Santenay
Appellation VillageSantenay
Grape Variety :
Pinot Noir.
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Vineyard
Site: Santenay is a charming village, at the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, below the Mont de Sène. History & tradition: this ancient village was already famous in Roman times for its hot springs named "Santinae Aquae" (health-giving waters). Soil: clay and limestone.
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Viticulture
Plantation density: 10,000 vinestocks/ha in order to extract as much as possible from the terroir and limit the production of each vine stock. Pruning: Guyot. Yield: 47 hl/ha - purposely low, in order for the grapes to reveal every nuance of the terroir. Grape Supply: grapes and wines provided by regular supply partners (long-term contracts).
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Vinification
Maceration: Joseph Drouhin seeks total control of the process of extraction; extraction gives colour and substance but should never be detrimental to the finesse and typical character of the wine. "Pigeage" (punching down of the cap during fermentation): once a day until half of fermentation is done; one pumping over ("remontage") per day till the end of the fermentation Pressing: vertical press; separation of free run juice from pressed juice.
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Ageing
Type: in barrels (10% in new oak). Length: 12 to 15 months. Origin of the wood: French oak forests. Weathering of the wood: Joseph Drouhin insists on total control of the weathering for a period of 3 years, one of the contributing elements to the elegance of the wine. Follow-up: barrel by barrel. Throughout the ageing process, decisions are taken only after careful tasting evaluation, barrel by barrel. The data obtained is then completed through technical analysis. As with every other Joseph Drouhin wine, absolute priority is given to the true expression of terroir and character of the vintage.
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Tasting note by Véronique Boss-Drouhin
"A real "terroir" wine. A deep ruby color and an intense nose of wild fruit : blackberry, blueberry, cranberry. Often tannic in its youth. Long and persistent on the palate, with flavours reminiscent of grenadine syrup or pomegranate".
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Vintage
We had never seen such aromatic intensity. On the nose, there is an explosion of red and black berries such as cherries and black currants, with spicy undertones of liquorice. On the palate, the wines are rich and meaty, warm and silky and not without an appealing tannic structure. Due to the aromatic strength of the vintage the characteristics of the terroir are not as clear-cut. It will be interesting to put away some bottles and see what happens far into the future: after all, 2003 may turn out to be as surprising a vintage as 1947.
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Serving
Temperature: 16°C (61-62°F). Cellaring: 8 to 15 years.
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