Etienne Sauzet, Montrachet Grand Cru AOC

About Etienne Sauzet

Etienne Sauzet is an estate based in Puligny-Montrachet, making some of the most sought-after Chardonnay wines in Burgundy. Puligny-Montrachet is a village in the Cote de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy, with its own communal appellation. It is also home to four Grand Cru vineyards and 17 Premier Cru sites. The village was originally called just Puligny until 1879 when the Montrachet section was added in homage to its iconic Grand Cru vineyard, Le Montrachet. The origin of these names is the scrubby Mont-Rachet hillside above the village: mont meaning 'hill' and rache translating rather less glamorously as either 'scab' or 'rash'. Sauzet's wines are prized for their elegance at the village level and their extra weight and concentration at the Premier and Grand Cru level. The portfolio includes leading examples of Chevalier-Montrachet, Le Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Champs Gain. The domaine is made up of 10 hectares (25 acres) of estate vineyards split between the communes of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, and some fruit is brought in from a couple of other growers. The grapes are fermented in oak and aged in barrel for around a year premier crus see up to 33 percent new oak, while grand crus get 40 percent. His 12-ha (30-acre) estate was taken over by his son-in-law G rard Boudot, although in 1991 Boudot's cousin Jean-Marc Boillot took out his share of vineyards, requiring Boudot and his family to make additional acquisitions to bring the property back to its current size.