Pataille is the single most reliable producer in Marsannay, the one that put the village in the map. ‘Ancestrale’ is the flagship cuvée, consistently showing beautiful complexity, dimension, and beautiful terroir expression.

The 2014 displays a combination of blue fruit and lifted red berries including sour cherries, wild strawberry, a touch of sous bois. Clearly a whole-cluster wine but ripe at the same time. This is a serious wine that easily can improve for another 10 years, yet one with enough complexity to enjoy now. - Daniel

Pataille’s Marsannay ‘Ancestrale’ is always the completest wine among this already venerable lineup of villages bottlings. It is an assemblage of three of Marsannay’s top sites, with only the oldest vines reserved for this micro-cuvée.

If you’re new to these, Sylvain’s style is natural leaning and strongly marked by whole-cluster, both memorably on display here. There is a Vosne-like (!) nose of flowers and spice, and then a generous mouthful of foresty blue-spectrumed fruit. The natural approach adds sauvage nuances without sacrificing purity. There is just so much to like here, but I’ll single out the stunningly expressive nose as a particular high point, perhaps unsurprising if you’ve crossed paths with these singular wines before. - Jason

We are always searching for wines of finesse and fidelity, deliciousness and personality. This wine gets top marks in all those categories but in terms of unique character it is especially strong. And that's no surprise given that the genie of Marsannay, Sylvain Pataille, has poured his love into this wine. Pataille is somewhat of a paradoxical figure: a unique thinker with confident vision and technical acumen (he spent years in an oenological lab in Beaune), yet with deep knowledge of Burgundy past (especially that of Gevrey and Marsannay). And although he may be better known for his idiosyncratic assembly of aligoté lieux-dits, there's no better demonstration of his respect for viticultural heritage than this wine.

The Ancestrale is a blend of three lieux-dits (Ouzeloy, Clos du Roy, Clémengeot; one each then from Chenove, Marsannay and Couchey, for those keeping track) from old vines befitting of the name. The vines were planted between 1930 and 1945. After indigenous-yeast fermentation of whole bunches with gentle extraction, the wine is aged for 24 months in barrel and sees minimal sulfur added at bottling. It's not just a uniquely special wine for Pataille but for the whole of Burgundy. These are the lowest prices in the US, before 3-pack pricing.