Jean-Marc Vincent, Santenay Blanc Vignes Denses 2019

Jean-Marc Vincent and his wife, Anne-Marie, are dedicated growers. Jean-Marc, after living in Alsace, returned home to Santenay to take back the family vineyards developed by his grandfather. A superb 1947 Santenay (which I was lucky enough to taste in 2010 and is a magnificently rich and powerful wine, still vigorous!) made by his grandfather inspired Jean-Marc, and gave him an insight into the huge potential of Santenay.

He has planted new vineyards at high density (12,000 instead of 10,000 vines/ha) and has a unique pruning system which is a partial cross between cordon de royat and guyot double, and many clever practices and techniques to control the vigour of the vine. He looks for low yields in both red (35hl/ha) and white vineyards (45hl/ha). These are very low for modest appellations and you can taste the concentration borne of low yields in the wines.

He has pinot noir vines in Beaurepaire, Passetemps and Gravières, and chardonnay vines in Santenay, Beaurepaire and Auxey-Duresses Les Hautés. He balances wines from his own domaine with a small négociant activity, and has some Puligny 'en fermage', a 25-year rental agreement, and buys in some St Aubin Les Combes as must. He uses casks from his friend Stéphane Chassin, the standard 228 litre for the reds but a larger 300 litre for the whites to reduce oxygen ingress and maintain a greater freshness in the wines.

Toby Morrhall