Domaine Sylvain Pataille Marsannay "Fleur de Pinot" Rose

When Sylvain Pataille founded his domaine in 1999 on entirely leased land, Marsannay rosé was an afterthought in the Côte de Nuits. Fleur de Pinot was his deliberate argument against that assumption — a field-blend rosé assembled from three distinct vine plantings across decades: 70% Pinot Noir (1949), 15% Pinot Gris (1935), and 15% Pinot Noir from Chamforey (1954). The oldest Pinot Gris vines, planted before the Second World War, contribute a textural density and aromatic complexity that straight Pinot Noir rosé cannot replicate.

The Marsannay parcels sit at 270–330 m elevation on east and southeast-facing slopes across Marsannay-la-Côte, Chenôve, and Couchey, where gravelly topsoils over Comblanchien limestone and iron-rich clay produce wines of pronounced mineral tension rather than soft fruit weight. All fruit is farmed under organic certification (Ecocert) with biodynamic methods integrated since 2007, including horse-ploughing to preserve soil structure.

Vinification follows Pataille's house philosophy: indigenous yeast fermentation, no sulphur added during fermentation, minimal SO₂ at bottling only. The 2021 vintage — marked by spring frost, mildew pressure, and sharply reduced yields — delivered exactly the conditions that suit this cuvée: cool-season precision, elevated natural acidity, and a mineral spine that amplifies the limestone-gravel terroir signal.

The inclusion of pre-war Pinot Gris vines in a Marsannay AOC rosé is without parallel among the appellation's producers — a transgression that is simultaneously a preservation of pre-appellation field-blend tradition.