One of the tasting experiences during my day in Burgundy was at Domaine du Château de la Crée in very tiny Santenay.  The Château dates back to 1431, and its main building was burned down during the French Revolution. Santenay is located at the very southern tip of the Côte d’Or.  

The Château was purchased in 2015 by Grace and Ken Evenstad, owners of Domaine Serene in Willamette Valley, Oregon – which I’d been to (follow this link to my previous post). So, when I realized Hautes Côtes was going to take me here for a Burgundian tasting, I really did feel that my wine life was coming full circle.  

We started with two beautiful 2020 Chardonnays from Santenay (a Beaurepaire Premier Cru and a Les Terrasses de la Crée), but the 2018 Maranges was hard to argue with – fresh lemon, white flowers, acacia, great acidity and 12 months in oak.

The Pinots followed with a 2015 En Goty, Maranges and Mason Evenstad’s Aloxe-Corton 2019, but the 2018 Les Épenotes, Beaune, Premier Cru was outstanding – earthy chlorophyll and mint with rose petal, raspberry, persimmon and violet, touched by green leaf.  Beautifully balanced with chalky tannins, this wine will live for a long time.  

Sleepy Santenay was a sweet backdrop to this experience.  I highly recommend a tasting here if you are in the region and looking for quality wine from organic and biodynamic vineyards.