Marsannay L'Ancestrale 2023 Domaine Sylvain Pataille

The Marsannay L'Ancestrale 2023 from Domaine Sylvain Pataille is the domaine's flagship and arguably the greatest wine of the Marsannay appellation, scoring 95/100 from Revue du Vin de France on the 2020 vintage and 96 from Decanter on the 2022. Pataille proves that great Burgundy can come from a modest address, in Jancis Robinson's words. L'Ancestrale has uncommon scope, built around sapid vitality and lined with supple tannins, refined by 24 months of ageing, reaching the finesse and persistence of a Grand Cru.

Terroir and the vines

L'Ancestrale is blended from the domaine's oldest vines, aged 60 to 80 years, all situated on the slopes of Marsannay at east-facing exposure and 290 metres altitude. The lieux-dits are among the appellation's most prestigious: Clos du Roy, Clémengeot, Les Ouzeloy. The soils are pink gravelly grèzes litées over white oolite, a substrate of remarkable lightness and mineral precision for such a northern Côte de Nuits address. Yields are very low, around 20 hectolitres per hectare, producing small millerandaged bunches typical of these old twisted Pinots that should never have been neglected. For the 2023 vintage, the cuvée is vinified at 100% whole bunch, a bold decision that speaks volumes about Sylvain Pataille's confidence in his fruit that year. Maceration is slightly longer than for other cuvées. Ageing lasts 24 months in barrel, with a high proportion of new wood in the first year, then previously-used barrels to soften the oak and let the wine express itself fully.

Tasting profile

The robe is deep ruby with purple reflections, dense and showing good depth. The nose is still closed and reductive on first contact with the 2023 vintage, characteristic of Pataille's top cuvées in their youth. With aeration, aromas of bilberry, blackcurrant and raspberry unfold gradually, accompanied by notes of tobacco, cedar, liquorice and old plums announcing the tertiary complexity to come. Notes of black olive and oriental spice further enrich this bouquet of remarkable depth and density. On the palate, medium body with lively tannins and assertive structure, dark fruit tinged with black olive and a sapid finish with marine notes. This wine will benefit from bottle age, built for the next ten to fifteen years.

The domaine

In 1999, Sylvain Pataille, trained as an oenologist, founded his domaine in Marsannay-la-Côte with just one hectare of rented vines. Today his vineyard extends across 17 hectares. A tireless advocate for Marsannay's terroirs, he is recognised as the vigneron who restored nobility to this appellation for too long underestimated by international critics. His biodynamic practices, deliberately limited yields and minimal cellar intervention produce wines of consistent delicacy and precision, universally praised.

Food pairings

This Marsannay L'Ancestrale pairs beautifully with jugged hare, capon with morels and truffles, aged rib of beef with wild mushrooms, game birds such as partridge with cabbage, or aged cheese like Époisses. A minimum two-hour decant is essential in its youth. Served between 15 and 17 °C, it will progressively reveal the depth, vitality and breeding of a wine that has elevated Marsannay to the ranks of the Côte de Nuits' finest appellations.