The 2020 Santenay "Cuvée S" bursts with aromas of dark berries, spices, orange and sweet soil tones. Medium-bodied, supple and seamless, it's giving and fleshy, with a rich core of fruit and refined structuring tannins.

The 2017 Santenay "Cuvée S" is showing well, opening in the glass with notes of cassis, licorice, dark chocolate and sweet cherry fruit. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with more depth and concentration than the other communal appellations this year, its powdery tannins cloaked in a fleshy core, and concluding with a long, expansive finish.

The 2016 Santenay "Cuvée S" is raised in 20 to 25% new oak from vines susceptible to millerandage. It has a ripe, candied, violet-scented bouquet that is nicely defined, perhaps a little more elegant than previous vintages that I have tasted. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, gentle in terms of grip with a tightly wound, slightly tertiary finish that will hopefully gain some more flesh with bottle age.

The 2015 Santenay "Cuvée S" includes 25% whole cluster fruit, and has a lively and vivid bouquet with floral red cherry and strawberry scents that are very seductive. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy opening that caresses the mouth. The acidity is well judged and there is immense purity and charm towards the saline finish. It will probably drink earlier than the Maranges Village, but it has the weight to suggest it will age over 6-8 years.

The 2014 Santenay "Cuvée S" has a slightly introspective, black fruit and tar-scented nose that feels a little rustic but has what you might call a simplistic charm. The palate is medium-bodied with cranberry and blackberry notes that feel saline in the mouth. I like the freshness here, and though not as complex as the nascent 2015 or a recently tasted 2013, there is a pleasurable sour cherry vein on the finish that says: "C'mon... come back for another sip." Tasted December 2016.