Santenay is the last stop on a very famous road. The Route des Grands Crus runs south from Dijon through the Côte d'Or, a thin strip of limestone hills facing east, and passes through villages whose names are on wine lists across the world: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet. By the time it reaches Santenay, the great names have mostly fallen behind, but the vineyards are still lovely, with neat rows of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the wines here, less expensive and less grand, are often fine value. The village is small, with a pretty church, a few cellars and a thermal spa that dates back to the nineteenth century.
The wine of Burgundy is shaped by tiny differences in soil, slope and exposure, and the vineyards are divided into plots called climats, each with its own character and history, which UNESCO listed as a World Heritage Site in 2015. Monks, especially Cistercians and Benedictines, spent centuries tending these slopes and recording which plots made the best wine, and their descendants, the family estates, still hold to the system. The names on the labels are not just brands but places, and you can walk or ride through them and see the stone walls and small huts that mark the boundaries.
The ride is all about pace. The roads run through villages and vineyards, with stone houses, low walls and cellar signs inviting you in for a tasting, but a rider must be disciplined: sip and spit, or buy a bottle for later. Traffic can be slow, especially during the harvest in September and early October, when tractors and trailers fill the lanes, and the smell of crushed grapes hangs in the air. In spring, the vines are bright green, and in autumn the leaves turn red and gold, which is the loveliest time.
Chagny, about four kilometres away, is the nearest town of any size, with fuel and supermarkets and a handful of excellent restaurants. Burgundian cooking is rich and slow, with beef braised in red wine, snails baked in garlic butter, the cheesy puffs called gougères and a pungent cheese called Époisses. Many cellars close at lunch and on Sundays, so telephone ahead if you want a tasting. Weather is changeable, with hail a risk in summer, and a sudden storm can ruin a vintage and a ride at once.