Philippe Pacalet, Bulles Pinot Noir, 2019

Deep, Mineral

He uses his own team to hand harvest; and the grapes are sorted in the vineyard before being brought to the winery. Here they are fermented - always 100% whole cluster - in large, open top vats.The clusters are pressed whole and undergo their first alcoholic fermentation with native yeasts in Burgundy oak barrels for four months and without adding SO2. The second fermentation takes place in the February after the harvest and ageing continues in the winery following the traditional method of ageing on lees and in the bottle.

Notes on the Producer

Philippe Pacalet is a now legendary figure of natural wine in Burgundy. He is the nephew of Marcel Lapierre, who trained him from 1985 to 1991, leaving an indelible mark on Philippe. A sensitivity towards this type of wine would seem to be in the family genes. Philippe then got noticed by Henry-Frédéric Roch, who would entrust him with vinifications at Prieuré-Roch from 1991 to 2001... An impeccable track record, needless to say. In 2001, Philippe took the next leap and moved to Beaune to make a name for himself. Quickly confronted with the reality of Burgundy land values, he decided to rent parcels in Chablis, Côtes de Beaune and Côtes de Nuits. Today, he farms 10 hectares for a total annual production of around 50000 bottles. The vinifications are done with whole bunches, no sulphur, long barrel ageing, the work of a precision craftsman whose only goal is to best express each climat or terroir, and to do so only using artisanal methods. Even the bottling is done by hand!