Santenay
The small spa town of Santenay, just over the departmental border into the Saone-et-Loire, produces full, rich, quite firm red wines which can offer good value for money. One or two vineyards have recently been planted for white wine.
- 254 hectares of village Santenay.
- 124 hectares of premier cru vineyards (10 in all). Best vineyards include Les Gravières, La Maladière, Clos de Tavannes
- Recommended Producers: Lucien Muzard
Prices:
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 54cs
Bottle
£34.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 37cs
With its pretty, stylish nose, this is graceful, elegant and nuanced. It is a wine of finesse, compared with David’s more muscular, dense Clos Rousseau.
This is an exciting new discovery for us: David Moreau has taken over part of his grandfather’s domaine in Santenay and has produced wines there since the 2009 vintage. Prior to that, he had worked with Olivier Lamy and Domaine de la Romanée Conti, as well as doing a stage in New Zealand at Neudorf. David made significant changes in both viticulture and vinification compared to the ancien régime. The vineyards were almost all planted in the 1960s so he has old vines to work with. They are mostly pruned by cordon royat to minimise vigour, and the land is either ploughed or left with grass depending on the circumstance of a given plot.
Bottle
£35.00
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
David Moreau took over part of his octogenerian grandfather’s domaine in Santenay in 2009. Prior to that, he worked with Olivier Lamy, Domaine de la RomanéeConti, and at Neudorf in New Zealand. David now has seven hectares in production and has made significant changes in both viticulture and vinification. The vineyards were almost all planted in the 1960s, so David has old vines to work with. He will soon become president of the local vine-growers syndicat a measure of the regard in which he is held. Once again, David is very happy with this year’s results. There was very little frost damage this far south and all his wines performed well in our barrel tastings. There is a confidence in David’s winemaking that raises expectations for some outperforming wines from this lesser-known part of Burgundy. The purity and transparency of 2016 suits his range very well.
Bottle
£36.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 35cs
Bottle
£38.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Bottle
£59.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Santenay Grand Clos Rousseau 1er Cru shows an intriguing mix of slightly earthy but nicely pure fruit, with impressive richness and depth, and very pleasing ripe, slightly rustic tannins. This is a Santenay of real style and character.
(David Jones, Cellar Plan Account Manager)
Santenay, Grand Clos Rousseau, 1er Cru is new to Camille Giroud range, and set to be a longlasting favourite. This wine has sensual, smooth, ripe red fruit, with a little touch of chocolate to add complexity. Well-judged tannins are evident; this is a generous and appealing wine.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)
Dense, firm fruit is complemented by soft, bountiful tannins and refreshing acidity. As with many wines in 2011 low alcohol prevails and this will make for a beautiful lunch or picnic wine from 2014 onwards.
Gary Owen, Private Account Manager
This cuvée has developed an amazing following over the last few vintages. It has real energy with notes of violets and dark raspberries and good acidity. The 80-year-old vines could well be the reason for its success. This is not to be missed.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director These are brilliant wines once again from David Croix and his team at Camille Giroud and fortunately they were able to make a little more wine this year than last. Alhough the white selection is small, the wines are just as fine as the reds. David has made some inspirational wines from less fancied appellations such as Maranges and Santenay, as well as majoring on the Grands Crus of Corton and the Chambertins. Almost all of the wines are from purchased grapes, but somehow Camille Giroud feels to us much more like a domaine.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Olivier Lamy began harvesting early for certain plots (on 16th September) and then took the time to pick individual vineyards as they ripened. It proved to be a small but perfectly healthy vintage in St Aubin, with superbly concentrated wines. Olivier has decided to use very little new oak; 20% for his red wines and none for the white. The reds didn’t need much sorting and the colours and fruit extract came out very quickly in the fermenting vat. A great vintage chez Lamy but, alas, a very small one, though it is enhanced by the addition of one or two new vineyards.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
There have been Lamys growing vines in St Aubin since 1640 – today the domaine is run by Olivier Lamy in succession to his father Hubert. Olivier ceased supplying négociants in 1997, grubbing up and selling off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. He has been experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture an even greater expression of terroir. Every single one of Olivier Lamy’s vineyards in St Aubin was completely frosted; only Santenay escaped. In a strange way, this was a benefit because, when the vines began to re-flower, they did so all at the same time and there was an homogeneity of growth and maturity. Furthermore, without two differently maturing sets of grapes to contend with, the crop made up the two-week delay imposed by the frost and Olivier was able to start harvesting in Santenay on 15th September, finishing his Bourgogne Blanc from his highest vineyards in St Aubin 10 days later. Olivier suggests the style is like a lighter version of 2014. Overall his production is down about one third.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 10cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
In January 2002 Maison Camille Giroud was bought by an American consortium led by banker Joe Wender and winery-owner Ann Colgin, and a new chapter began. David Croix was installed as the winemaker/ technical director and tasked with a major revamping of the winemaking facilities and especially replacement and renewal of the old barrels to make wines in a much purer, more modern style. The company also owns 1.2 hectares of vineyards in and around Beaune. The 2016 vintage was a collaborative effort between the outgoing David Croix and his replacement, Carel Voorhuis, formerly of Domaine d’Ardhuy. The transition is a smooth one, with Carel’s gentle touch following on seamlessly from David’s elegant style. Carel described the 2016 vintage as lighter than 2015, with more elegance and better balance. It is clear he has a preference for 2016, highlighting the expressive, aromatic characteristics of the wines and calling them “ethereal”. He explained that it was important to avoid over-ripeness by picking in good time, and emphasised the value of gentle extraction to prevent obtaining hard tannins.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 41cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
In January 2002 Maison Camille Giroud was bought by an American consortium led by banker Joe Wender and winery-owner Ann Colgin, and a new chapter began. David Croix was installed as the winemaker/ technical director and tasked with a major revamping of the winemaking facilities and especially replacement and renewal of the old barrels to make wines in a much purer, more modern style. The company also owns 1.2 hectares of vineyards in and around Beaune. The 2016 vintage was a collaborative effort between the outgoing David Croix and his replacement, Carel Voorhuis, formerly of Domaine d’Ardhuy. The transition is a smooth one, with Carel’s gentle touch following on seamlessly from David’s elegant style. Carel described the 2016 vintage as lighter than 2015, with more elegance and better balance. It is clear he has a preference for 2016, highlighting the expressive, aromatic characteristics of the wines and calling them “ethereal”. He explained that it was important to avoid over-ripeness by picking in good time, and emphasised the value of gentle extraction to prevent obtaining hard tannins.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 60cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
David Moreau is very happy with his 2015s, describing it as a vintage without stress. The grapes, picked from 7th September, were ripe but with acidity in balance and with an adequate yield for once. For the vinification, David used slightly more stems this year in the interest of structure and freshness, with a slightly shorter length of time in the fermentation vats. Very encouraging wines.
Bernard Morey, and he met his wife Sophie, originally from neighbouring Santenay, when they found themselves working side by side in the vineyards. They set up their own domaine after Bernard’s retirement, beginning with the 2007 vintage. Vincent began picking on 3rd October, starting with the whites. He thinks that Chassagne and Santenay were less badly affected than other areas by the stormy weekend, in contrast to 2010. All the whites have been in bottle since mid-August with the reds following before the end of the year.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director