Pataille "Aligote"
Regular price $42.00
Unit price per
Grapes: Aligote
Region: Marsannay, Burgundy, France
Vintage: 2020
Viticulture: Certified Organic + Biodynamic methods
Soils: Limestone + Gravel
Vinification: Directly pressed (2/3 in older barrels, 1/3 in tank).
Aging: 12 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Notes from the Importer: Sylvain Pataille is one of the new breed of winemakers who first achieved the highest level of technical training before beginning to craft his own wines. A highly-regarded consulting oenologist, who still advises over 15 Burgundy domaines, Pataille has in very short order built up (mostly en fermage) a domaine of some 15 hectares, all in Marsannay, the northernmost, and most recent (1987) AOC of the Côte de Nuits.
Though he is best known for making exceptional Marsannay reds, Mr. Pataille has begun to explore the potential of aligoté, the almost forgotten third grape of Burgundy. Few grapes have been as scorned in the last 50 years. Aligoté is often described as thin, acidic and insipid, capable of nothing better than serving as the base for kir, in which white wine is flavored with crème de cassis. Since 2013, Mr. Pataille has been bottling separate cuvées of aligoté, planted in some of his best plots, to demonstrate how well it can transmit the character of a place.