Rene Lequin-Colin Santenay Sous Les Roche 2022 750ml

“Sous la Roche” means “under the rock” and this lieu dit of Santenay is in eye-site of the tasting room of the domaine and immediately under the tree line of the vineyards, in the same line as the site Comme Dessus. Being so situated, it seems obvious that the site would be spare in topsoil and abundant in chalk, and so it is. There is more structure to this wine because of it and also a touch more reduction due to the active lime composition in the soil. 10-20% new oak was used in the fermentation. Chardonnay from Santenay is not a common wine in Burgundy, but it offers many of the characteristics of similar lieu dit wines from more recognizable villages: elegance, structure, length. These are not to be missed.

• Country: France
• Region: Burgundy
• Appellation: Cote De Beaune
• Sub Appellation: Santenay
• Size: 750ml
• Color: White

Varietal

Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.