Winemaker Notes
Fine nose featuring notes of red fruit (cherry, strawberry, raspberry) enhanced with smoky nuances and hints of toast. Round and fleshy on the palate supported by a structure built on very fine, well-integrated tannins. This harmonious, elegant wine boasts a long, fruity finish.
Drink this wine with roasted or braised red and white meats, or with medium cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Juicy cherry and raspberry fruit marks this expressive red, with earth and light vegetal notes. Balanced and lingers nicely, offering fruit and earth elements. Drink now through 2036. 898 cases made, 110 cases imported.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
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.