Domaine Sylvain Pataille Marsannay L’Ancestrale 2015 750 ML

This wine shows terrific balance and harmony. Quite delicate and smooth texture on the long finish.

Producer Information
Sylvain Pataille is a well-regarded wine producer based in Marsannay-la-Côte (in the Marsannay appellation), just outside the town of Dijon, at the northern end of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits subregion. The domaine is particularly known for its Pinot Noir wines from its home appellation and, unusually, for being a champion of the Aligoté grape. Estate winemaker (and consultant enologist for a number of Burgundy domaines), Sylvain Pataille, established his own operation in 1999 with just a single hectare (2.5 acres) of vines, while still working at a winemaking laboratory in Beaune. He went full-time in 2001, and today has around 15 hectares (37 acres) of vineyards all situated within or just outside the Marsannay boundary. All of Pataille’s vineyards are certified organic. The portfolio extends to around 20 wines. There are no Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay, but Pataille makes six red cuvees from different sites, plus the Ancestrale label from a selection of the oldest vines from across his holdings. The portfolio also includes village-level Marsannay Rouge and a Bourgogne Pinot Noir. Pataille also makes a range of Aligoté wines – four single-vineyard cuvées and a Bourgogne Aligoté. The estate also produces several Chardonnay wines, including two Marsannay Blancs, and a further two Bourgogne Blanc wines from parcels just outside the appellation boundary. The red wines are vinified with varying proportions of whole-bunch fruit in stainless steel or fibreglass vats. They are then aged in barrel of which around 15-30 percent are new. The white grapes have extended skin contact and are pressed quite strongly. Pataille uses natural yeasts for fermentation, and minimal doses of sulphur are added only at bottling. The white wines are filtered but not fined, while the red wines are bottled without fining or filtration.