Sylvain Pataille and his Bourgogne Aligotés, Marsannay.

It is in “smaller” appellations such as Marsannay that one still finds this age-old solidarity among winegrowers, which enabled Sylvain Pataille, a consultant oenologist renowned for his talent as a winemaker throughout the Côte de Nuits (notably at Château de la Tour, in Clos Vougeot), to establish himself...

Indeed, the story of Sylvain Pataille, a rising star of the Côte de Nuits, shows that in Marsannay-la-Côte, neighbours know how to stand together. At a time when vineyard land is increasingly rare and expensive in Burgundy, Sylvain Pataille nevertheless managed to fulfil his dream. From a single hectare (rented!) in 1999, his domaine grew to two hectares in 2000, then four hectares in 2001. 2002 marked a major step forward, expanding to ten hectares and, above all, bringing in some fine parcels. Today, he is the proud owner of 14 hectares of vines, on the very land where he was born.

A truly tireless worker, Sylvain Pataille tends his vines with uncommon dedication. As he himself says, such growth in just a few years “wears a man down”. But his relentless commitment has borne fruit. Today, Sylvain Pataille produces some of the finest wines in the Marsannay appellation. Since his brother joined the estate, and thanks to the support of skilled assistants, Pataille was able in 2008 to certify his domaine as organic and to experiment with biodynamics because, in his view, he had reached a sufficient level of responsiveness and control to take the leap.

He speaks of élevage as a “continuation of the vine”. He does not like to “rush the plant”, and sees himself more as a conductor than as a musician, though he modestly adds that he says this “just to be silly”. “You are not the one who should guide what is already programmed. It is the climat, the year, the plant. We must simply try to express what emerges from it. We have a magical fruit, a fruit capable of mimicry, of reproducing all the aromas around it. [...] I do not like to alter the vintage.”

Our selection of Sylvain Pataille wines

• Bourgogne Le Chapitre red
• Marsannay Longeroies red
• Marsannay Clos du Roy red
• Marsannay L'Ancestrale red
• Marsannay white
• Bourgogne Aligoté Les Auvonnes au Pépé white
• Bourgogne Aligoté Clos du Roy white

Why buy wines from domaine Sylvain Pataille?

Because we love them, and because we believe these wines fully deserve a place in your cellar! But as some of our customers have told us, “we are not objective, since we tasted and chose them in order to sell them: we have a vested interest”. That is why we prefer to “defend” our selection through the comments of major guides, more objective than we are:

Guide RVF des Meilleurs Vins de France 2026 (Sept. 2025): 1★/4 (Buy with complete confidence). A demanding winegrower, he works his vines by horse, intervenes as little as possible, retains a proportion of whole bunches and is committed to long élevage, sometimes for more than 2 years, with virtually no sulphur. The wines show sincere, engaging personalities full of vitality; they deserve to be discovered more widely, particularly for his wonderful aligotés and admirable Marsannays, which have virtually no equivalent in the region.

Guide Bettane et Desseauve 2023: 3★/5 (High Quality). Oenologist Sylvain Pataille knows how to forget what he learned during his studies in order to work with the greatest respect for the natural character of the grape, and to advise his clients to do the same. His domaine of 16 hectares includes more than one hectare of aligotés, a variety about which he is passionate. He limits them to 30 hectolitres per hectare, producing truly exceptional aligotés. The consistency of the domaine and the noble style of its wines undoubtedly make it the leading estate today in a village that is hardly short of talent. The wines are quite powerful, with medium to long ageing potential. Yet they can also be enjoyed for their crisp fruit; the tannins, though clearly present, are never harsh here—quite the opposite. The low sulphur protection sometimes gives them a complexity outside the usual conventions, but it is fascinating. Taste his Marsannay rosé to discover a treasure that is fading from Burgundy’s current evolution, which now seems to recognise only white and red.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Neal Martin - Dec. 2015): I have to say, it is the whites that really took my fancy in 2014... and not necessarily Chardonnay. Check out some really wonderful Bourgogne Aligoté from Sylvain that are solid evidence that this variety can produce wines every bit as entrancing as Chardonnay. Sylvain here takes it to a new level with some fascinating terroir-specific bottlings that I had not tasted before. Indeed, I liked most of Sylvain's whites, though the entry-level reds seemed to lack a little substance and density. It was only once you started rifling through the likes of his top Marsannays such as the L'Ancestral and Clos du Roi that they began delivering the complexity and personalities expressed by the whites. Still, as ever, it is great to see a Marsannay producer putting Marsannay on the map.

Discover our selection of fine wines signed by Sylvain Pataille: