Bourgogne Aligoté Petit Puits 2022 Domaine Sylvain Pataille

The Bourgogne Aligoté Petit Puits 2022 from Domaine Sylvain Pataille is among the most distinctive and concentrated Aligoté cuvées in the domaine's range, from an exceptional parcel whose name, Petit Puits, refers to a gentle natural depression that ensures perfect drainage and a stable microclimate of remarkable consistency and precision. A lesson in balance and depth that restores Aligoté to its proper standing. Far from the sharp acidity sometimes levelled at the variety, it displays the concentration of old vines and the mineral tension of Burgundian soils, magnified by ageing of rare precision.

Terroir and vineyard

The Petit Puits parcel is a micro-vineyard of 0.59 hectares planted on red clay and limestone soils, a substrate of remarkable geological richness and complexity that gives this Aligoté a concentration, depth, and elegance more reminiscent of Chardonnay than the typically brighter, more acidic expression of the variety. The absolute singularity of this parcel lies in vine age: planted in 1929, they are now over 95 years old, likely among the oldest Aligoté vines in the domaine and among the rare century-old Aligoté vines still in production in Burgundy. These deep, extensive roots, naturally very low yields, and concentrated root systems in red clay and limestone produce grapes of incomparable density and aromatic precision for this variety. Certified organic and biodynamic viticulture. Hand-harvested, vertical press, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, 12 to 18 months ageing in older barrels, minimal sulphiting at bottling.

On the palate

The colour is pale yellow with green glints, crystalline and luminous. The nose shows a delicacy and complexity that evoke Chardonnay more than Aligoté in its most familiar expression: ripe pear and yellow apple mingle with candied citrus, hawthorn, and acacia flower, accompanied by delicate herbaceous notes and fine, precise minerality. The whole is of absolute elegance and coherence, surprising in its richness and depth. On the palate, the texture is both dense and luminous, with a natural concentration inherited from century-old vines that immediately distinguishes this Petit Puits from all other domaine Aligoté. Natural acidity is well present but perfectly integrated, bringing tension and length without hardening the palate. Limestone minerality runs through the palate with great elegance and persistence. The finish is long, saline, and of absolute crystalline purity.

The domaine

Born in Marsannay-la-Côte to a non-winemaking family, Sylvain Pataille studied oenology in Bordeaux before returning to champion the terroirs of the Côte de Nuits with passion. He founded his domaine in 1999 with a single rented hectare and patiently built a 17-hectare vineyard. A convinced advocate for Aligoté's return to Burgundian vineyards, he now produces no fewer than six distinct parcel-specific Aligoté cuvées. Petit Puits, with its 1929 vines, is the confidential jewel of this collection.

Food pairing

This Bourgogne Aligoté Petit Puits pairs beautifully with fine de claire oysters, raw scallops with lemon, cold langoustines, line-caught sea bass carpaccio with fresh herbs, roasted turbot en nage, Burgundian snails with parsley butter, or aged firm-paste goat cheese. Served between 10 and 12 °C in an open-bowled glass, it will reveal the full concentration of century-old vines, the mineral depth of red clay and limestone, and the absolute elegance of a Burgundy Aligoté at one of its rarest and most refined expressions.