Sylvain Pataille - Marsannay - White - 2023

Wine:

The 2023 White Marsannay is pure and saline, with a vibrant energy that gives it impressive tension. It combines generous texture with a saline backbone, resulting in a wine that’s both distinctive and harmonious—an expressive and complete portrait of its terroir.

Vinification:

Hand harvested from fifty-year-old vines. Red clay soil on limestone. Whole grapes pressed, vinification with indigenous yeasts. Aged on lees for 18 months in 15% new barrels, then transferred to vats for 1 month.

Temperature:

Serve between 10 and 12°C.

Food and wine pairing:

Bresse chicken with cream and mushrooms, pike quenelles with Nantua sauce and crayfish, trout with almonds, green curry prawn risotto, pan-fried foie gras or terrine.

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.