At A Glance
- Fact
- Detail
- Home
- Puligny-Montrachet, Côte d'Or, Burgundy
- Vineyard holdings
- 15 hectares across three communes
- White grape
- Chardonnay
- Grand Crus
- Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet
- Cellar
- Fermentation in oak barrels and lees ageing
The Producer
Jeanine Boillot, Etienne Sauzet's granddaughter, and her husband Gérard Boudot manage a Puligny-Montrachet domaine devoted to white Chardonnay. Its Grand Cru wines include Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, and Bâtard-Montrachet. Grand Cru is Burgundy's top vineyard classification, so the term marks a classified vineyard level on the label rather than a grape or cellar method.
The range also includes Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru wines and Corton-Charlemagne. The domaine's work therefore runs from named Premier Cru sites to several Grand Cru wines, all within a white Chardonnay range.
Place
Domaine Etienne Sauzet is based at 11 rue de Poiseul in Puligny-Montrachet, in Côte d'Or, Burgundy. The vineyard holdings also extend across Chassagne-Montrachet and Cormot-le-Grand, placing three commune names behind the domaine's farming.
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru appears on wines such as Champ Canet and Les Combettes. Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, and Bâtard-Montrachet carry Grand Cru status, so the labels distinguish village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru vineyard levels within Burgundy's hierarchy.
Soil And Site
The named Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru sites have different profiles in the glass. Champ Canet is rounder and fatter, and drinks well in its youth. Les Combettes is ample, generous, and streamlined, with notable minerality. Both are white Chardonnay wines, so the contrast comes through the named sites and their separate wine profiles.
Story
Etienne Sauzet founded the domaine in Puligny-Montrachet in 1903. Gérard Boudot took over management in 1974, and Etienne died in 1975. Under Boudot's management, the vineyards moved through two farming stages. They were farmed organically from 2006, then, after two years of experimentation, all switched to biodynamic cultivation in 2010.
The change moved from trial work to one method across the whole vineyard holding. Jeanine Boillot and Gérard Boudot now manage the domaine, carrying the family succession into its current form.
Vineyards And Cellar
The white wines are made from Chardonnay. Fermentations are conducted in oak barrels, a method that brings the wine into contact with wood during its alcoholic transformation. The wines then age on lees for approximately 10 to 12 months. Lees are spent yeast cells left after fermentation, and time with them can broaden texture and add savoury depth.
The oak regime changes with vineyard level. Premier Cru wines receive between 20 and 33 percent new oak, while Grand Cru wines receive 40 percent new oak during élevage. The cellar therefore uses more new wood as the bottles move into the Grand Cru tier.
Wines
The range includes Bourgogne Blanc, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Combettes, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Champ-Canet, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Montrachet Grand Cru, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, and Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Every wine is white and made from Chardonnay.
Bourgogne Blanc occupies the regional level, followed by named Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru wines and the Grand Cru bottles. Bâtard-Montrachet has a rich, complex character, with aromas of lemon, butter, almond, honey, and spices. The level of the vineyard name changes alongside the oak regime described in the cellar.
In The Glass
Montrachet shows concentrated lemon, pear, and white peach layered with toasted brioche, citrus pith, flint, and mineral notes. The fruit sits alongside the savoury and mineral tones rather than replacing them.
Corton-Charlemagne has a mineral-driven palate with sturdy chalky texture and exotic fruit complexity. Its chalky feel gives the wine a firm shape in the mouth, while the mineral character carries through the finish.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Combettes. It is a white Chardonnay from a named Premier Cru site in the domaine's home commune, with a label that states both the village and the vineyard level. The wine is ample, generous, and streamlined, with notable minerality. Its position below the Grand Cru tier makes the Burgundy vineyard hierarchy concrete in one bottle.
Anecdote
In 1991, the inheritance was split between three grandchildren. Jean-Marc Boillot chose to take out his share of the vineyards, so the family settlement divided vineyard ownership instead of keeping every parcel within one domaine. The other two grandchildren received their portions through the same inheritance. The split produced three separate vineyard shares, including the portion Jean-Marc Boillot removed from the Etienne Sauzet holding.
Final Word
Domaine Etienne Sauzet makes Chardonnay whites from Bourgogne Blanc through named Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru wines and three Grand Crus, with oak fermentation and lees ageing shaping the cellar work.
Sources
- etiennesauzet.com
- www.bbr.com/producer-921-etienne-sauzet
- grandsbourgognes.com/en/wine-estates/bourgogne/domaine-etienne-sauzet-294
- symbolicwines.com/products/etienne-sauzet-montrachet-grand-cru-2022
- doublepimportswineselections.com/products/2022-etienne-sauzet-corton-charlemagne
- www.idealwine.info/domaine-etienne-sauzet-the-splendour-of-the-puligny-montrachet-terroir