LES GRASSES TÊTES 2018 (Domaine Sylvain PATAILLE)

DESCRIPTION

LES GRASSES TÊTES is a wine made from vines planted on the eponymous place. The locality Les Grasses Têtes is renowned for producing a wine of great finesse with a well-defined structure.

TERROIR

The placeLes Grasses Têtes is located on the southern slope of MARSANNAY village. The vines are planted between 285 and 330 meters high and facing east.
Several faults run through it, fracturing the Jurassic marls and limestones and bringing out two limestone basements of different ages:

• At the top of the plot, the soil consists of Comblanchian limestone dating from the Bathonian (-167 to -164 Ma), which was deposited in a very shallow marine environment with warm and luminous waters. It is a very pure limestone, its calcium carbonate rate exceeds 99%, it is also very compact and resistant to erosion. Its thickness can reach up to 60 meters in places.

• At the bottom of the plot, the soil is composed of an older geological layer of crinoidal limestone dating from the Bajocian (-171 to -167 Ma), and which the set of faults brought out to the surface in the Oligocene, when the region was subjected to significant tectonic movements. This limestone was formed by the accumulation of skeletal fragments in a shallow marine environment but in waters subject to waves. Its orange color indicates an abundant presence of iron oxides.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The estate has been working in accordance with the organic farming specifications since 2008 but it lost its certification in 2016 in order to save its crops. It will get it again with the 2020 vintage, which is why the 2017 and 2018 vintages do not carry the official Organic label.

After the harvest, the grapes are taken to the cellar where they are carefully sorted and partially destemmed before being vatted. The alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are carried out without yeasting (native yeasts and bacteria).

The vatting duration is not konwn in advance, the decision to drawn off is taken after a must tasting session. The must is then aged for 18 months in oak barrels, including 15% of new barrels. No SO2 is added during the vinification.
At the end of the aging period, the must is drawn off without filtration or fining. A slight dose of SO2 is added before the bottling.