Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Santenay 1er Cru Le Beaurepaire has turned out beautifully. As usual, it's the most textural, demonstrative wine in the range, bursting with aromas of sweet yellow orchard fruit, peach, custard apple, freshly baked bread and spices. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's layered and sensual, with a suave, lively profile and saline finish.
-
Vinous
The 2022 Santenay Blanc Le Beaurepaire 1er Cru, which comes from heavier clayey soils, has an expressive bouquet with grapefruit, citrus peel, beeswax and light sea spray scents that blossom in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with good depth, originating from the clay soil. Spicier in style than the Auxey-Duresses with a dab of lemongrass towards the bitter lemon-tinged finish. Barrel Sample: (92-94)
-
Jasper Morris
Grown on a water-retaining white marl soil. This is the one wine in Jean-Marc’s line-up which I did not quite understand. It has a lightly nutty touch to the nose, quite fluid on the palate, with a slight suggestion of pyrazines behind. The core of the wine remains sound and concentrated but there are some minor aspects to resolve in due course. I will be interested to taste it in bottle in due course.
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.