Philippe Pacalet, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy

An introduction to Philippe Pacalet, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy

The Grand Cru Chames-Chambertin cuvée by Philippe Pacalet comes from a small parcel of Pinot Noir vines in the Grand Cru designated Charmes-Chambertin vineyard, situated on the mid-slope to the south of the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. The limestone marl soil and favourable easterly aspect of the climat promote good phenolic accumulation, and the resultant wines from Charmes-Chambertin show fine depth of fruit and persistent tannins. The bottling from Philippe Pacalet wears this bright fruit character on its sleeve, with a perfumed bouquet of griotte cherry, violets and baking spices, its gregariousness unmuted by either sulphur dioxide or filtration.

Performance

Understanding Philippe Pacalet, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy

Philippe Pacalet’s holdings in the Charmes-Chambertin vineyard are farmed organically, without recourse to herbicides or insecticides and with most of the viticultural work carried out by hand. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented in whole clusters with native yeast. Extraction is managed by a combination of extended maceration (typically over three weeks) and manual pigeage. After gentle pressing the wine is matured in neutral French oak barrels for between 16-20 months without sulphur dioxide additions, and bottled without filtration to retain texture. This is a fine example of Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin. Elegant and powerful at the same time, this is a sophisticated wine that will evolve into something even more ethereal with a decade or so of bottle age.

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