Philippe Pacalet studied oenology, specialising in microbiology. He is the nephew of Marcel Lapierre, one of the key figures of the natural wine movement, from whom he inherited his low-intervention philosophy. After ten years as manager of Domaine Prieuré Roch, owned by one of the families behind Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Philippe Pacalet launched his own project in Beaune in 2001.
Pacalet works more than 10 hectares in some of the most prestigious appellations of the Côte d'Or, through contracts with several growers.
He buys their harvest as long as they apply his philosophy in their plots: letting the vine feed itself so that it can reveal the personality of the terroir it comes from.
For his winemaking he follows the method of his uncle Marcel, who relied on intuition and minimal intervention. Pacalet is known for making his wines with minimal sulphites. Winemaking begins with carbonic maceration of whole bunches, and alcoholic fermentation relies on each vineyard's native yeasts and frequent daily foot-treading of the cap.
