2023 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Combettes", Burgundy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

The estate has been bottling 100% of its production since the early 1950s. Although the winemaking technique is more modern today, M. Sauzet’s tradition of aging the wines on their lees for 10-12 months to “nourish them” is still followed.

Grapes are hand-harvested at optimal physiological ripeness and rigorously sorted in both the vineyard and the winery to ensure only perfect fruit is used. Whole-clusters are  pressed in pneumatic presses for approximately 2 hours to achieve gentle extraction and preserve delicate fruit aromatics. Indigenous yeasts are utilized and the temperature of the cellar is lowered to 64-68ºF during vinification. The must is settled overnight and undergoes alcoholic fermentation in oak barrels using native yeasts.

The 1er Cru "Les Combettes" typically sees about 30% new French oak, with the remainder in older 2-3 year-old barrels, preventing heavy oak masking. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in the barrel. The wine is aged on its lees for 10 to 12 months to nourish the wine and add structural complexity. In fact, the winemaker chose to leave the wine on the lees for as long as possible, in order to extract all the flavor and richness out of the juices. Afterward, it is racked with fine lees into stainless steel tanks for an additional 6 months before being lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling. Fining is with bentonite and casein or col de poisson. Filtration is with lenticular filters, which utilize cellulose. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The history of this domaine dates to the beginning of the 20th century, when Etienne Sauzet inherited and bought several plots of vines in the village of Puligny-Montrachet. The vines passed through the family to Jeanine Boillot, Sauzet’s granddaughter. Jeanine and her husband, Gérard Boudot, managed the domaine, making many modernizations including improved vinification techniques and biodynamic farming. Today the domaine has been passed to their daughter Emilie and her husband, Benoît Riffault, who continue to produce white wines that are among the most sought-after in all of Burgundy. Although the winemaking techniques have been modernized, Sauzet’s traditions of estate-bottling and of aging the wines on their lees for 10-12 months to “nourish them” are still respected and result in superbly finished, fruity, and full-bodied wines. After four generations, Sauzet is still synonymous with high-quality, elegant, Burgundian Chardonnay.