Sylvain Pataille - Bourgogne aligoté - White - 2023

Wine:

The 2023 White Burgundy Aligoté delivers striking freshness and vibrant fruit flavors. Juicy and solidly built, this wine is both ripe and radiant, overflowing with clean, luminous fruit character. Its lively palate is driven by citrus flavors, framed by a subtle, elegant bitterness. A superb expression of Aligoté with clarity and energy.

Vinification:

Hand harvested from sixty-year-old vines. Red clay soil on limestone. Whole grapes pressed, vinification with indigenous yeasts. Aged for 12 months in barrels.

Temperature:

Serve between 10 and 12°C.

Food and wine pairing:

Appetizers, Comté cheese gougères, Beaufort cheese soufflé, sea bream ceviche, sole in white butter sauce.

Cellar aging:

Starting today and continuing until 2031.

A leading name in Marsannay, Sylvain Pataille has earned its place among Burgundy’s greats, gradually expanding its vineyard holdings to 17 hectares.

Awarded one star by the French wine guide RVF, Sylvain Pataille is a passionate advocate for the terroirs of Marsannay and Chenôve, including the often-overlooked Clos du Chapitre. Uncompromising in his approach, he practices rigorous organic farming—using horse-drawn plows—and in the cellar favors ultra-gentle pressing, a high proportion of whole-cluster fermentation, and extended aging (often over two years) with minimal sulfur and about one-third new oak.

The resulting wines are vibrant, honest, and deeply engaging—especially his exceptional Aligotés and remarkable Marsannays, which stand virtually alone in the region for their character and quality.