Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Lovely ripe apple and apricot fruit aromas with a floral edge feature on the initial attack of this single-vineyard village-level Santenay from Jean-Marc Vincent. The vines come from 0.23 hectares of 45-year-old vines in clay and limestone soils; they are lightly crushed before being run into old oak casks with most of their lees for fermentation and ageing. Lively, fresh acidity brings them into balance and a modest finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bright and perfumed, the 2021 Santenay Blanc Les Potets bursts with aromas of orange zest, pear, white flowers and buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, it's pure, precise and especially charming this year.
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.