Santenay 1er cru Clos Rousseau VV 2024 Domaine Bachey-Legros

The Santenay 1er Cru Clos Rousseau Vieilles Vignes 2024 from Domaine Bachey-Legros is the domaine's most ambitious and powerful cuvée from Santenay, rated 2 stars in the Hachette Wine Guide and 16.5/20 by Jancis Robinson on recent vintages. A Premier Cru for serious ageing, born from the complementary blend of Petit Clos and Grand Clos, whose powerfully bouqueted, concentrated and smoky character makes an immediate impression, and which unfolds beautifully over a decade in the cellar.

The terroir of Clos Rousseau

Clos Rousseau takes its name from Roussot, a former owner whose memory has crossed the centuries. Though rousseau once meant Chardonnay in local dialect, its ferruginous clay soils are today particularly suited to reds. This Premier Cru spans six hectares and divides into several complementary lieux-dits, including Petit Clos, Grand Clos and Les Fourneaux. Petit Clos gives the wine its mineral structure, with vines hugging the limestone bedrock and a dominant note of red fruit in finesse and elegance. Grand Clos, situated on argillaceous marls, brings richness, power and ripe dark fruit aromas. Les Fourneaux, whose name recalls that furnaces once gathered mineral salts from Santenay's springs, among Europe's richest in lithium, add a smoky note and great aromatic purity. The three parcels are vinified separately then blended to achieve the right balance between structure and elegance. The vines, planted between 1914 for the oldest at Les Fourneaux and 1980 for the most recent at Grand Clos, produce small berries rich in sugar and aromas, with thick skins and well-ripened pips, yielding deep wines with silky tannins. Vinification is precise and meticulous: 5-day cold pre-fermentation maceration, 13-day alcoholic fermentation, 10-day post-fermentation maceration. Ageing lasts 14 months: 12 months in oak on lees without racking, then 2 months in tank. 100% in oak barrels, 30% new wood.

Tasting profile

The robe is a deep red with purple highlights, dense and luminous. The nose is striking in intensity and complexity: powerfully bouqueted aromas of ripe dark fruits, black cherry and blackberry, impose themselves with remarkable generosity and richness, accompanied by well-judged smoky oak, violet notes and subtle spices evoking a kinship with the northern Rhône. On the 2024 vintage, the natural freshness of the year brings additional tension and aromatic precision. On the palate, the wine is both powerful and elegant, with ample, concentrated matter carried by firm yet fine tannins, a velvety texture that promises beautiful evolution. The finish is fresh, with good length and great aromatic purity. Two hours of decanting is essential in its youth to reveal the full complexity and generosity of this Premier Cru. Cellar this confidently for the next ten to fifteen years.

The domaine

Domaine Bachey-Legros is one of the most authentic and uncompromising addresses in the southern Côte de Beaune, founded in the 19th century by François Bachey and passed down without interruption across six generations. Today, Samuel and Lénaïc Legros, alongside their mother Christiane, perpetuate with passion and modernity this ancestral philosophy across 19 hectares, 80% of which were planted before 1950. Tim Atkin MW has ranked the domaine among the Top 10 Burgundy producers to watch. The construction of a new cellar in 2017 enabled this family trio to further transcend magnificent terroirs.

Food and wine pairings

This Santenay 1er Cru Clos Rousseau Vieilles Vignes pairs beautifully with white meats and grilled or sauced red meats, roast duck with cherries, herb-crusted lamb rack, game birds such as partridge or pheasant, or aged cheeses like Époisses or mature Comté. A minimum of two hours decanting is imperative. Served between 16 and 17°C, it will gradually reveal all the smoky depth, mineral power and breeding of one of Santenay's finest Premier Crus.