Chambolle-Musigny Philippe Pacalet 2012

Lot presentation

Chambolle-Musigny Philippe Pacalet 2012

The wine

This Chambolle-Musigny fulfils the promises of its appellation: elegance and sensuality. It will charm you with its delicate floral (rose, violet) and fruit (small red berries) flavours, and silky texture. Pinot Noir grapes from fifty-year-old vines are harvested by hand and vinified whole without sulphur. The grapeskin cap is punched down for a month (pigeage) to extract colour and refine the tannic structure. Natural yeasts trigger the alcoholic fermentation which precedes malolactic fermentation in Burgundy pièces (228-litre barrels). The wine is then aged for 15 months without further addition of sulfites.

Descended from a long line of winemakers, incredibly dating back to 1780, Philippe Pacalet is today considered as one of the leading figures in the natural wine movement of Burgundy. The nephew of Marcel Lapierre, a pioneer of natural wines in Beaujolais, Philippe learned the ropes alongside his uncle before training in oenology and immersing himself in non-interventionist winemaking practices, notably with mentors such as Jules Chauvet. After a decade at Prieuré Roch, where he refined his approach, in 2001 he went independent with his own négociant business in Beaune, a model that is now a pioneer in the world of natural wine.
Without owning any vines of his own, he is committed to developing long-term contracts with grape growers who cultivate their plots with respect for the soil and the rhythms of the vine. He sets the harvest dates and oversees all the technical stages himself – from the selection of the grapes to the ageing of the wines – according to his minimalist and contextualist philosophy.
Ingrained in the heart of the Côte de Beaune, his négociant business remains traditional: around 10–15 hectares of sorted grapes, hand-harvests, annual production rate of around 50,000 bottles, exported and renowned across the globe. Both his red and white wines are renowned for their pure expression of terroir, their finesse, and their noble ageing potential, whether they are Burgundy Village wines, Premiers Crus, or Grands Crus, such as those from Corton or Chambolle-Musigny. Philippe Pacalet is also supported by his partner Monica, who contributes to the selection of grapes and the definition of wine profiles.
The key to his success? A genuine desire to reveal the terroirs, coupled with meticulously conducted vinification processes, opting for non-interventionist methods and using only minimal and controlled doses of sulphur. His very natural wines are strikingly well-balanced and, for the most part, have excellent ageing potential.