2018 Santenay Beaurepaire 1er Cru

David Moreau has enjoyed a purple patch in recent vintages as he fine-tunes his art. “It was a normal season, a bit dry with an early bud burst,” he told me as I planted my laptop on an upturned barrel. “Flowering was not that bad though we lost some crop in Santenay due to frost. But, overall the flowering was better here than in Puligny or Chassagne. We didn’t want to pick too early as the skins were thick, but the tannins were not ripe. When we harvested, we started with the whites on 11 September and the reds on 18-23 September and those are quite soft and elegant. The clusters were in a nice shape. We sorted in the vineyard and kept any millerandé berries. We did not need to correct them at all. We had smaller yields than last year, 35 to 43hl/ha for the reds and 40hl/ha for the whites. Alcohols are between 13.5° and 14.5° alcohol for the reds and 13.5° for the whites. I was surprised that the wines are not over-ripe. We intend to bottle not too late, probably before spring. My 2019s are very elegant, whilst 2018s had more structure and might have more longevity.” This was another raft of excellent whites and reds to add to Moreau’s run of form. Even though the reds were racked three weeks earlier they showed well and demonstrate how the choicest Santenay vineyards can create beautiful and elegant wines. Standout was the Clos Rousseau, a perennial favourite of mine, though perhaps his Beauregard might catch up with bottle age? Moreau’s 2018s are also flowering in bottle and indeed, might well prove to possess more longevity.

After five weeks and over 100 domaine visits, the final doorbell to be rung was down in Santenay on a freezing, foggy Thursday as France shut down for mass strikes. I could not name a better grower to finish with than David Moreau: an untrendy appelation with so much potential, a young winemaker, a small portfolio focusing on fine terroirs, skillful winemaking and delicious wines that...wait for it...are affordable to many, not the few. "It was my first vintage with sorting table in the vineyard to reduce damaging the fruit," Moreau told me. "The harvest began on 1 September with the whites and the reds on 5 September. We finished around 13 September with the Bourgogne Pinot Noir. I am now doing a shorter post-fermentation maceration because of the increase in use of whole bunch as we want the yeasts to be still active and finish the sugar after pressing since we only do a wild ferment. So now the vatting period is 17 to 21 days instead of 21 to 24 days. Most of the wines are between 13% and 13.5% alcohol, a couple just under 14.0%." Moreau’s wines come highly recommended. I was smitten by the purity of fruit, fineness of tannins and their charm. Whilst they might not necessarily be wines of enormous longevity, I am not sure how much that matters when they have so much to offer in their youth (though that said, if I had a case I’d keep six bottles back to see how their age.) If you have read this producer introduction up to this final sentence, then the next thing you should do is pick up the telephone or click a mouse and buy these wines.