Tasted in Santenay with Antoine Olivier (and ‘M’), 19 November 2019.
Domaine Antoine Olivier
5 rue Gaudin
21590 Santenay, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 80 20 61 35
www.antoineolivier.wine
Antoine on 2019:
“2019 – it seems like every two years I have the same speech; in 2019 we were down about 50% in volume. It wasn’t a big frost but it was a black one – it all happened at the beginning of April. Then all of April and May was cold, then we had poor flowering for the chardonnay. Did I mention the driest spring and summer for years? Oh, I lost grapes to the deer and wild boar too. Fortunately 2017, 18 and 19 together are only about 10-15% down. My father was a wine-maker for 40 years and only had 3 bad volume years in that time, so i have concerns for my daughters going forward. As for the wines, big alcohols, but lovely acidity, though perhaps maturity often due to concentration by the wind.”
Antoine on 2018:
“My biggest harvest ever! It was our first complete white harvest since 2008 – it’s a great vintage for business.”
The wines…
Well-done – Antoine showcasing the strength of the 2018 vintage in Santenay – equally good wines, red and white.
2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
All from Santenay. Bottled just before harvest.
Smooth, ripe fruit. Supple, intense, a littl alcohol impression in the middle. Tasty finishing.
2018 Santenay Temps des (Ce)Rises
Half domaine grapes and others from friends – six plots.
Lots of colour. Bright red, ripe fruit. Hmm, structured, great but wait a little time for this in this vintage. Nice and juicy in the finish.
80% own grapes but 100% wc
More floral, really super perfume. More juicy great structure. Love this wine – bravo!
Deep, redolent of the 70% whole bunches. Wide, energetic, delicious, super purity, fading but long. Great Santenay again.
Hmm, round, great fruit. Full, incisive, structural but no padding. Saline complex a big wave of finishing flavour. Brilliant Savigny villages.
2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Peuillets
Wide, vibrant but a little low sulfur style wide and fruity. A little more structure. A bright and pretty red fruit at the core, long. Super
2018 Pommard Noizons
Hmm – comfy, wide, super nose, some wc perfume. Sweeping, great texture, layered in the middle. Lip-smacking flavour, really super.
Les Blancs…
All DIAM for whites from this vintage, “Probably reds too soon.” All these whites racked before the harvest in September, aging without sulfur until racking:
From Rully, all barrel fermented
Hmm, this is a super nose, no edges just a beautiful invitation. Fresh, driving, mineral, juicy wine. Bravo.
2018 Bourgogne Blanc Les Dindes
Quite a ripe yet fresh nose. Full, perfumed, long, faint reduction. I’d buy the aligoté in preference, but this is still very tasty.
Hmm, that’s a nice, clean, freshness. Bright, wide, beautiful. Love this, bravo! Perfumed citrus finishing.
2018 Santenay Clos de Champs Carafe
Ooh, vibrant, fabulous aromatics. Bright, incisive, pure wine, very citrus, growing in intensity. A modest finishing oak that will have departed in 6 months or so.
2018 Santenay Sous la Roche
South facing with lots of stones and gravels.
A clean, fine and inviting nose. Full of energy, soo good, simply excellent wine, maybe more …
Again, wide, fresh, clean agrumes. A little more structural more depth of flavour, faintly spiced.. gorgeously finishing. Really only at the end, end a touch of oak. Bravo.
Antione also has some new Montagny 1er Cru – but it was too reductive for a proper note…
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