Harvested from the eastern facing, 1 hectare 'En Clémengeots lieu dit of Marsannay, the vines of which were planted in 1951, 1989 and 2006, this wine was fermented 50% whole-cluster using wild yeast and was matured for 18 months in oak (15% of which was new. A minimal dose of sulfur was added only at bottling. Sylvain Pataille is perhaps secretly one of the most important figures in Burgundy today. Beyond being a leader in organic and biodynamic viticulture, he is also a consulting oenologist for some of the most famed domaines in the region. Sylvain grew up around wine, though his family didn’t own any vines. Sylvain knew from an early age that winemaking would be his career and he attended winemaking school in Beaune to make that dream come true. He then startes his own domaine in the village of Marsannay, at the northern edge of the Côte de Nuits. Starting with just 1 hectare in 1999, he slowly grew his domaine to its current size of 15ha. He practices very low yields, ploughs by horse, and works biodynamically, earning him the reputation as one of the finest farmers in the Côte d’Or. For his vinifcations, he presses long and slow, uses only indigenous yeast, and adds very little sulfur only at bottling. Aging takes between 15-18 months but can be longer depending on the wine. If a certain vintage and certain vineyard requires 24 months, he will do so, allowing the wine to tell him what it needs as opposed to following any formula. Sylvain’s wines are extraordinary examples of what top farming, matched with one of the brightest oenological minds, can produce. They are wines of incredible balance, seamless textures, and clearly defined minerality that can only come from the one the greats of Burgundy. 12.5% ABV
