32 wines tasted blind in Beaune, 23 May 2019.
Santenay was another area that I thought produced above average wines for the vintage in 2017 when tasting at domaines at the end of last year. From this tasting, the wines were certainly a cut above those tasted from Maranges and there are plenty of great villages wines for the money in this selection, but the 1ers were more like ‘great in parts!’
Medium, medium-plus colour. A little herb, but this has a much more forward nose of fruit than any of the Maranges – there is depth too – very nice! A hint of reduction but also a volume of great flavour, super texture, a roundness and ‘completeness’ to this wine – a subtle suggestion of oak in the background, but a few months more and that will be gone. Best wine by far – so far – bravo!!
Medium, medium-plus colour. Ooh – that’s deep, an almost chocolatey, slightly oak-reduction to the aromatics here. Yes definitely reductive, but with a really beautiful texture and depth – gorgeous – I would say dark-fruited but that’s the reduction twisting things. Carafe this today – but here is a bravo wine if it loses that reduction.
2017 Les Héritiers St.Genys, Santenay
A little less colour. An intense, high-toned, fruit – not so wide but seemingly with good clarity. Nice drive and freshness – pretty fruit and with an excellent width in the middle and finish. A good start, a great finish
2017 Louis Max, Santenay
Medium, medium-pale colour. An open nose, quite airy but showing really not very much – it’s very compact. Likewise in the mouth, there is a drive and energy but very little width – the middle and finishing flavour are precise and tasty, quite mineral in style and there’s a nice finishing burst of tasty flavour – but today it’s a very, discreet wine overall – it’s only fault!
2017 Prosper Maufoux, Santenay
Hardly any deeper colour than the last. Less airy, but more depth of fruit aroma – the volume of aroma is modest though, despite a very attractive berry fruit. Plenty of depth to this flavour – great texture too – silky with just a little grain on the end of the tongue. Modest width of flavour but very, very tasty wine of great texture.
2017 Olivier Père et Fils, Santenay Les Temps des Cerises
Medium colour. A tighter nose – very guarded. A little gas, decent volume – because of that. The flavour has depth, maybe even a suggestion of reduction – it comes out of its shell only in the finish where there’s a nicely forward and tasty flavour. A wine that’s showing only good in parts today.
2017 Albert Bichot, Santenay Les Charmes
A little more colour than most. Hmm, not a big nose but it’s quite a perfumed nose. Medium weight, medium volume – easy flavours of good balance. Tasty wine but essentially modest wine with a pretty finish. 60% of a great wine in all directions!
2017 Ponsard-Chevalier, Santenay Les Charmes
Medium, medium-plus colour. A deep nose, a little serious, faintly herbed. A wine of good volume that sits well in the mouth – a little fine grain to the ripe tannin – but nothing astringent – a touch of herb but also a very good depth of flavour. Excellent villages – really excellent!
2017 Roger Belland, Santenay Les Charmes
Plenty of colour here. A nose of spicy depth but tighter in other directions. Full, plenty of concentration, dark-berry fruit, sweet finishing and with length too – a grain to the finishing texture. Very good.
A half-bottle so unfinished wine.
Medium-plus colour – the most colour of any wine so far. An intriguing nose – perhaps some gas but a depth of dark fruit too. Large-scaled, dark fruited, lots of tannin – but it’s a textural drag, not a grain – and it’s hardly astringent. Depth of flavour, mobile flavour. Wide, long – persistent flavour. Today this has an unfinished ring to it, but there is more wine here than three or four of the others combined – potentially great villages…
Another deeper coloured wine. Vibrant fresh, dark-red berries – more finished than the last. Driving, fresh, über-silky. A sucrosity to the flavour. Width and fine fresh flavour in the finish too. Very ‘berry-style’ but great villages!
Medium, medium-plus colour. Hmm – a lovely width of aroma, perhaps with a faint wood note supporting the sweetness – not a big nose though. Nice energy and plenty of volume – open, almost airy but with depth of flavour too. A super finish – this is excellent stuff – in fact great for a villages.
2017 Roger Belland, Santenay Charmes
Medium. Medium-plus colour. A tighter nose – a biscuity reduction – DIAM? If so it will fade. Wide, fresh, good concentration – no fat, but there’s fine depth of flavour. I like the balanced energy here and the finish is lovely. Super.
A villages bottle that had been mixed in with the premiers – I moved it to here – it’s a heavy bottle so maybe it will be okay 🙂
A bright, forward, pure-fruited nose – better than many 1ers! Lots of energy, a grain, slightly astringent but full flavoured, juicy, complex – bravo – badly placed in theory but a great wine!
The Santenay 1ers:
2017 Maison Chanzy (Bouzeron), Santenay 1er Beaurepaire
Plenty of colour. Not a big nose but one of good precision and plenty of dark-red berries. Silky, good volume and a good level of concentration. I like the length – very accomplished wine – yum!
2017 Justin Girardin, Santenay 1er Beauregard
A modest volume of aroma but some pretty, sweet, berry complexity is visible. Plenty of impact here – great texture too – a touch of oak but here is depth and complexity – excellent premier cru!
2017 Justin Girardin, Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau
Medium, medium-plus colour. A nice volume of aroma but here with a touch of reduction – still quite inviting though. Brighter more incisive than the last, layered, supple, I find no reduction in the flavour. This is broad, pure and delicious – different in style to the last but also excellent!
2017 Yves Girardin, Santenay 1er La Maladière
A little paler than the last wines. A first nose that’s slightly fume, swirling showing some reduction. Bright, fresh – good volume, a little salinity to highlight the fresh drive of the wine but an undertow of reduction in the flavour today too – but delicious finishing. Carafe!
2017 Jessiaume, Santenay 1er La Comme
Medium, medium-plus colour. Medium intensity very forward high-toned dark berry aromas. Bright and with good volume – there’s a pretty, melting complexity here – quite a juicy wine that slowly develops a little tannin around the edges. I like!
2017 Jessiaume, Santenay 1er Les Gravières
A little extra depth of colour. A complex nose, and one of depth – slightly toasty accents here. Wide, ample, good volume – really filling the mouth – oak flavour in the mix. Long. Very good, but currently oaky wine.
2017 Nathalie Richez, Santenay 1er Beauregard
Plenty of colour, again. Wide – a herby freshness, a suggestion of almond. Round and with a little frame of grain from the tannin around the flavour – gaining clarity in the finishing flavour. Good.
2017 Albert Bichot, Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau
Medium, medium-plus colour. A little higher-toned here, padded texture, almost muffling the fruit a little. Plenty of weight, but I’m looking for a bit more clarity of flavour – it’s the oak perhaps – herby long, persistent finish. Good.
2017 Prosper Maufoux, Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau
A little less colur here. Fresh, not a big volume of aroma but there’s some vanilla in here. Actually nice energy and fruit but far too much vanilla flavour for my palate – where is the wine?
2017 Maison Chanzy (Bouzeron), Santenay 1er Les Gravières
Medium, medium-plus colour. A rather forced nose – high-toned and a little cooked. Bright and wide on the palate – lots of energy and depth of very good flavour. Herby, lip-smacking – have a bit of patience.
2017 Les Héritiers St.Genys, Santenay 1er La Maladière
Hmm – now that’s attractive – pure, no herb – a nice width of aroma. Round, mobile depth of flavour – just a little less attractive than the nose – there’s a smoky oak in the mix here – but excellent – have a little patience and you will be rewarded.
2017 Ponsard-Chevalier, Santenay 1er Beaurepaire
Medium, medium-plus colour. A modest but airy, indeed pretty red fruit nose. Nice volume, freshness, flavour with depth – some structure but so much positive here – be patient but it’s very good!
2017 Yves Girardin, Santenay 1er Les Gravières
A little less colour. Deep, toasty, lots of oak but with a certain panache of sweet toast. Fresh, lots of good energy, hardly any grain but a good depth of flavour. Delicious but a lot of that is barrel today.
2017 Roger Belland, Santenay 1er Les Beauregard
Quite a deep colour. Plenty of volume of aroma – dark-red, rather forced fruit. In the mouth it’s bit more attractive – volume, concentration, layers of tasty flavour. Quite vibrant actually – a wine that’s great in parts!
2017 Chanson Père et Fils, Santenay 1er Beauregard
Plenty of colour – hmm – this has a nice nose – deep, vibrant – quite extracted but still very attractive. Plenty of fresh volume, less overt ripeness than many but layers of flavour and freshly tasty. Very good!
2017 Olivier Père et Fils, Santenay 1er Beaurepaire
Medium, medium-plus. Quite tight in the high tones but the bass-line is quite ample for this nose. A touch of reduction in the flavour explains the nose – but nice energy and depth of flavour.
2017 Roger Belland, Santenay 1er Les Gravières
Plenty of colour – but here’s another nose that’s a bit forced. Nice in the mouth though, with concentration depth of flavour and an energy that supports both. The flavour is very nice indeed and lingers very well on the palate – I’m not a fan of the nose though…
2017 Hubert Lamy, Santenay 1er Les Gravières
Another half bottle – part-finished wine?
Medium-plus colour. Here’s another nose that shows width but has a gassy presentation – it’s not ready. Sweeping lines, great shape, lots of concentration, micro-grained tannin – ripe tannin – super-persistent finishing. Potentially great but unfinished…