Philippe Pacalet's Pommard 2021 is a village red from the Côte de Beaune, made with whole bunches, native yeast and no added sulphur. It comes from a cool, frost-cut year and is lighter on its feet than most Pommard.
About This Wine
The fruit comes from south-facing vines averaging around 45 years old, on the clay, limestone and pebble soils that give Pommard its firmer build. Pacalet ferments the Pinot Noir as whole clusters and leaves it a long time in barrel without adding sulphur. In 2021 frost on the nights after 5 April hit the Côte de Beaune hard and red volumes fell to about half of normal. The surviving grapes ripened slowly through a damp summer, so the wines have moderate alcohol and plenty of freshness.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Red cherry, raspberry and a little black cherry, with rose, earth and a peppery edge from the stems.
- Palate: Medium-bodied and juicy, with bright acidity and fine, supple tannins.
- Finish: Clean and savoury, with red fruit and a light iron note.
Serving & Food
Pour it at 15 to 16°C in a Burgundy glass, and open the bottle an hour before dinner, since young natural wines can show a faint prickle. Good now and through to about 2031. Try roast guinea fowl, veal chop with mushrooms, or soy-glazed pork belly.
How to Enjoy
Burgundy drinkers who prefer freshness and perfume to weight, and weeknight dinners with roast meat.
Product Details
Producer: Philippe Pacalet
Country: France
Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
Appellation: Pommard
Vintage: 2021
Grape: Pinot Noir
Winemaking: Whole-bunch fermentation, native yeast, no added sulphur
Volume: 750mL
About the Maison
Pacalet is a nephew of Marcel Lapierre of Morgon and learned the trade in his uncle's cellar from 1985 to 1991. He then spent ten years running the vineyards and vinification at Domaine Prieuré Roch in the Côte de Nuits, where organic farming, whole clusters and native yeasts were already the rule.
In 2001 he set up on his own in Beaune. With land out of reach, he rents parcels and farms them himself under contract, so he controls the vines, the picking date and the winemaking. He now works about 10 hectares across Burgundy, Beaujolais and the northern Rhône, making around 50,000 bottles a year and bottling by hand.