Winemaker Notes
The Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravie`res is well-built and develop a floral bouquet. The mouth is often very large with bold tannins. This wine is reminiscent of the Grands Crus from the Co^te de Nuits.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Butting up against Chassagne-Montrachet, this premier cru produces red and white wines. This red shows the ripeness of the vineyard in this vintage, balanced by acidity from the red-berry fruits. It is a juicy wine packed with fruitiness as well as a structure that will allow it to age. Drink from 2023.
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Wine & Spirits
Mariko Kobayashi of Frankly Wines in NYC described this as a wine with “power and the perfumed elegance of Santenay.” It offers a wild-strawberry essence, clean and tangy, following a simple line. As light and airy as it feels, it has depth to the flavor and substance to the tannins, a structure that will pay off after several years of cellar time.
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.