Sauzet

The original Etienne Sauzet (1903-75) put together a wine domaine of around 12 hectares and established the Sauzet name as one of the top two or three addresses in the village. Initially the domaine was taken over by his son-in-law Gérard Boudot, who arrived in 1974, but in 1991 the inheritance was split up between the three grandchildren, one of whom (Jean-Marc Boillot) chose to take out his share of the vineyards.

Since that time Gérard Boudot, now joined by daughter Emilie, and son-in-law Benoît Riffault, has augmented his holdings by purchasing grapes, some from the same appellations as his own holdings below, others to complement the range, such as Champs Gains, Chevalier-Montrachet and Le Montrachet itself.

The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2006 and after two years of experimentation all switched to biodynamic cultivation from 2010. The grapes are sorted to remove grey rot where necessary, then pressed without crushing and fermented in oak until racking into tank before the next harvest, for a further six months élévage on the fine lees. The premiers crus receive between 20 per cent (La Garenne) and 33 per cent (Combettes) new oak with 40 per cent for the grands crus.

Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 0.14
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 0.17
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 0.96
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 0.27
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs Canet 1.00
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne 0.99
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 0.48
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts 0.70
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny (from 2008) 0.25
Puligny-Montrachet 3.34
Chassagne-Montrachet 0.48

The generic and village wines are elegant and stylish, while the 1er and Grands Crus are splendidly concentrated and opulent, yet beautifully proportioned and never overbearing.They are some of the most sought-after wines from Puligny and are models of intensity and balance.