Bouchard Pere & Fils - Santenay 2018

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Santenay wine is produced in the communes of Santenay and Remigny in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Santenay may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The production consists of almost 85% red wine, and a little over 15% of white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within the Santenay AOC.

In 2008, there were 329.31 hectares (813.7 acres) of vineyard surface in production for Santenay wine at village and Premier Cru level, and 14,040 hectoliters of wine was produced, of which 11,719 hectoliters were red and 2,321 hectoliters were white. Some 283.43 hectares (700.4 acres) of this area was used for the red wines in 2007. The total amount produced corresponds to almost 1.9 million bottles, of which over 1.5 million bottles were red wine and just over 300,000 bottles were white wine.

For white wines, the AOC regulations allow both Chardonnay and Pinot blanc to be used, but most wines are 100% Chardonnay. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliters per hectare of red wine and 45 hectoliters per hectare for white wine. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level red wine, 11.0 per cent for village-level white wine and Premier Cru red wine, and 11.5 per cent for Premier Cru white wine.

Burghound: 88 Points

A ripe but reasonably fresh nose speaks of warm earth, dark currant, humus and a pretty violet hint. The round, forward and pliant flavors possess good energy and nice detail before terminating in a rustic and moderately firm finish. This is a frank, direct and robust Santenay with enough depth and persistence to be interesting, plus it should reward a few years of cellaring. Good for what it is and worth checking out for value. (Drink starting 2023)