Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A bright and floral red with vivid aromas of strawberries and lemon zest. A firm and silky wine with a medium body. Dusty and dry-earth tannins.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Santenay Clos de Malte has more refinement and purity on the nose than the Santenay Clos des Gatsulards: strawberry and morello cherry, just a hint of vanilla pod. The palate is well balanced with a fine backbone, nicely focused and bright with less of the bitterness coming through on the finish compared to the Gatsulards. Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Range: 88-90 -
Wine Spectator
Lean and firm, with pure cherry, iron and earth flavors bolstered by a dense matrix of tannins. There's a sense of elegance matched to solid structure.
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.