I have zero experience with Bourgogne Passetoutgrains; as I understand it’s been out of favor for a while (what with less profitable Gamay vines being removed in favor of PN) but is starting to come back into vogue with a new generation of winemakers like Guillaume d’A. While I eagerly await the arrival of the 2014 d’Angerville Bourgogne Passetoutgrains that I’ve ordered I’d love to hear all your thoughts about it - how it differs from regular Bourgogne Rouge, your favorite producers, does it age at all, etc
Dureuil-Janthial makes a lovely passetoutgrain. Very fun, delicious drink. I’m not sure if more serious versions exist or how well they age. Theoretically, there’s no reason why not, right?
Lafarge’s is well known, and Groffier’s was historically good (the Groffier quip allegedly being that the secret to making a good Passetoutgrains was to use more Pinot Noir and less Gamay), but my favorite these days is Emmanuel Rouget’s.
Even though some are getting moderately expensive, the genre itself was historically firmly in the class of thirst-quenching, beverage wines (sometimes without compunction cut with cassis to make ‘Cardinale’, the red equivalent of Kir), nicely expressed by Daniel’s ‘fun, delicious’ characterization of Vincent Dureuil’s rendition. I can’t think of an exception to the rule that they’re vinified with that in mind. And my experiments with aging them haven’t been hugely rewarding, their evolution generally being quite rapid and not brining appreciable additional complexity, only losing the drama of youth. Lafarge’s probably gains the most by aging. So I would generally suggest popping corks in the comparatively near term, personally.
I have very limited experience with Passetoutgrains, but I am surprised that you don’t see it replicated in the USA.
Excess mid-quality Pinot Noir could easily be blended with some Gamay (or even Valdiguié from Suisun or wherever). It seems like a style that would please many people.
I had a bottle of Groffier’s ‘14. It was unremarkable, with not a lot of recognizable Pinot or Gamay character. Not impressed, even as a light quaffer.
I get it from time to time. In fact we just finished our last bottles of David Clark’s 2010 Passetoutgrains. I found Hudelet-Noellat sorta marginal in certain years. Groffier’s 2014 PtG was really, really good.
I have some bottles of Gerard Mugneret Passetoutgrains and it’s fun to drink, but the best experience was when Pascal Mugneret gave us some partially fermented 2016 Passetoutgrains to taste on a visit.
I have tried the ones I’ve come across and that includes d’Angerville and Lafarge, but my favorite is Jean-Louis Trapet’s version “A Minima”. Fantastic fruit and a great thirst quencher. I have limited experience aging them, but have so far preferred their youthful fruit over the mild evolution I’ve seen.
Ha, I clicked on this thread after thinking, I’ve got some Pinot and Gamay I might blend…wonder what people think of Passetoutgrains.
A few people already do it here. Elemental Cellars labels it as such. Bow & Arrow calls it something different. I’d bottle some but Gamay is at a premium and I can’t see marketing a wine as Passetoutgrains. So what to call it? But perhaps…
I have most enjoyed Lafarge, G. Mugneret, Rouget and Chevillon, but a unique, wild, funky version is that of Bruno Clavelier. If you can find it, it’s worth a go.
Funny this thread came up just as I took delivery of a couple bottles of 2015 from Francois Lamarche. I brought one home from the locker to try out soon.
Here in Oregon Beau Carufel did one under his Random Wine Company label, though it simply labeled as Gamay/Pinot.
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