Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Santenay 1er Cru Le Passetemps delivers lovely aromas of cassis, wild blueberries, rose petals and violets, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, lively and layered palate built around sweet, powdery tannins and bright acids. This small cuvée has turned out especially well this year.
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Jasper Morris
Fine mid purple, with agreeable balanced red berry fruit. Exquisite finesse here, medium plus length. This will not last forever given the age of the vines, but the Passetemps is super succulent and charming in its youth. Actually, the finish is rather longer than I thought. 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.