Sylvain Pataille
A sneeze away from Dijon sits Marsannay-la-Côte, another pearl in the Burgundian necklace that is Côte de Nuits. Swaddled by these verdant hillsides, you’ll find Sylvain Pataille, bespectacled but possessed of a seriously clear-sighted vision for organic and biodynamic viticulture in France today.
Nepo-baby clout is the unmentioned element that underpins the reputation of many reigning domaines across Bourgogne. Not so Sylvain, who’s of proudly humble stock– the son of a bus driver came up on the tether of his own bootstraps, studying winemaking in Beaune before starting his own production off the back of a single hectare in 1999.
part science and part intuition
More than two decades later, the domaine now spans 15 hectares, but it’s Pataille’s own reputation that’s exploded exponentially. A consulting oenologist to some of the most exalted wine houses across Marsannay, this expertise undeniably translates into the quality of his own range.
The antithesis of formulaic winemaking, Pataille’s approach is part science and part intuition, bowing humbly to what each wine asks of him. While many of the wines are aged 15-18 months, they’re tasted responsively each vintage, some receiving a full 24 month elevage where warranted.
Marsannay is primo Pinot Noir country, no question, and also one of a few places that lesser known Aligoté is unleashed. Domaine Sylvain Pataille champions the grape, farming it biodynamically and styling it to be vibrant and kaleidoscopic in its bouquet.
Now tending tracts of turf first farmed by Benedictine monks, Pataille might well be likened to those men of the cloth. The altar he worships at is purity; prizing a minimal intervention,
The antithesis of formulaic winemaking, Pataille’s approach is part science and part intuition, bowing humbly to what each wine asks of him. While many of the wines are aged 15-18 months, they’re tasted responsively each vintage, some receiving a full 24 month elevage where warranted.
Marsannay is primo Pinot Noir country, no question, and also one of a few places that lesser known Aligoté is unleashed. Domaine Sylvain Pataille champions the grape, farming it biodynamically and styling it to be vibrant and kaleidoscopic in its bouquet.
Now tending tracts of turf first farmed by Benedictine monks, Pataille might well be likened to those men of the cloth. The altar he worships at is purity; prizing a minimal intervention,