France · Chablis

Domaine Pattes Loup

Thomas Pico established Domaine Pattes Loup in Courgis in 2005. The 15-hectare estate is organically farmed, its wines fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for at least 36 months, with some cuvées reaching 48 months. The 2022 Vent d'Ange shows ripe citrus and pear, broad texture, firm Chablis acidity and a long mineral finish.

The producer

Thomas Pico founded Domaine Pattes Loup in Courgis in 2005 and immediately began strict yield control and conversion to organic viticulture. The estate now covers 15 hectares, with close attention in the vines and approximately one worker per hectare. Pico pushes ripeness toward the edge while preserving the acidity associated with Chablis, giving the wines fuller fruit without losing their brisk movement.

In the cellar, every wine ferments with indigenous yeasts and receives at least 36 months of élevage, with some cuvées reaching 48 months. The 2022 Vent d'Ange Chablis shows what this approach tastes like: crushed rock, chalk, oyster shell and briny sea air over Meyer lemon, green apple, Bosc pear and dried honey, with broad texture and a long mineral finish. The named range also includes 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons and Beauregard, with firmer, layered profiles shaped by minerality, acidity and lees ageing.

Known for

Organic Chablis shaped by strict yield control, ripe fruit, indigenous fermentation and extended élevage, with acidity carrying the wines through a broad mineral finish.

Notable facts

The story

The 2005 conversion

In 2005, Thomas Pico established Domaine Pattes Loup in Courgis and immediately began strict yield control and conversion to organic viticulture. As the domaine grew, its vineyards reached 15 hectares, all carefully and organically farmed, with approximately one worker per hectare of vines. The same attention continued after harvest. Every wine ferments with indigenous yeasts, then receives at least 36 months of élevage, while some cuvées are given 48 months. A single founding year appears in the estate's practical details: fewer grapes per hectare, close work across the vines, indigenous yeast in the cellar and a long wait before bottling. Some cuvées now remain in élevage for 48 months.

From the atlas

Domaine Pattes Loup

At A Glance

Domaine Pattes Loup is Thomas Pico's estate in Courgis, within Chablis in Bourgogne. Founded in 2005, it now covers 15 hectares farmed organically. The wines ferment with indigenous yeasts and receive at least 36 months of élevage, with some cuvées reaching 48 months. The named 2022 range includes Vent d'Ange Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons and Chablis 1er Cru Beauregard.

The Producer

Thomas Pico started Domaine Pattes Loup in Courgis in 2005 and built it around close vineyard work, controlled yields and long cellar ageing. The estate's 15 hectares are carefully and organically farmed, while the cellar uses indigenous yeasts for every wine. A Chablis label from Pattes Loup therefore carries two signals at once: fruit allowed to ripen fully, and acidity kept firm enough to carry the wine through extended élevage.

Pico's wines have drawn comparisons with Dauvissat and Raveneau because they combine depth and ageing capacity with a newer, more textural feel. The bottles do not rely on a lean outline alone. Vent d'Ange, the most fully documented wine in the range, carries ripe citrus and pear inside a broad palate marked by rock, chalk and oyster shell.

Place

Courgis is the village base for the domaine, and the named wines carry Chablis or Chablis 1er Cru on the label. The range therefore moves from a Chablis bottling to two Premier Cru wines, Vaillons and Beauregard. Those names describe the bottle's appellation level, while the cellar calendar and vineyard work shape how much weight, acidity and development appear in the glass.

The grape variety is not specified in the supplied material, so the wines are best understood through their confirmed labels and tasting character. Across the range, Chablis acidity remains the fixed line. Pico pushes ripeness close to its edge, keeping the fruit fuller without allowing the wines to lose their brisk, mineral-driven movement.

Soil And Site

No verified geology, slope, aspect, elevation or parcel description accompanies the named vineyards. The wines can still be placed physically through Courgis and legally through the Chablis and Chablis 1er Cru labels. Their tasted character comes from the documented combination of organic farming, ripe fruit, firm acidity, mineral impressions and prolonged élevage, not from an unsupported soil story.

Story

The estate's arc runs from a newly established domaine to a 15-hectare operation built around unusually long development in the cellar. The present scale is matched by concentrated labour, with approximately one worker per hectare of vines. That ratio points to repeated attention across the vineyard, from yield control to the point at which grapes reach the ripeness Pico wants.

The cellar extends the arc. Every wine ferments with indigenous yeasts, then receives a minimum of 36 months of élevage, while some cuvées are tested over 48 months. Fruit enters the bottle after a longer period of settling and development than the quick, narrow Chablis stereotype suggests. The range carries ripe citrus, pear, mineral notes, lees-derived breadth and persistent acidity because farming and ageing are treated as one continuous decision.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic viticulture began immediately when Pico established the domaine, alongside strict yield control. Careful farming allows ripeness to reach the edge while preserving the acidity associated with Chablis. In the glass, that pairing appears as fruit with weight and freshness at the same time: Meyer lemon, green apple, Bosc pear and dried honey sit inside a wine that keeps moving.

Indigenous fermentation leaves the wines to develop with their native yeast population. The minimum 36-month élevage then gives the cuvées time to gather texture and lees-aged breadth. Vent d'Ange shows this especially clearly, feeling broader than typical basic Chablis while retaining energy. Depending on the cuvée, 48 months of élevage can extend that development further.

Wines

Vent d'Ange Chablis 2022 is the range's Chablis bottling and the most completely documented wine here. It pours deep straw to almost golden, with crushed rock, chalk, oyster shell and briny sea air. Meyer lemon, green apple, Bosc pear, citrus zest and dried honey fill the palate, while brioche appears at the finish. Its broad, textural feel separates it from a simple, light Chablis profile.

Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2022 occupies the first cru level of the range. Its profile is mineral, firm and shaped by lees ageing, with enough depth for further development in bottle. The wine's role is less about overt fruit than about a tighter, more layered palate where mineral character and a firm line hold the wine together.

Chablis 1er Cru Beauregard 2022 offers the other documented Premier Cru reading. Fruit sits alongside minerality and acidity, with a textured palate and a persistent finish. Vaillons brings firm, lees-aged breadth; Beauregard brings fruit, mineral character and a long close. Together with Vent d'Ange, they show three points in the estate's verified range without pretending to catalogue every cuvée.

In The Glass

Vent d'Ange begins in the glass with lifted lemon zest, white flowers, crushed oyster shell and a salty suggestion of sea air. The deep straw colour prepares the palate for some breadth, and the first mouthful brings Meyer lemon, green apple and Bosc pear before citrus zest and dried honey add weight. Long élevage contributes a rounded, lees-aged feel, while Chablis acidity keeps the wine racy and moving. Mineral character remains after the fruit fades, carrying the finish far beyond the first sip.

Vaillons follows with a firmer shape and a more pronounced lees-aged impression. Its mineral profile gives the palate a steady line, while further ageing can soften the edges and deepen the wine's layers. Beauregard brings fruit into sharper focus, then returns to acidity, mineral notes, texture and persistence. Across the three wines, ripeness supplies flavour, acidity supplies movement and élevage supplies breadth.

A Bottle To Understand It

2022 Vent d'Ange Chablis is the first bottle to reach for. It has the fullest tasting detail and gathers the estate's defining choices into one glass: organically farmed fruit pushed toward ripe citrus and pear, indigenous fermentation, at least 36 months of élevage and acidity that keeps the wine alive.

Look for a deep straw to golden colour, then crushed rock, chalk, oyster shell and briny sea air. On the palate, Meyer lemon, green apple, Bosc pear, citrus zest and dried honey build a broad, textural wine before minerality carries the finish. It is a Chablis bottling with more breadth than the basic category often suggests, while the acidity keeps its energy intact.

Anecdote

In 2005, Thomas Pico established Domaine Pattes Loup in Courgis and immediately set the new estate on a different farming path. His first recorded decisions were strict yield control and conversion to organic viticulture. The work continued as the domaine expanded to 15 hectares, all carefully and organically farmed. In the cellar, the wines receive at least 36 months of élevage, with some lots reaching 48 months depending on the cuvée. The estate also employs approximately one worker per hectare. The episode moves from a named founder and a specific year to a farming decision, a larger vineyard holding and a long cellar calendar.

Final Word

Pattes Loup joins ripe fruit to the acidity of Chablis, then gives that combination time in the cellar. Vent d'Ange shows the clearest meeting point: lemon, pear, honey, oyster shell, broad texture and a mineral finish that keeps unfolding. Vaillons and Beauregard extend the range into firmer, more layered Premier Cru territory.

Sources

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