Energetic Santenay from Domaine David Moreau
1/31/2025
[David Moreau at his Domaine (Photo: Becky Wasserman)]
When I first began my career in wine I immediately gravitated towards the wines of David Moreau. They were (and still are) some of the best bang for your buck when it comes to premier cru red burgundy in the Cote d’Or.
David Moreau has been making his own wines in Santenay since 2009. After graduating oenology school in Dijon he traveled to Chateauneuf-du-Pape to work with Domaine Beaucastel and then to New Zealand in order to discover wine outside of France. Upon returning to Burgundy he worked with Olivier Lamy of Domaine Hubert Lamy and then Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. With a resume like that it’s always surprising to me how unknown his wines often are. I was lucky enough to visit David in early 2020 after enjoying his wines for years, his enthusiasm and energy for wine easily translates to what is in the bottle.
[Harvest at David Moreau (Photo: David Moreau)]
Santenay is located at the southern end of the Cote de Beaune but geologically shows a stronger resemblance to those further north in the Cote de Nuits. Again, you will see close to 85% of vineyards here being planted to Pinot Noir. Wines from here are often full of flavor and structure without being too aggressive.
David practices organic farming. All grapes are picked by hand at optimal maturity and are sorted at the foot of the plot in daylight. The most perfect of bunches are kept intact for whole cluster integration. All other bunches are destemmed and whole berries are transported by gravity to concrete vats. Maceration is determined through daily tastings to extract the best flavors and tannins. Wines are fermented with ambient yeast. After fermentation they are aged 15-18 months in oak barrels with a percentage of new wood depending on the plot. They are then bottled with attention to the lunar cycle.
These precise, energetic, vibrant reds will become a household favorite and from Bourgogne Rouge to Premier Crus there is a wine here for all occasions!
-Hanna Krilov
