Whoa! Y’all were THIRSTY for the Corton, the Gevrey….. so now We’re promoting this fabulous producer, a Wine Spies New Team favorite Domaine Francoise & Denis Clair Santenay 1er Cru to the feature position. And frankly, it’s worthy of the slot. With a similarly small parcel, we don’t expect it to last long…

No critic score on this one. Just one family whose domaine was one of the first families in Santenay to get a major critic to take the village seriously, farming a vineyard that borders Chassagne-Montrachet’s Premier Cru Morgeot, and extremely TINY production. Just $49 here today!

Just like people, no two vineyards have quite the same personality. And because of that, we were torn which one to offer, because we loved them both for different reasons!

This one, Clos de Tavannes is considered one of the better Premier Cru’s in Santenay and also Clos de la Comme is the other expression in the store today.

Each one contributes distinctly different characteristics to the wine.

The fruit itself comes from Clos de Tavannes, a walled Premier Cru sitting right on the Chassagne-Montrachet border. Serious neighborhood. Domaine de la Pousse d’Or makes a Clos de Tavannes from this SAME vineyard, from vines planted in 1920 that trace back to Romanée-Conti nursery stock. The Clairs’ own parcel is a tiny 0.76 hectares, vines averaging 55+ years, farmed organically, and always hand harvested.

Denis Clair’s family farmed Santenay for generations, quietly selling their best fruit to négociants who slapped their own name on it. In 1986, Denis said enough and started bottling under his own name. The Burgundy Report, an independent & highly influential publication that covers this region seriously, names Denis Clair’s domaine as the first in Santenay to get the serious French wine critic Michel Bettane to pay attention to the village at all.

Denis passed in 2016. Son Jean-Baptiste, running winemaking since 2011 (although he actually started in 2000) and his wines represent modern burgundy to the 9th degree in our humble opinion.

And 2022? Wine Spectator’s own vintage reporting flagged Côte de Beaune reds as the STRONGER side of the region this year, and a separate Fine+Rare critic roundup independently called it a fine, classic vintage for exactly these wines.

Now, getting back to why we couldn’t make up our minds… Not all Pinot lovers want the same thing. Not all Pinots are the same either and this one our fellow Op’s shows the more savory side of Santenay.

In the glass, this one shows its savory side before it’s gets into the fruit. Dark cherry and a whisper of forest floor lead off, with a floral lift creeping in behind it. The palate has a crunchy, almost snappy tannic grip, minerally and taut, with baking spice hanging around on a finish that just does not want to quit. This needs air. Give it real time in the glass, or better, give it a few years in your cellar, because this is built to unfold slowly, not perform for you in the first five minutes.

And that is what we know and have come to expect from smaller producers and honestly our intel is better than a score.

No score. No hype machine. $80 SRP. $49 here. Just Bangin’ wines at a great price!