Burgundy
Domaine Patrick Size, Côte Chalonnaise
The largest of the five appellations on the Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey is shared by only two villages, Mercurey and Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu. It is in the latter, smaller commune that we find the domaine of Patrick and Séverine Size.
Patrick Size began working in the family vineyards in 1987 and assumed control of the 15 acre domaine from his father in 1996. A fourth generation winegrower in Mercurey, Patrick’s family roots stretch all the back to 1650 in two petite villages nearby.
He is representative of a new generation of Burgundy vignerons pushing the limits of their respective terroirs, but employing old-time, natural vineyard practices. These include severe pruning to limit yields, ploughing instead of spraying chemicals, and harvesting by hand. In the cellar, Patrick racks only via gravity, does not fine his wines, filters only once with kieselguhr a month before bottling and uses only a small perecentage of new oak to enhance, rather than mask the character of his terroir. The gem of Size’s domaine is his parcel in the 1 cru Clos des Montaigus (one of 30 premier crus in the appellation). This wine gives his Côte de Beaune neighbors to the north a run for the money. While Patrick’s production is even more lopsided than Mercurey’s ratio of 9 to 1 red wines to white, he makes an excellent Mercurey blanc from Chardonnay vines planted on lighter soils and a curious, mineral-driven Bourgogne Aligoté.
Domaine Facts
| Vines & Wines: | 13 acres in the commune of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Montaigus: 4 acres (average age of vines 30 years) Mercurey Village (Pinot Noir): 6.3 acres (average age of vines 43 years) Mercurey Village (Chardonnay): 0.3 acres Bourgogne Rouge (Pinot Noir): 2 acres (average age of vines 45 years) Bourgogne Aligoté: 0.4 acres Sustainably farmed (lutte raisonnée) – Oldest vines planted in 1937 |
| Soil: | Patchwork of limestone and marl slopes similar to Pommard |
| Harvest: | Manual harvest using small bins with strict selection in vineyard |
| Yields: | 43 hectoliters/hectare on average for Mercurey 1er Clos des Montaigus 45 hectoliters/hectare on average for Mercurey Village rouge 50 hectoliters/hectare on average for Mercurey blanc 50 hectoliters/hectare on average for Bourgogne rouge |
| Vinification & Elevage: |
All fruit is destemmed. Red wine maceration period is from 2-3 weeks with daily pigeage. Wines moved by gravity into a combination of new and older neutral barrels. Reds and whites undergo malo-lactic. Whites aged only in neutral oak. All wines racked once after malo-lactic and again before bottling. Neither reds or whites are fined but both are filtered with kieselguhr (powdery diatomaceous earth) one month before bottling. |
| Annual Production: | 36,000 bottles / 3000 cases |