Domaine Olivier (Santenay)

24.9.2014billn

DSC04786Tasted in Santenay with Antoine Olivier, 27 July 2014.

Domaine Olivier
3 Route de Chassagne
21590 Santenay
tel: +33 3 80 20 61 35
www.domaineolivier.fr

A domaine that makes good reds, and if I might say, the best whites of Santenay – actually, Antoine Olivier is also the biggest white Santenay producer!

The 2013s had just reached the end of their malos when I visited – the reds were still firmly in malo. Antoine says that he really decided to cool down the cuverie after fermentation – to 8°C – “So I could have a natural acid precipitation, as the wines were quite acidic.”.

A sad tale of yields here too: Yields for 2012 were 50% – 52 for whites and 48 for reds. And in 2013 the generics were almost wiped-out – only 25% of a normal vintage here, and even with ‘serious sorting’ he notes that there were still some ‘bad tastes.’ Of-course he lost 80% of his Pommard too.

2014 looks ‘okay’, except (of-course) for Pommard and Savigny-lès-Beaune, where the hail-storm arrived 1 month earlier than in 2013. He notes that “There is no real disease pressure in 2014 – so-far – but it was important to treat the young leaves of the hailed vines. Soo-far we have only had to spray 8 times in 2014 – we did 17 sprays in 2012!”

The wines…

All the red 2012s were bottled during the first week of May.

2012 Santenay Les Temps de C(e)rises
This cuvée is a mix of both estate and bought-in fruit.
Here is a lovely depth and width of aroma – faintly powder, but with good weight of fruit. Fresh fruit with good persistence. In theory this is the domaine’s ‘easy-drinking’ cuvée, but in reality it’s far from facile.

2012 Santenay Les Charmes
This vines sit just under the Clos Rousseau.
This nose is less wide, but offers a more intense depth of blood-red fruit – and it’s really super. A little more seriously constructed and concentrated. Real dry-extract too. Superb for villages Santenay.

2012 Santenay 1er Beaurepaire
A wide and decently concentrated nose of ripe red fruit. In the mouth the intensity is not bad and there’s a super concentration in the faintly licorice-d mid-palate. Long finishing. Yum!

2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Petits Liards
The hail is not so bad this year – maybe 30% was lost but from a bigger fruit-set, so more like 15% losses. The villages vines suffered less than the 1ers this year.
Dark aromatics, faintly twisted by some reduction. More tannin, but good freshness of fruit comes through. The finish is fresh too – though it rides a wave of (ripe) tannin.

2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Peuillets
A beautiful nose of fruit that’s overlaid with flowers and fainter oak notes – it’s very pretty. The tannin has a grippy, rather than grainy texture. A long, direct line of flavour. Young (obviously!) with very good potential.

2012 Pommard
Here the nose is concentrated, yet tighter. Textured ripe tannin but surrounded by fresh, dark fruit flavour. Serious wine, just a hint of bitterness in the finish – from transient oak, probably.

The whites:

2013 Bourgogne Aligoté ‘Oublie Le Cassis’
One big barrel (660 bottles) made from old (70 years) vine fruit from near Rully.
There’s a decent width of faintly agrumed aroma. Width in the mouth too, with a nice texture. The flavour is modest but it saves itself with a nice kick in the finish.

2013 Bourgogne Chardonnay Les Deux Dindes
Delicate aromas – this is quite pretty. Round but with a lovely core of acidity. The fruit is towards pineapple. Tastes good!

2012 Rully St.Jacques
A new wine chez Olivier. No new oak, but barrel fermented.
Fresh, almost textured nose – it seems quite okay. Modest flavour to start but the mid-palate has good concentration and a nice edge of acidity. Finishes quite well – quite good…

2012 Santenay Clos de Champs Carafe
There’s a nice intensity of pretty fruit here – just very faintly oaked. Lovely in the mouth too with intense, very-good, faintly creamy flavour in the finish. Super!

2012 Santenay Sous la Roche
Good aromatic width, not so deep. Fuller, and round in the mouth – but with fine acidity. Rich wine but no complaints about balance from me. Very tasty.

2012 Santenay Bieveaux
Put simply, this smells like Meursault. This is also quite rich but again with very good balancing acidity. There’s super intensity in the mid-palate that flows right through into the finish, where there seems a little dry-extract too. Simply super!

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