Santenay
1er Cru La Maladière 2020
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.
La Maladière, located above the village takes shape looking east, sitting on cracked limestone covered with a thin layer of marl.
In old French, "La Maladière" means "establishment of assistance to the sick". These establishments received donations. This climate name in Santenay refers to one that belonged to the Maladière de Chagny, a few kilometers away.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: stony hillside, grassy plot.
Orientation: East.
Pruning: Guyot system
Average age of the vines: 46 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: September 1st, 2020.
The grapes were handpicked. First sorting in the vineyard, second on the sorting table upon receipt of the harvest.
At the winery: the grapes are 70% de-stemmed and not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasted a total of 19 days including 3 days of cold maceration (12°C)with 30% of whole grapes: fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used).
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 16 months in barrels of one and two wines.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in February 2022.
Number of bottles: 596.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: From 7 to 12 years.
Awards
Bourgogne Aujourd'hui Magazine - 15,5/20
Tasting notes
The brilliant color is dark red. The expressive nose exhales aromas of strawberries, raspberries but also some peppery notes. The palate is fleshy, with fine tannins and a good length.
