Tasted in Mâcon, 04 October 2017.

This tasting was organised so that I could get more of an idea of the various climats in Saint-Véran – particularly with the local syndicat of producers’ idea to better differentiate those terroirs by putting together a programme towards defining premier crus – just like Pouilly-Fuissé has done.

The criteria for (potential) 1er cru selection is not yet fully defined, so it’s no surprise that there are no definitive selections at this time, but here is a look at those climats that already find their way onto labels.

The tasting was split into groups, tasted first by commune and then the climat itself. The wines were tasted blind, simply in the order they pulled out from their crates. The identities revealed as each ‘section’ (crate!) was finished.

Summarising

• A marathon indeed – an all-day tasting of 88 wines. But a worthwhile exercise.
• The average quality was high – better than the average quality of Bourgogne blancs
• Saint-Véran has a pricing advantage over Bourgogne Blancs too – prices often starting as low as €7.90, typically closer to €12-14. The most expensive I know being the wine of Jules Desjourneys (here & here) at about €35
• Versus a Bourgogne blanc, the Saint-Véran style is different though; the wines bring a little more richness of texture, and certainly in years like 2015, 2013 and 2009 there is an easy to spot quince fruit which I rarely see in wines from the Côte de Beaune.
• I noted a great performance from all the Verget wines – a domaine to visit…
• A definite ‘hat tip’ to Saumaize-Michelin, Bret Brothers, La Batie and la Feuillarde for providing some quite deep verticals – only discovered on their unmaking.

Davayé, Les Chailloux

2008 Domaine des Poncetys
Relatively deep golden colour. The nose is attractive though, with cushioned impression, a little melted butter, modest oak and quince sweetness. Good volume, supple texture, muscular and opening with fine waves of flavour. Really a great first wine, with melting slightly sweet/salt flavours and long too. Impressive stuff.

2010 Domaine des Poncetys
Also a golden colour. A little toast, also a suggestion of quince-style fruit – there’s plenty of evolution here, but it’s seemingly à point at this time from aroma perspective. More direct, much more line – still melting flavour – here the wine seems younger. I like the texture and the finish is wide and slightly spiced with a little salinity again – very different shape to the last wine, but with a similar weight and persistence.

Davayé, Terres Noirs

2010 Domaine des Deux Roches
A deep and golden colour. Good width of aroma with a little more limited depth – slightly waxy and saline. Good volume in the mouth and a nice freshness and texture, combined. Good waves of finishing flavour radiating out in the finish – here is still some creamy oak influence, but this is attractive with a little extra floral impression with the finishing fruit – I’d like a more interesting nose, but the finishing flavour and persistence are excellent.

2014 Domaine des Deux Roches
A yellower, younger looking colour. Hmm, less aromatic density but more openness, a hint of oak and almost firework reduction. Fresh, direct, almost mineral – yes a little attractive reduction here, salinity, mouth-watering flavours. As a package, almost as good as the last wine – I prefer this nose and slightly the palate of the last – still excellent and seemingly younger in style.

Davayé, La Côte Rôti

2015 Domaine Domaine des Deux Roches
A relatively young, turning gold colour. A little reduction and modest vanilla oak. Fuller, riper, more opulent style in the mouth – still with a good balance. Nice layers of finishing flavour and fine length – very good!

2010 Verget
More mature golden colour. Opulent on the nose – deep, ripe but not wide – still attractive. Hmm, this is very mineral in style, more saline, more a wine for the table. Long but narrower – indeed very persistent. Excellent but very different.

2014 Eric Forest
Younger colour. Bright fruity and quite complex nose – very attractive. Lots of freshness, followed by waves of flavour. Really a fine density of flavour and long-finishing flavour too – eventually in the finish you are left almost only with a creamy oak note. Very attractive young wine – very yum too!

2014 Jean-Claude Boisset
Also a young colour. Freshness and a nice complexity of aroma. Very direct, almost a little mouth-puckering acidity – long finishing. To chill or to age a little but the finish is very fine – reallysuper!

2014 Domaine Guerrin et Fils
Relatively young golden colour. Fine, pure nose, but of modest intensity. The texture is nice, starting narrow but growing wider and wider in the mouth – holding tenaciously too with a cream-infused but lively flavour. This is excellent.

Davayé, Clos du Château

2014 Domaine Poncetys
Golden colour with some maturity. Wax, honey and lanolin on the nose – it’s time to drink I think! Supple texture, lots of complexity, and a good balance of acidity. This is actually very good despite that it’s time to drink now – you are not too late. Very good mature wine… Really a surprise to see that this was a 2014 – blind I though 2008 or older. Definitely drink up!

2014 Robert Lasserat Vendenge à la Main
Much younger colour. Fresh, rather a savoury nose. Fresh in the mouth too – growing acid-led intensity, quite mineral. The finish is persistent. What this wine lacks today is a certain deliciousness…

Davayé, Clos Poncetys

2015 Maison Trenel
Heavy bottle, wax topped. Golden colour. A large volume of aroma – freshness, some fruit, some oak, some marzipan/almond. Volume again, some oak, plenty of salinity in the expression, nutty, eventually mouth-watering. Persistent. There seems everything in here, I’d like it to be more delicious today, but it’s certainly very fine!

Davayé, Les Crèches

Very many thanks to the domaine for such great generosity, providing this vertical of wines in the blind tasting. Only after finishing the climat did I see that almost all came from the same domaine.

2003 Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
Mature golden – there is some age here. Butterscotch, freshness, limited depth. Lots of intensity, indeed ever-growing intensity. A little salted caramel, and a fine persistence of flavour. Baked quince style of fruit. Certainly mature and pretty good too!

2001 Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
Similarly mature golden colour to the last. Deeper, more reductive, a firework / match-stick nose. More mineral line and style to the last, infused with the same reductive character of the nose in the flavour. Really a super, layered and mouth-watering flavour. It’s just a shame that everything is about the reductive state of this wine than place(?)

2006 Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
Deep, golden, mature. A little lanolin and wax on the nose – it’s a relatively tight nose compared to the last wines. Riper fruit, weight of concentration, a caramel-style edge to very ripe fruit. The finish is quite narrow but persistent with a little reprise. These last wines really have their own style.

2009 Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
Modestly golden. The nose is not the most overt wine here, almost a resonance of macerating golden fruit, but not much more. In the mouth there’s good volume, a riper impression to the fruit, another that is more towards quince than agrume. Perhaps not one that I’d keep for very long, (It’s actually older than I expected) but the finish is very fine.

2014 Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
Young, lighter yellow colour. The nose is as equally young and fresh as the colour, and whilst not overtly complex at this stage, it’s attractive and inviting. Good volume, freshness, layers in the finish. Excellent!

2014 Domaine des Poncetys
Just a little older golden colour. Direct aromatics, concentrated fresher fruits. Good volume in the mouth. Slowly growing sweetness to the flavour – becoming ever-more attractive. It started ‘okay’ it finished very well. Good wine.

Davayé, En Pommards

2010 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
A modest gold colour. The nose is saline, and faintly reductive. Good volume, good freshness and very good, melting, mouth-watering flavour with sweet and salt – more and more salt as it goes into the finish. I like the character here. Super wine.

Davayé, Les Buis

2005 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Gold, a little age. Big, some sweet and savoury some sous-bois some accent towards oxidation. In the mouth I like very much the combination of volume, freshness and minerality. Super waves of finishing flavour too. On so many levels I think this great, but I would not hang around waiting for it…

2005 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet ( ?)
Middle-age golden colour. Also a nose that tends towards the mature – with a little wax and almost lanolin. In the mouth there is a really fine combination of freshness and energy – more savoury in the mid-palate but with a comforting edge of mouth-watering sweetness in the finish. A wine that gets better and better. A completely different wine! Seemingly, the spare bottle also slipped into the tasting.

2009 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Rather like the last two, the aromatics here are towards saline and savoury end of the spectrum, rather than fruit and flowers – almost a petrol note. Good intensity, and a vibrant and impressively mineral, tasty, mid-palate and finish. Very-much like the last, a wine that gets better and better in the mouth…

Davayé, La Grande Bruyère

2006 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Deeper yellow. A very faint and reductive toast to this tight nose. Hmm, this has life and freshness – really fine and fresh intensity of good flavour. Weight and persistence of slowly melting, finishing flavour. This is super, still a little reductive right at the end…

2007 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Another relatively young colour. But corked, and second bottle was oxidized!

Davayé, Sur la Carrière

2012 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Medium age, golden colour. A tighter nose but clean, fresh and fine. Good volume in the mouth, nice energy and really a growing intensity of good flavour. Long! This is super. Very yum!

2009 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Similarly mid-aged golden colour. Deep, reductive nose. Lots of volume – a little more weight of extract, good minerality – a warmer year? Really a large-scaled and mineral wine. Long finishing with just a little exotic fruit in the finale. A little less energy than the last, but balanced and excellent.

2013 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet
Darker golden. Tighter, more sweet quince-style fruit. Again good volume in the mouth – a fresher year again – good energy here, intensity too – almost a little floral. Excellent finish, indeed a ‘bravo’ finish. Half a great wine!

Davayé-Prissé, Les Cras

2014 Domaine des Deux Roches
More than a little vibration of reduction to this nose. Modest volume to start but it grows and grows. The flavour has lots and lots of points/flashes of interest, growing minerality too. Super, flowing finish. This is not the biggest or most complex, but it is really fine!

2014 Terres Secrèts (Cave Cooperative)
Modest, relatively young golden. The nose is very tight – a shame. On the palate there’s a little gas adding to the freshness. This must be a young one. Pretty in the finish with wide and attractive fresh fruits – more modest to start, but this is a very good, tasty young wine – yum!

Saint-Vérand, Aux Bulands

2010 Domaine de la Batie
Medium colour. A fresh, but tighter nose. Bright, good energy, and a sweetness of fruit but also fine freshness too. A little depth to the texture – maybe from oak – and long slow waves of finishing flavour. This is really super!

2014 Domaine de la Batie
Pale gold colour. Hmm, a nice freshness of aroma here – it’s certainly not the biggest nose, but it’s very attractive. Good volume in the mouth again, lots of bubbling and engaging energy. Layers of finishing flavour. Young but already delicious – excellent.

2012 Domaine de la Batie
Also a pale gold colour. Pretty nose – some floral aspects even a bubble-gum sweetness! In the mouth too, lots of volume and sweetness – an intensity of fruit that has almost a vegetal character, despite an apparent sweetness. The finish has a little mineral aspect too. Big and fresh – very good but not my favourite flavour profile.

2015 Domaine de la Batie
Hmm this has a very nice nose of salinity and seashore – different but fine. Lots of volume, in this case a suggestion of CO₂ to aid the freshness. The mid-plate is a little less involving, but the finish has super complexity, freshness and persistence – it is really excellent here. A young wine with lots of potential – yum!

Saint-Vérand, En Réfort

*2014 Domaine de la Batie, Hommage à Antoine de Saint-Victor
Medium golden. Sweet, patisserie and oak. Sweet but mouth-watering, layers of sweet flavour that whilst delicious, seems about 2/3rds oak in character. Tasty but very oaky…

2015 Domaine de la Batie, Hommage à Antoine de Saint-Victor
A little deeper colour, yet a little more yellow in colour too. A tighter nose, indeed very tight. In the mouth a hint of gas but (probably because of that) lots of volume and slowly mouth-watering mineral aspects. Bursts with more energy and interest in the finish – here it is excellent. A wine in the making but potentially a super wine!

2012 Domaine de la Batie
A little more golden, medium intensity. This is more about fruit – with some ripeness. Sweet, but very good freshness too. Narrower than some in the finish, coming to a long diminuendo – very tasty if not the biggest. Yum!

*2014 Domaine de la Batie, Hommage à Antoine de Saint-Victor
Mid-gold. Another nose that is quite tight. Good volume, riper fruit impression and a good intensity. The palate has minerality at the base and an insinuating sweetness. Less energy but lingering nicely – good wine.

2009 Domaine de la Batie
Medium-golden. More floral type of nose. Sweet and quite mouth-filling. Really a growing intensity of flavour – it could benefit from a little more acidity, yet the energy is good. Slightly saline, almost spicy finishing. Tasty wine!

2015 Domaine de la Batie
Medium-golden. Nice, sweet, good freshness and a little ripe quince. Nicely layered, sweet, approaching opulent flavour profile – but in the mid-palate and finish it’s clearly a more mineral wine. I’d like more energy, but the finish is delicious.

2014 Domaine de la Batie
Middle–golden. Here a tight but very pretty nose. Mineral, lots of energy, good acidity – complex – I like this a lot. The energy demands that you can’t be passive here though the finish could be be more delicious. But Fine indeed!

*One of these was actually a 2012 – but from the notes, I’m afraid that I can’t tell you which!

Chânes, Le Poisard

2014 Cedric et Patrice Martin
Pale golden. A nice core weight of aroma. Great volume and a good weight of flavour too. Muscular, complex, nicely balanced with pretty fruit complexity and hint of bitters in the finish. Very good!

2013 Cedric et Patrice Martin
A little deeper golden in colour. Here the nose is tighter. More direct attack in the mouth, a little extra intensity and minerality – less comfort and less sweetness. This, in comparison to the last, you should wait for – there’s plenty of material, and it lingers well – but it’s far from delicious today.

Chânes, Le Clos

2014 Domaine des Perelles
Golden colour. Good depth of aroma – a little in the direction of toast and salted caramel. Big in the mouth – fresh but intense and with plenty of energy. Good texture here – finishing with a wave of good flavour. Very good!

2005 Domaine des Perelles
Deeper golden. Another deep nose, here almost suggesting aniseed at its base. Supple, super, almost waxy texture, mouth-watering and mineral wine. Plenty of salinity and then slowly mouth-watering sweet caramel too. Again, very good!

Chasselas, En Faux

2015 Domaine Cordier Père et Fils
Quite golden colour. A modest intensity yet pretty nose of precise quince and faint wax behind. Supple, cushioned texture, ripe yet still direct and intense. Layers of finishing flavour. Excellent!

Chasselas, La Côte

2014 Domaine de la Creuze Noire (Dominique et Christine Martin)
More golden than yellow – but still young looking. A very modest intensity nose of faint toast and wax. Nice volume in the mouth, slowly-growing intensity and mouth-watering effect. Modest intensity the layers of finishing flavour but the persistence is good. Tasty wine.

2015 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
A little deeper golden. A very different nose of higher toned fruit, indeed quince too but very perfumed. Supple, but rich textured, layers of flavour – bright flavour and with mouth-watering effect too, yet not with overt energy. Really intense finishing. Big wine, very good wine, perhaps 2015…

2014 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
Light golden – quite young looking. Despite that, the nose is about match-stick reduction. Less dense than the last, but more energy with a not dissimilar intensity. Layers of intense finishing flavour. In some respects the fruit and its delivery are very similar to the last but here with much less opulence – so maybe the 2014….

Chasselas, Carrales

2014 Domaine de la Creuze Noire (Dominique et Christine Martin)
Medium golden. A wide and cushioned nose – faintly spiced and ripe golden fruit. Nicely supple in the mouth – good ripe fruit and texture. A hint of attractive bitterness to the fruit, very ripe citrus fruit in style. A nice finish but not particularly its best aspect. Tasty wine all the same.

Chasselas, En Combe

2010 Bret Brothers
Medium golden colour. Hmm, quince and an oxidative, herby style to this nose. Good volume, very nice and growing intensity to the flavours. Lithe, complex and muscular with some mineral aspects too. Very impressive in the finish. Only the nose makes me hesitate to say ‘excellent!’

2008 Bret Brothers
Medium golden. A tighter nose, very faint sweetness and breadcrumb only. Large and fresh in the mouth – almost steely – super finishing width of mouth-watering and persistent, fresh flavour. This IS excellent!

2003 Bret Brothers
Much deeper golden colour. Here a simmering concentrate of quince. Wide, concentrated, a certain hardness. Ripe fruit, exotic spiced honey/quince in style. Saline finishing with a little browner undertow. Impressive if not particularly delicious today.

2014 Bret Brothers
Medium yellow/gold. Another rather tighter nose. A very fresh leading attack of flavour. Growing slowly in intensity and slowly but persistently lingering very well. This starts off difficult and finishes beautifully…

2015 Bret Brothers
Mid-golden. Here the common (for 2015) mix of wax and ripe quince. Good weight and shape in the mouth, ripe, almost strident fruit. Plenty of acidity though like some, could have more attractive energy. Mineral and young in the end…

Chasselas, La Roche

2014 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
A young-looking mid-gold colour. A hint of reduction to this fresh mix of flowers and fruit. Supple some richness of texture but also freshness of slowly opening flavour – attractive flavour with just an impression of cushioned oak in the finishing flavour. Delicious.

2015 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
Similar colour to the previous wine. Some ripeness and depth of fruit – almost an accent of aniseed. Supple, good texture – a little richness but still plenty of energy and flavour – perhaps a faint gas here. Brighter and more intense in the finish. Very nice but not quite as delicious as the last.

Prissé, Aux Monts

2015 Château de la Greffière
Medium golden. A faint butterscotch among the attractive freshness of aroma. Supple, layered and wide flavour perspective. A peak of good flavour – an impression of dry extract here. Excellent!

Prissé, Grand Bussières

2010 Vignerons des Terres Secrètes (Cave Cooperative)
Deeper golden colour. Oh – deep, savoury, bordering oxidative aromas. Pretty similar in the mouth. Long, but how long do you want to taste that? 2nd bottle – more modest colour. Nice – no ox, just a wide, fresh and attractive aroma. Wide in the mouth too, with melting, tastiness. This is altogether super, and with a particularly good and tasty finish. Excellent!

2014 Vignerons des Terres Secrètes (Cave Cooperative)
Much lighter colour – more yellow than gold. An attractive and fresh nose – very pretty. Supple, good texture, layers of fresh flavour. Hmm – really excellent. A good long finishing intensity that just needs to be a little more delicious – but it’s close!

Prissé, Vigne de St.Claude

2015 Verget
Mid yellow-golden. Bright attractive, one of the most fresh and fruit-driven noses of the day.Bright fresh and attractive in the mouth too – just a little harder flavour in the mid-palate but this is quite a perfumed performance. A little bitter finishing with super intensity – excellent again!

Prissé, Croix de Montceau

2014 Terres Secrets
Mid yellow-golden. A little weight of aroma and more limited depth – a relatively tight nose. Fresh, direct, lacking a little sweetness after many here, layers of mid-palate and finishing flavour – here it is very fine. Yum!

2015 Terres Secrets
Mid yellow-golden. Another quite tight nose but some faint flashes of fresher, greener fruit. Supple but with weight in the mouth – really lots of salinity here, melting flavour, ingraining flavour actually – this is excellent! It needs a little more ‘deliciousness’ but it’s really super all the same.

Prissé, Maison Rouge

2008 Domaine de la Feuillarde
A deep and weighty, saline nose. Supple, rich textured yet with mouth-watering saline flavour. More saline than fruit. Quite good length. Impressive…

2009 Domaine de la Feuillarde
Medium yellow-gold. A little more toasted bread aromatic here. A sweet, fresh, wave of flavour the intensity holding quite well in a finish that has more sucrosity. Quite good.

2010 Domaine de la Feuillarde
Pale-mid golden. A good depth though very limited width of saline aroma. Good weight and volume in the mouth – quite mineral in aspect – flashes of interesting flavour – but only that. The finish is the best (most interesting) part with a slowly lingering salted caramel impression…

2008 Domaine de la Feuillarde, Prestige
Quite a deeper golden. A deep nose, a little vibration of interest, honey and wax too. Good volume, here a fresh style, with layers of salted caramel-inflected flavours. Quite a good one!

2014 Domaine de la Feuillarde, Prestige
Medium yellow-gold. A nose with a clean freshness – almost floral top – tighter below. Big, bright, energetic, good complexity, sweetness and minerality – this is a lovely blend of attributes. Mouth-watering and quite intense finishing. Simply excellent!

Chasselas / Leynes, Les Cornillaux

2014 Domaine Chardigny
Medium more yellow than golden colour. An attractive nose though relatively tight. Good volume, nice flavour, the intensity is wide and slowly mouth-watering with a mix of sucrosité and minerality. Really fine in the the finish – lovely melting flavours – really yum! Excellent!

Leynes, Champ Rond

2014 Domaine Thibert Père et Fils
Mid-yellow colour. A wide nose but with little higher or lower tones – pretty all the same. A little gas, good volume and freshness, perfectly cushioned texture. Mineral and interesting in the finish – really super wine – excellent!

2014 Loïc Martin
More golden in colour. A tighter nose – like the last, some width but little in the other other directions. Again a little prickle of gas, more honey in the flavours – a more ripe style of fruit but no loss of acidity for that. A fine finish – yum!

Leynes, Le Clos Vessats

2014 Domaine Guerrin
A young colour – more yellow than gold. These ‘Leynes’ have very modest aromas at this time of day! Supple, growing intensity and sweetness. The intensity grows even more in the finish. This is super…

Leynes, Au Brûlé

2014 Domaine Sangouard-Guyot
Medium-pale golden. Ohh – very fruity – there are not many like this! Plenty of fruit in the mouth too – a fine volume and growth of fresh intensity. Young and delicious – I hesitate to say bravo because it is so different from all the other wines – but delicious it is!

Leynes, Bois de Fée

2014 Domaine Thibert Père et Fils
Pale golden. Pretty, fresh, faint but attractive reduction. Big, plenty of impact, mouth-watering fresh flavour. This lacks the last extra deliciousness but it is a super and tasty wine that is full of energy. Yum!

Leynes, La Planchette

2014 Gaël Martin
Quite a deep golden colour. Some quince here and a faint oxidative impression. In the mouth this is wide and quite complex – not the most overt clarity or definition (better word) a broad flavour but quite tasty.

Leynes, Les Sables

2010 Gaël Martin, Cuvée Prestige
Medium golden. Vibrant, interesting nose. Nice texture, modest energy but slowly changing and evolving flavour. The finish is best part with fine focus and very well defined, attractive flavours – very yum here!

A final mix of climats:

2015 Domaine de la Chapelle, Les Perriers
Medium golden. A faint sweetness, otherwise quite tight and faintly mineral. Good volume and attack in the mouth – a weight of growing flavour intensity. Very good finishing flavour – nice!

2015 Marcel Couturier, Le Vallon
Medium golden. An attractive nose with some concentrated ripe and sweet lemon notes. In the mouth too, the fruit is similar. There is a minerality in the energy here. It’s not yet fully delicious, but it’s close – very yum!

2014 Marcel Couturier, Le Vallon
Medium yellow-gold. The nose is tight yet open – there’s just not much to see (smell!) Good volume in the mouth – plenty of energy – missing a little focus/definition but it’s still quite a tasty wine. A good burst of finishing flavour here – not the longest-lasting but very good whilst it lasts. Good.

2014 Marcel Couturier, La Cour des Bois
Medium golden. A nice nose, if a little tight, some clean sweetness of ripe fruit. Supple, lovely energy and a fine, ‘alive’ energy. This is very good and delivers a super finish – not the most intense or longest lasting, but very tasty all the same.

2015 Marcel Couturier, La Cour des Bois
Medium golden. A little more open aromas of ripe quince. Full, fresh, delicious sweet fruit with slowly mouth-watering flavour. This is excellent – complex, good energy for a 2015 and lots of slowly lingering finishing complexity – Just super stuff!

2014 Rijkaert, En Avonne
Medium golden. The nose has a little sweet honey, but is quite tight. Quite good volume, easy and open with good acidity – the previous wine had a little more class, but this is tasty and has no faults – mouth-watering in the finish. Very good!

2015 F Girard, Clos de la Boisserolle
More yellow than gold. Not the biggest nose, but a nice fresh sucrosity in the middle. Likewise in the mouth, there’s a nice sweetness at the core of this wine – there are more intense, and more energetic wines, but this has good freshness for a 2015 and very nice flavour. Lovely finishing flavour too – this is very yum!

2014 Frantz Chagnoleau, La Fournaise
Medium golden colour. The nose here is also not the biggest, but is open and rather attractive. Nice… Good – not massive – volume, a nice freshness in the mouth, growing intensity of mouth-watering flavour, very slightly perfumed. The finish is really excellent, fine mouth-watering flavour and very yum indeed! Excellent!