Santenay
1er Cru Passetemps 2015
This is the Côte d’Or’s southernmost appellation, located just to the south of Chassagne-Montrachet …
Origin
Santenay’s vineyards stretch across 400 ha of which 123 ha are planted with Premier Cru vines, divided into 3 distinct zones.
The climat "Passetemps", located in the North of the appellation, is composed by two plots on a hillside located just below the "Clos des Mouches". and not far from the village of Chassagne-Montrachet. The vines are exposed south-east and benefit from a predominantly clay soil.
The name "Passetemps" probably comes from the fact that it was nice to spend time working on these plots.
Viticulture
Grape variety: chardonnay
Soils: mostly clay.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.3454 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 62 hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 10 September 2015.
The grapes were handpicked and were sorted a first time in the vineyard and a second time when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: The whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels of 450L with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation (up to 10 months!) using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 18 months with no racking using a proportion of 30% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a very delicate touch of oak to the wine.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in March 2017.
Vintage
2015 – Excellence!
A memorable year which was nearly a disaster in terms of weather, but some late-season rain saved this small harvest. The fruit was magnificent, and produced some lovely juice. Ageing was handled very gently to preserve the aromatic qualities and lovely color of this very promising wine.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
The color is yellow gold. The very intense and complex nose will seduce you with its aromas of lychee, pineapple and citrus. This Chardonnay almost "sauvignonne"! On the palate, this rich and elegant wine offers a lot of fullness and a good length.
