Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
50-year-old vines on Olivier Lamy's beloved hard limestone soils provide the grapes for this fresh, tangy, chiselled Pinot from a steep site inside the Clos des Gravières. The 15% new wood adds a little sweetness to the pithy redcurrant and red cherry flavours.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More delicate and ethereal than the 2018, Lamy's 2017 Santenay 1er Cru Clos des Gravières (Rouge) is also performing well, bursting with scents of rose petals, red berries and warm spices. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and lively, it's framed by succulent acids and powdery tannins. I'm inclined to give the edge to the richer, more dramatic 2018 in terms of overall potential, but this 2017 is immensely seductive today.
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.