Santenots

Made from 25-year-old vines but evidently from a great selection of Pinot plants. Mid purple with a brilliant nose, this is lively but rounded, with plump berry fruit, consistent with its 2012 brilliance. There is a lot of juicy energy here, absolutely heavenly. It has a magical, glossy feel. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

David Croix picked relatively late for his reds, from October 3rd to 16th, but he wisely took the whites in first from 29th September to 2nd October. Overall he has been able to source more wine than for the pitifully small 2012 crop. These are beautiful wines, a marvellous expression of Pinot Noir, suited for medium term keeping.
 

This micro-domaine continues to make some of the most sublime white wines in all of Burgundy, but there is so little made that Arnaud and Marie-Odile are somewhat under the radar. Their meticulous work in the vineyards means that yields are always low, though they hope to do better than their 19 hl/ha in 2012 and 26 hl/ha in 2013. The 2012s enjoyed long slow fermentations, so the wines were quite backward when tasted in November. The reds are very fine this year.

Fine, light and medium purple-red, this has a gentle Pinot nose, with more style than power. There is vivid fresh red fruit on the palate, with some good acidity, and all in balance. A wine of grace more than opulence, vinified entirely with whole bunches – though that does not show. This might be Arnaud’s best Volnay yet.

Though slightly discreet on the nose, there is an abundance of red fruit here and a fine perfume throughout, with firm tannins supporting behind. This may well be Arnauds best yet.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Arnaud Ente is always one of the first to pick. His meticulous vineyard work and low yields encourage early ripeness, so in 2010 he could start on 15th September. The yield is much the same as 2008 and Arnaud notes similar acidity readings, but with much more flesh on the palate and finer aromatics. The label has also been fine-tuned this year and is now exceptionally handsome. Overall, these are breath-taking wines.

This is a new wine for 2012, made from grapes grown just below the Clos des Santenots and it is brilliant. It is rich red-purple in colour, with an explosively ripe cherry fruit nose and a velvet texture. Absolutely lovely. We want all of this; it is quite brilliant and enormous length.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Winemaker and general manager, David Croix, has been grumbling that he feels he has the temperament of a grower rather than the deal-making knack of a born negoçiant, so he hasn’t found it easy to fill the cellar in 2012. We also find that tasting with him feels like being in a grower’s cellar, though Camille Giroud only owns a couple of vineyards. There are, nevertheless, one or two really exciting new wines here this year, notably the Volnay Santenots, and the whole cellar is on top form.

This has the typical brilliant purple colour of the vintage with an intensity of cherry and raspberry fruit, and has kept its freshness superbly. This site was picked early because the clay soil naturally delivers excellent weight. Drink 2026-2034.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director