The maiden 2012 Santenay 1er Cru Clos des Gravieres is a new addition to Olivier’s portfolio. Olivier enthused about the terroir, citing Lavelle who decreed this particularly chalky plot as “Tete de Cuvee” in 1855 no less. It has a clean, pure and modestly understated bouquet with red currant and raspberry fruit poking their timorous heads from behind the curtain. The palate has a chalky opening that Olivier cited as a signature trait of this parcel, decorated with crisp, chalky but fine tannins that lend this Santenay firm backbone. There is plenty of crisp, brambly black fruit laced with tobacco and tangible minerality on the finish. This is simply excellent and should drink well for the next decade. Arriving on a sodden, overcast Tuesday afternoon at Domaine Hubert Lamy, I stumbled upon Olivier Lamy shovelling a large pile of grape skins onto a moving conveyor. In stark contrast to the idyllic vistas of sun-kissed vineyards and smiling vignerons, it was a pertinent reminder that great wines are the product of hard labor, often tedious, backbreaking, laborious work. Once he had finished we retired to the red wine barrel cellar, only to find so much carbonic gas from the fermenting 2013s that I found it difficult to breath. There was nothing to do but type my observations for the reds al fresco and under a light drizzle. Despite all this, it was a pleasure to visit a winery that is functioning instead of standing idle, to hear the whisper of fizz-popping fermenting barrels next to me, perhaps waiting for their turn next year. I have been following Hubert Lamy’s wines for around a decade now and in that time, I have grown to appreciate him as one of the leading exponents of Cote de Beaune whites. Who else would labor over increasing the density of some of his vineyards to 20,000 plants per hectare? I asked what he had gleaned from this experiment. Olivier told me that the vines tend to ripen a little quicker than the regular plantings with better natural acidity levels. He is also expanding his holdings, having recently acquired parcels from Vincent Jolin (the cousin of Aubert de Villaine) that include Clos des Gravieres in Santenay. I tasted his 2012s from barrel apropos the reds and from stainless steel vats for the whites. Olivier commenced picking from September 16 with the young vines and September 18 for the “grown-ups,” completing the vendange eight days later. While I would not ascribe superlatives for every single one of his crus, they are (as usual) intermittently brilliant and often intellectual. Though his quartet of reds is commendable, it is his whites that truly excel, from his entry-level Bourgogne Blanc up to his impossibly rare Criots-Batard-Montrachet. As I expected, Olivier’s range of Saint Aubin village and premier crus are particularly strong, certainly representing more affordable alternatives to Puligny-Montrachets from other growers. His “Haut Densite” bottlings have expanded from one to three crus, including the aforementioned Grand Cru for the first time. They are definitely worth seeking out for expressions of Burgundy terroir are high-density plantings of 20,000 per hectare, though they will not be easy to track down, limited as they are to just one barrel each. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selections (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)