The 2016 Santenay 1er Cru Clos de Tavannes has a simple, ripe, blackcurrant and blueberry-scented bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly aggressive tannin on the entry and just a little attenuated toward the finish that needs to flesh out by the time this is bottled.

The 2015 Santenay 1er Cru Clos de Tavannes has a deep purple color. On the nose: a mixture of black and blue fruit, bold and upfront though maintaining respectable definition. The palate is chewy on the entry with tannin, quite rigid and masculine and needing some more flesh to counterbalance that sturdiness on the finish. It just needs to mellow by the time of bottling.

The 2014 Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannew comes from 2.09 hectares of vine, the oldest planted back in 1929. Matured in 20% new oak, it has a red plum and mulberry-scented bouquet with moderate intensity, and a faint iodine scent in the background. The palate is grainy on the entry with slightly shrill acidity, although there is decent substance behind it and a pleasant, rather foursquare, rustic finish.

The 2013 Santenay Clos Tavannes has quite a deep and broody nose for a 2013, but it is well defined with pleasant blackberry leaf and limestone scents. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, quite rigid tannins and a strong saline element near the finish. This is a good solid Santenay that should drink well over the next 5-15 years.

The 2012 Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannes comes from the domaine-s 2.09 hectares of vines on limestone and marl soils, of which just under one-third were planted in 1920. It has a lovely bouquet with fresh ripe blackberry and raspberry leaf - very fine definition and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet entry, hints of brown sugar in the background of the red berry fruit. Soft and generous with a pleasing rounded finish, this will offer fine early drinking, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will age with style. Domaine de la Pousse d'Or is one of the most picturesque estates in Burgundy, perched imperiously on the southern flank of Volnay village. With his hounds encircling his legs, I met with Patrick Landanger who became proprietor back in 1997 due to the untimely passed of Gerard Potel. His intentions of becoming a silent shareholder were changed and having acquired the remaining shares from the Potel family, found himself the sole proprietor. He got the bit between his teeth, expanding the domaine's holdings up unto Corton and down into Puligny, converting the vineyard to organic viticulture with an eye on biodynamics. We tasted the wines in his multi-tiered cuverie as assembled blend taken directly from vat. Patrick was keen to stress his dedication to sorting, first via a vibrating table, then a second by eye and hand, then electronically. The result is very pure fruit that fortunately is not taken to the extreme so that it erases the nuances of each terroir. Moreover, I appreciate the prudent use of new oak here. This is another estate, like Marquis d'Angerville, that has a ceteris paribus approach i.e. it is maintained at 30% so that those nuances of terroir can be observed without being skewed by the level of wood. There have been occasions, most notably apropos the 2009 vintage, where I felt that there was a touch of over-ripeness evident in the wines. In 2012 I only discerned one cuvee that exhibited similar traits, the Bonnes-Mares, which came across rather ostentatious compared to the far more refined Clos-de-la-Roche. Otherwise, these 2012s from La Pousse d'Or are worth seeking out. Importers: North Berkeley Wine, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880; a Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93