Winemaker Notes
A medium to full-bodied wine with an expansive texture and fine ripe tannins. Aromas of dark fruit are complemented by notes of earth, tobacco and coffee.
A versatile red wine ideally suited to all roast meats, hearty winter stews, and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An aromatic, complex and fascinating wine that was fermented with 25% whole clusters. The presence of the stems adds minty, spicy notes and a touch more tannin. Medium-bodied and moderately tannic, with a good sense of freshness. Raspberries, red cherries and darker, woodsy, mushroomy nuances.
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Jasper Morris
Compared to the Santenay Clos de Malte, the Maladière is a fraction more purple in colour with a more restrained but somehow more grown-up bouquet. A little darker in cherry, perhaps some raspberry, then rather firmer tannins. This will take longer to come round than the Clos de Malte but there is genuine class to the fruit. Barrel sample: 89-92
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Vinous
The 2022 Santenay La Maladière 1er Cru has the most promising of the three Santenay cuvées from Jadot with bing cherry, wild strawberry and light floral scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and pure red berry fruit laced with graphite and dried herbs, leading to a nicely poised finish. This should represent great value.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.