2019 Marsannay Grasse-Tête

Sylvain Pataille has the craziest hair in Burgundy, a wild explosion of locks that I would describe as part Noddy Holder circa Come On Feel the Noize and part Barbara Streisand circa A Star Is Born. This year I discovered his brother has similar locks of hair, so much so that if they leaned together they risk sticking together like Velcro. “We started the harvest on 6 September with the Marsannay Blanc on limestone soils,” Pataille explained. “The picking was carried out over almost three weeks and the average yields were 32hl/ha.” We discussed the need for his reds to undergo a second winter in barrel. “I think they need two winters,” he opined. “The wines change completely on the first warm days of the second spring. You feel them change in just two days. You smell that they don’t want ‘food’ anymore and is the time to bottle.” He then spoke about the 2019 vintage. “I didn’t understand anything in 2019,” he admitted, only half-joking. “It was warm and dry, but the wines are so fresh, more so than the 2018s. When you try 2018s, they are generous and concentrated but 2019 is so well balanced.”

Pataille has popularized Aligoté more than anyone else, so I expect him to make delicious, occasionally thought-provoking Aligoté wines. In 2019 he duly delivers. Just sip his Marsannay Clos du Roy to see what I mean. Incidentally, Pataille told me that nowadays all his Aligoté vines are farmed by horse, after which he proceeded to excoriate tractors for causing soil compaction that damages the roots and water uptake. Pataille is now so synonymous with Aligoté that is easy to overlook the fact he is a dab hand with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Admittedly the multitude of cuvées can become a bit confusing, not helped by that awful blue label that is at times illegible. But the wines are well worth the effort and eyestrain.