2019 Côte Chalonnaise Rouge - Les Champs Pernin

Chris Santini is an American of French descent who works as a purchasing agent for the American wine importer Kermit Lynch at their office in Beaune. Before being hired there, he worked at several different wineries in France and has also studied oenology in Beaune.

His cellar in the heart of Auxey-Duresses is not only the home of his own production, but has also been the cellar of a number of other producers since 2016. Thus, both Domaine Dandelion, Vin Noé and Bastian Wolber have previously vinified their wines in the cellar in Auxey-Duresses.

Chris buys all his grapes, but his many contacts in the area have given him access to excellent grapes. The goal is to make unpretentious and juicy wines, and he always prioritizes the quality of the vineyard work over buying grapes from a prestigious appellation.

Over the last few vintages, Chris has found a clear and well-defined style based on the “flottaison” technique, which is probably best known from Daniel Sage. A proportion of the grapes are pressed directly at harvest, and the remaining grapes are added as whole bunches to the must, which gives it a gentle infusion without too much extraction of neither color nor tannin. He has also completely abandoned the use of casks and stores all wines in steel tanks only. No pumps are used, there is zero fining or filtration, and only a minimal dose of sulphur is added at bottling.

The result is a series of incredibly easy-drinking and enjoyable wines that feel unmanipulated but clean and precise at the same time.