Notes of red berries, cherries and kirsch preface the ethereal, fine-boned 2019 Santenay 1er Cru Charmes, a medium to full-bodied, bright and elegant red that derives from a site that typically retains elevated acids even at advanced degrees of maturity. It's really a terroir adapted to white grapes, opine the Bachelet brothers, but its distinctive profile when planted to red is certainly a welcome addition to Burgundy's diversity.

The 2017 Santenay 1er Cru Charmes displays a pretty bouquet of red berries, plums and raw cocoa. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with tangy acids, a ripe core of fruit and satiny structuring tannins. The Bachelet brothers explain that this site is characterized by well-drained red soils and typically retains elevated acids even at advanced degrees of maturity. Structurally, it's certainly far from the blocky stereotype of Santenay.

The 2016 Santenay 1er Cru Charmes comes from terres rouges surrounded by the Clos Rousseau lieu-dit next to Maranges, just 100 meters from Clos de la Boutière, in fact. This includes between 15% and 20% whole bunch fruit, the selection made on the sorting table. It offers juicy raspberry and crushed strawberry scents on the nose, perhaps not quite the detail of Bachelet-Monnot’s two Maranges premier crus at the moment. The palate is rounded and juicy, almost approachable at this prenatal stage, with pure raspberry and strawberry pastilles notes infused with orange zest on the finish. Very fine.

The 2015 Santenay 1er Cru Charmes comes from vines just by Clos de la Boutière on red soils that tends to produce grapes with high acidity. The nose was too reduced to read. The palate is sweet and lithe on the entry with well-judged acidity, a pleasant piquancy here with raspberry and blueberry towards the elegant finish. This will become a pretty Santenay that should be read to drink earlier than the two Maranges Premier Crus.

The 2014 Santenay 1er Cru les Charmes, matured in 25% new oak, has a very focused bouquet with scents of wild strawberry and raspberry. There is plenty of fruité here. The palate is vibrant, shimmering on the entry thanks to the silver bead of acidity; fine tannins and superb tension right the way to the composed saturated finish. What a superb Santenay in the making!