2019 Santenay Cuvée S

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.