Philippe Pacalet
Minimal intervention, maximum elegance
Philippe Pacalet is a winemaker with an impeccable pedigree. The nephew of the renowned Beaujolais natural wine-maker Marcel Lapierre, by whom he was mentored as a young man, Pacalet went on to make wine at the illustrious Domaine Prieuré Roch in Prissy-Prémeaux during the 1990s. Next moving to Beaune to establish his own project. He now farms 10ha of vineyards spread across the Côte d’Or, including numerous Premier and Grand Cru sites. Although Pacalet’s rare winemaking savoir-faire is evident in all of his wines, his flagships of Corton-Charlemagne, Charmes-Chambertin and Ruchottes-Chambertin are of particular note.
Using only organically and biodynamically farmed fruit, Pacalet’s vinifications are done with whole bunches, no sulphur and long barrel ageing. His minimal-intervention methods are aimed at simply expressing the identity of the vineyard sites from which the wines are made. Increasingly sought-after by Burgundy aficionados, Pacalet's wines are characterised by a purity, elegance and vibrant fruit expression that is almost unmatched in the Côte d’Or.