Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Le Passtemps is located in the lower part of Santenay close to Chassagne-Montrachet on red clay and limestone soils. Fermented with 50% stems and aged in 30% new wood, this has good depth and richness, a touch of good reduction and a bright, clove-spice finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Santenay 1er Cru Le Passetemps offers up attractive aromas of cherries, raspberries and plums that mingle with hints of warm spices and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and fine-boned, with excellent concentration and plenty of flesh to conceal its serious structure, concluding with a long finish. It's produced from a parcel planted at a density of 14,000 vines per hectare in 2004 using high-quality selections of Pinot Noir.
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.