Philippe Pacalet Burgundies I recently had to drink a couple of Joseph Drouhin Burgundies and they made me think how happy I am that we are importing Philippe Pacalet Burgundies. Drouhin is a reputable and admirable firm and many geeks I know seem to love their wines. Drouhin makes sound and often excellent wines and in all fairness I was not drinking wines from great vintages. They were solid and without excess, but they did not have the finesse and beauty that everyone associates with Pinot Noir. Or at least, that they used to associate with Pinot Noir. There was something dried and clunky which took away from the wine and finally which dominated what I was drinking. Pacalet's 2004s recall another flavor and sensory profile. The wines almost suffer from aromatic intensity and subtlety -- something complex is going on in the glass, something that transcends technique. Perhaps there is even some terroir. Philippe buys grapes only from pinot fin plantings, that is from the old massale of Pinot Noir, and vinified gently without sulfur. A small amount of sulfur is added at bottling for stability, but the wines keeps its purity and attraction. People write about Pinot Noir with religious fervor but I rarely find drinking Burgundies a religious experience. Pacalet has restored my faith. By the way, I took a look at Drouhin's web site and they are comitted to using séléction masale plantings in the Côte d'Or and are propogating these plantings at their own nursery. This seems admirable and no doubt adds somethings to their bottlings. They also have large holdings in Chablis. They mention on their site how they hand harvest in Côte d'Or but are silent about how whether or not they machine harvest in Chablis. I hope this doesn't mean they machine harvest in Chablis' great vineyards, but.... |
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