté
Vintage: 2023
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Grape: Aligoté
Alcohol: 12.5% ABV

Winemaking: Aged in two 700-liter concrete eggs and saw no skin contact.

Body: Light-Medium
Structure: Bright acidity · mineral drive · subtle textural roundness

Flavor Profile
Lemon · Green Apple · Flint · White Flowers

Drink Window
Now–2028