Francoise & Denis Clair Santenay Blanc 2013
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Serve with fresh salad, grilled fish or fish with light sauce.
His wife Françoise was born in Saint-Aubin, a neighboring AOC village 2 1/2 miles to the northwest (a bit longer by car). This is where the Clairs' winery is located. They have a son, Jean-Baptiste, who joined the family business in 2000 working the vines. Jean-Baptist eventually began making their white wines.
Today the family owns 15 hectares, including parcels in Santenay and Saint-Aubin. They sell 75,000 bottles a year, with about 75% of that going abroad.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
In the far southern end of the Côte de Beaune, Santenay forms a little notch that juts into the otherwise straight border with Côte Chalonnaise.
Santenay red wines show the true essence of red Burgundy at good price points and without demanding a lot of cellar time. Enticing aromas of rose-petal, violet, red fruits and licorice lead to sturdiness on the palate. With soils rich in oolitic limestone and marl, this is the home of well-constructed, hearty Pinot noir and represents a fantastic region to explore if you are just beginning your understanding of red Burgundy.
Reputable vineyards of Santenay include La Maladière, as well as the Premier Crus of La Comme, Clos de Tavannes, and Les Gravières.