Domaine Sylvain Pataille
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Sometime in history there may have been someone making Marsannay of equal fame and quality, but I've never heard of them. Sylvain grew up tagging along with his father to Jean Fournier's vineyards, and very much appreciated getting his hands dirty. As a young man, he was able to purchase a single hectare in Marsannay, and became known as a consultant through his experience with lab work right out of oenological school. Slowly growing his estate, Sylvain quietly became known as a wizard with the Aligote grape, though he's quite adept with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Marsannay was long known as the gateway to the Cote de Nuits, but beyond that was forever a source of wines that were defined as "approachable" or "easy-drinking", adjectives that are just fine; yet with Pataille, we find wines more befitting of words like "electic," "brilliant" or any other superlative that you favor. Above all, the quality of work in the vineyard is paramount, and the gorgeous textures and complexity his wines possess reward all the hard work.
In the vineyards, yields are tiny and the vines tended with biodynamic methods. Vines are often incredibly old, dating bac to the early 1930s, and Sylvain will retain most, if not all of the whole clusters for his red wines. In the winery, very little is done dogmatically with the elevage; instead the focus is on long, slow extractions to maximize texture, finesse and delicate flavors, and very little sulfur is used throughout. Most fermentations occur in barrel before blending in tank, and the wines are moved incredibly gently to preserve the delicacy. They will age until they are ready to drink by Sylvain's estimation, not a minute too soon for all of us!
