11 Jan 2022

One of the most enjoyable meals we had during our cask tasting trip to Burgundy this year was lunch in Puligny-Montrachet, from the inexpensive menu du jour at a little brasserie on the village square, next to the mairie.  Just a few yards from the Michelin-starred Le Montrachet, the brasserie was bustling with vineyard workers.  This authentic face of Puligny sits very easily alongside its more glamorous aspect, as does Domaine Jean Pascal.  Alexandra Pascal's wines are listed at Le Montrachet, but we feel sure she would be happier nattering with her fellow vignerons over lunch at the brasserie.  Recently elected mayor of the Puligny (pop. 387!), she is at the heart of the most famous of all wine making villages.  Her wines are consistently authentic, honest and brilliant value, with amazing purity of fruit.  You can read more about Jean Pascal in our profile of the domaine, below.

As at most domaines in the Côte de Beaune, very little wine has been made in 2021 and their stocks of earlier vintages are already low.  We have been very fortunate with allocations this year, especially since their wines are such staples for many of our customers.  We strongly recommend buying them whilst they are available, as goodness knows what allocations will be like next year. 

Always a show-stopper, the 2020 Bourgogne Blanc was exceptionally elegant this year.  Alexandra's Auxey-Duresses always captures something of the structure and intensity of top quality Chassagne and this is especially the case with the 2020, which shows some wonderfully integrated new oak influence and lots of concentration.  The Puligny-Montrachet 'Les Enseignères' lieu dit was a masterclass in tension and energy, with a streak of minerality and fine floral aromas. However, this year, the Folatières 1er Cru was the star wine here.  Despite the value offered by the other wines, there was an undeniable step-up, with complex layers of aroma and flavour, the finest vintage of this wine that we have tasted.

As we said last year, these are superb, honest wines that take you right into the heart of one of the Côte d'Or's most prized wine villages, without the associated elevated prices.  We recommend adding them to your cellar while they are available.

Offered en primeur, landing Autumn 2022.

Producer Profile

Domaine Jean Pascal, Puligny-Montrachet

The white burgundies from Domaine Jean Pascal in Puligny-Montrachet have become a benchmark for us of what white burgundy should offer, with their amazing fruit purity and a chiselled ("cisele"), focused character, even in the recent run of warmer vintages. 

The domaine is just 500 metres from Puligny's village square, home to Domaine Leflaive and Hôtel Le Montrachet, but compared with these starry names it could not be more down to earth, a 'paysanne' domaine (in relative terms).  Nevertheless, Pascal's Bourgogne Chardonnay and Puligny's are a staple of Le Montrachet's list...quite a recommendation.

The domaine was started by Joseph Pascal in the early 1900s when he arrived in the village and began working in the vineyards for Domaine Leflaive.  Gradually, he acquired his own vines.  In the 1950s, with low demand for fine white burgundy, the family also started a vine nursery ("pépinière") which now produces half a million vine rootstocks each year.  Now run by Jean's grandson Yann and his wife Alexandra, the domaine's 15 hectares of vineyards are spread over four towns (Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Volnay and Auxey-Duresses).

Perhaps being so firmly rooted in viticulture gives the Pascals their skill at making wines with such brilliant fruit character.  Many domaines produce wines with more layered complexity (at many times the price) but few surpass them when it comes to purity.