At a recent tasting in London, I had the opportunity to sample some of Philippe Pacalet’s 2006 including Gevrey Chambertin village and 1er Cru Bel-Air, Nuits St Georges and Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru. Even though his Burgundies were all different from each other bearing the specificities each different site was providing, they were also showing similarities: precise, pure and intense fruit, great balance with good tannins showing good potential to age, and long length. What struck me the most was the purity and great precision of their aromatics. I needed to meet and speak to this man who, apart from having fantastic winemaking pedigree, has been successfully true to a traditional and very precise approach of winemaking. Olivier Bourseau: Philippe Pacalet, thank you for taking the time for this interview. Could you tell us a little bit about your background? Philippe Pacalet: My family has been making wine over 3 or 4 centuries. I have therefore grown up in this environment. I did some scientific studies about oenology and some scientific research about yeasts. I have had the chance to find a job after university with one of the most famous wine estate in Vosne Romanée (Domaine Prieuré Roch) where I worked for 10 years got some experience and then I set up on my own in 2001. I manage about 8 hectares of vineyards currently Olivier Bourseau: Your wine estate is spread out over different villages: Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits St Georges and Pommard also. Could you tell us a little bit more about the major differences between these sites and which are according to you the most difficult plots to develop? Philippe Pacalet: I try to work these 4 terroirs as they appear very diverse and I would like to demonstrate what terroir is and the differences between these sites. I am a big fan of Gevrey Chambertin which represents 60% of my red wines. I have 3 Premiers Crus and 2 Grand Crus within Gevrey. Chambolle Musigny has got some kind of warm and easy feel to it with a nice mineral character and tension to it, as Pommard does. Nuits St Georges and Gevrey require a little bit more work but both provide great rewards. Olivier Bourseau: The winemaker is crucial in Burgundy as there are tremendous differences between wines made in the same area. Where has the winemaker got to intervene the most in order to make the best wines? Philippe Pacalet: It’s everywhere! It is a sum of different details gathered which will produce something good. It is important that there is some kind of intervention, but not too much either. You need experience too. You need some scientific knowledge and a little bit of an artistic touch too. You need to intervene without being noticed too much. It is not easy! You need to take some risks too. It is usually afterwards that you know if you made the right decisions. We wish a lot, because we work with the weather, but it is not easy!               Olivier Bourseau: You also have an interest in food. Do you think about food and specific dishes when you make wine? Philippe Pacalet: Yes I try to make “gastronomic” wines. I am lucky as have lots of Chefs relatives. We chat often. It is not the same world but it is close nonetheless. I do not create my wines depending on some kind of food though. However it can provide inspiration for me. Olivier Bourseau: The last vintages have been pretty good in Burgundy over the last 5 years. What are the major differences? Philippe Pacalet: 2003 and 2004 were vintages where we had some issues with maturity: 2003 because of the drought, and 2004 because of hail. 2005 was a vintage where everything was easy and we got good wines. 2006 and 2007 made good wines because of the climatic evolution: we now have good late season and we harvest in September. 25 years ago the rule was to harvest in October, but we do not have the same seasons now. So we make the most out of this climate change with very good end of August and end of September very good and very dry which are good for the maturity of the vines. It is even better not to have a great sunny and hot summer because too much warmth will block the ripening process sometimes as Pinot Noir doesn’t like heat. Olivier Bourseau: What are the other regions in France or in the world you consider interesting for their wine on a consumer and winemaker standpoints? Philippe Pacalet: I like all the good wines made from a single grape variety. I like a good Bandol with Mourvèdre (main grape variety in this region from the South of France), the Northern Rhone and even some wines from the Loire valley. I don’t know many foreign wines but I quite like Piedmont because they are close to Burgundy with their single varietal Nebbiolo. It is easier to express terroir with a single grape variety. You have one parameter only to deal with. Otherwise you dilute. You can make good wines too but you can not call it the same thing. You have to be a little bit accurate. I like what used to do Château Rayas at Châteauneuf du Pape for instance which is a single grape variety with Grenache. It is a heady wine but at the same time with a kind of lightness and incredibly tasty. Apart from that I believe that the greatest wines have to be linked to gastronomy. It is irrefutable. You can have wine as an aperitif but it is a little bit of a quick thing. I think one has to take time when drinking wine. Time is an important concept. We had the chance to get to know Alain Chapel who unfortunately passed away and was a great Chef in Mionnay (Rhône area in France) who knew how to taste wines. I feel that something is lacking to fine cuisine without wine. It is something which has to be achieved in order to evolve and these wines part of fine dining have to be “gastronomic” wines.