Domaine Françoise et Denis Clair - Santenay 1er Cru Clos de Tavannes 2013

Delicate and floral, with a silky opening note of cherry, this wine has velvety tannins.

A close-knit family, great generosity of spirit, an innate sense of balance in flavor, and beautiful vineyards on the finest terroirs of Saint-Aubin and Santenay—all of this explains the estate’s consistent success over the past nearly twenty years. The white wines of Saint-Aubin are certainly among the best values in Burgundy.

Founded by Françoise and Denis Clair in 1986 on 5 hectares, this estate—often noted for its Saint-Aubin and Santenay wines—now spans 14 hectares and also operates a small wine trading business. Their son, Jean-Baptiste, who joined the business in 2000, has been overseeing winemaking since 2011.

Clos de Tavannes shares with the great Bourgueil Cabernets aged on tuffeau stone a tannic finish that is as fresh as it is spicy. It should also be cellared.

Jean-Baptiste Clair, 36, joined his father in 2000 and has helped grow the family estate, which now spans 15 hectares in Saint-Aubin and Santenay. “My training as a white wine maker complements my father’s, who had already mastered red wines by the 1980s,” he explains. Their premier terroirs in Saint-Aubin (En Remilly, Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, Sur Gamay, etc.) combine notes of sweet chalk, ripeness, and density, without losing the freshness that is the hallmark of Saint-Aubin. The whites are delicate and crystalline. The reds are among the most alluring in Santenay. The Clair family was among the first to recognize the benefits of chilling the grapes to extract their full aromatic potential. The grapes are harvested from first-rate terroirs.