Tasted in Marsannay with Laurent Pataille, 30 May 2022.
Domaine Sylvain Pataille
14 Rue Neuve
21160 Marsannay-la-Côte
Tel: +33 3 80 51 17 35
More Reports with Domaine Sylvain Pataille
Sylvain was visiting customers but that gave me the chance to taste his wines with his brother, Laurent. It also meant that I could twist Laurent’s arm to get to taste a few of his wines too – I made an extra report here!
Laurent explained that in 2020 the volume of reds that were produced was close to the limit that they need, but the volume for the whites was not too bad – exactly the reverse of 2019!
The wines…
I occasionally fear that Sylvain is heading in a direction that is ‘too natural’ but his wines remain so absolutely delicious – as to be expected, there are quite a number of wines here that are worth searching out…
First some whites:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté
From bought grapes – “Elegant and fruity is the approach but hopefully with good concentration – we hope ‘fair-trade’”
A round, sweet but disarmingly attractive nose. Waves of fine flavour, subtly savour, always delicious – lovely wine.
2020 Marsannay Blanc
Extra vibrance to this aroma, perhaps needing a little sulfur but this is clearly fun too. Mouth-filling, mineral suggesting reduction – dynamic. A nose short of bravo!
2020 Marsannay Chardonnay Rose
Introduced as ‘rose’ but it’s clearly not rosé! ‘Chardonnay rose’ is a mutation of chardonnay that seems to be found only in Marsannay. Sylvain noted that he had these pink grapes amongst the usual yellow-green as far back as 2002, and since then he’s decided not just to propagate this mutation, he’s also planted them at high density – 2014 was his first vintage for this cuvée.
A tighter but elegant nose. More mouthfilling, a little more structural and mineral – delicious and very good.
2020 Bouzeron
A wide and incisive nose that needs a little sulfur again. Direct and mineral, an aniseed accent then a wide wave of delicious flavour. Yum!
2020 Bourgogne Aligote Champs Forets
A parcel in Marsannay that was planted between the 1930s and 1960s
A modest aroma, but it becomes much higher toned. A wine with a big volume and lots of energy – mineral again. Super intensity… yum!
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté Auvonnes Au Pépé
A very small parcel of 1930s vines from Sylvain’s grandfather, Pépé. Between Marsannay and Couchey
A brighter, crisper nose, gas but layers of vibrant flavour reductive-mineral and intense – ooh that’s so good – always with a moreish freshness.
0.3 hectares of vines planted in 1949.
A vibrant, almost slightly toasty nose – yes! Silky again, more intense but broader that’s a great wine.
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté Clos du Roy
About 0.2 hectares that was also planted between the 1930s and 1960s
Another nose of mineral interest. The largest of scale, very mineral again. Long, stricter wine but subtly long. Another delicious wine.
All chardonnay from 0.7 hectares of vines that were planted in 1955 – plus another hectare of pinot. Sylvain began in Le Chapitre with the 2008 vintage – (I still have some of that) “I had just 3 barrels from 1 hectare, a 6hl/ha a horror for the first vintage. 2009-2012 wasn’t much easier as I ploughed and broke up lots of surface roots – thereafter I saw plenty of improvements though.”
Some fermentation notes. In the mouth – ooh that’s good – fluid, mobile flavour perfect balance of minerlaity and acid energy. That will be great!
2020 Marsannay Charmes au Prêtre Blanc
Almost a little butterscotch. Super width and texture again – wide, growing in mouthwatering shape – today lightly spiced pear, faintly caramelised.
“I have an objective in life,” says Sylvain, “To make rosé as great as I taste in Italy!”
Airy and fresh. There’s a little fizz here today – there’s depth but there’s refreshing flavour too. Yes!
Les Reds:
2020 Bourgogne Rouge
‘Fair-trade red.’
Vibrant, faintly some whole clusters are bringing extra complexity. Fresh, framed with a fine tannin – no dryness. Modest weight and long finishing too.
2020 Marsannay
2.4 hectares worth of vines – the youngest from about 1980.
An easy but silky and clean nose. Good structure, nice impact vibrant and concentrated finishing. Very good.
2020 Marsannay En Clémengeots
A more wc perfume to this wine. Hmm, a little gas and extra intensity, the flavour of the stems is more apparent – there’s more austerity here too but still in a good/interesting way.
2020 Marsannay La Montagne
‘It’s one of the highest parts of the Côte de Nuits and a future 1er Cru, but it’s an oven in the summer!’
A deeper, fuller nose, textured, faintly pyrazine but very impressive all the same. More class to the shape and texture, waves of mouth-watering flavour – a bit too much pyrazine in this flavour for me…
‘In the middle of 3 different soil-types’
So perfumed! That reminds me of the Latricières perfume from this morning. That’s silky, direct, energetic wine. Bravo!
Gorgeously perfumed again – this time with more spice. Some gas, wide, energetic fine complexity – vibrant and juicy wine – spiced and almost a suggestion of green in the middle flavour – but only a suggestion. Great wine again!
2020 Fixin 1er Hervelets
That’s vibrant – such a fine and complex purity of aromas – perhaps a little green, perhaps not – but still a great nose. Wide, mouth-filling tannin but almost fluffy not hard. Ooh – I love that finish – simply excellent wine!
‘It’s the best terroir of all these’
Super nose again – so rose perfumed and complex. Supple, framed with a modest tannin a structural wine to wait for – but what wine – wait 5 years – bravo!
The only blend of the domaine, the oldest vines, all done by hand, and will have 2 years elevage – ‘Not a single tractor-tyre in the vines in the last year – 1 ha done by horse.
Extra sliky, extra class – not the largest nose. Ultra-sophisticated, still a grain of tannin – another Latricières flashback from this wine – it’s great!