Philippe Pacalet Chassagne-Montrachet 2015
- Region
- France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Beaune » Chassagne-Montrachet AOC
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2015
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Alcohol
- 13
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
Ratings
As much as I enjoyed Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 2016, this bottle is a bit disappointing even in a blind tasting. Baked apples with cinnamon, nuts, butter, a bit of Jerez, wet cellar and citrus. With this wonderful nose comes a soapy, diluted and short palate. Good acidity, though.
About Producer
Philippe Pacalet, a distinguished figure in the natural wine movement, has made a profound impact on Burgundian winemaking. Despite his winemaking lineage dating back to 1780, Pacalet did not inherit land. Instead, he became a 'micro-négociant', renting vineyards in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, crafting wines in a facility acquired from the De Montille family in Beaune. Influenced by his uncle, Marcel Lapierre, and the teachings of Jules Chauvet, Pacalet has been a passionate advocate for natural wine, managing Domaine Prieuré Roch and crafting wines in Château Rayas and Domaine Leroy.
Pacalet's philosophy is grounded in minimal intervention, focusing on expressing each terroir's unique characteristics. He eschews industrial yeasts and minimizes sulphur use, opting for whole bunch fermentation and believing that the stems' ripeness is integral to the grapes' readiness. His meticulous approach includes hand harvesting and fermenting with natural yeasts on the grape skin, wooden vat fermentation, and low new oak usage to maintain the wine's delicate fruit and floral characters. His wines are unfiltered and unfined, bottled manually, emphasizing authenticity and a vivid expression of each plot.