Domaine Paul Pernot

The property’s key vineyards are the Premiers Crus of Les Pucelles, Clos de la Garenne and Champ Canet, but they are also the largest land owner of Les Folatières with three separate plots that when combined arguably produce the most complete representation of this vineyard.

It is worth noting that the basic Bourgogne Chardonnay produced at the domaine comes from old vines planted in 1975, bordering the Puligny village appellation. 

There have been various improvements in viticulture at the estate over the last five years, including ploughing all their vineyards to control weeds and pest, therefore reducing the amount of treatments required and preserving the natural health of the soil and vines.  

The wines are all picked by hand and the pickers instructed to select only healthy and ripe grapes (“Just the ones they would like to eat,” Alvina says). The juice is then immediately pressed on arrival at the winery, settled for a day and fermented entirely in barrels.

During vinification all the wines are treated exactly the same from Bourgogne Chardonnay to their Grand Cru sites. They are relatively restrained when it comes to new oak typically just 25%, with a relatively short élevage of 11 months. This is all done to preserve the maximum typicity of their different soils.

There is also minimal bâtonnage, and only only at start of élevage, perhaps just two or three times during this time, to help kickstart the malolactic fermentation.

The wines are fined in the 10th month of élevage and lightly filtered before bottling. Barrels are only ever lightly toasted and sourced from top Burgundy cooperage François Frères, who works directly with the domaine and adapts their barrels according to each vintage.