Wine Advisor
Etienne Sauzet, Puligny Montrachet 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Healthy pale yellow. Restrained aromas of fresh peach and flowers. A step up in energy and cut from the village Chassagne, showing more focus and penetration--not to mention floral lift--to its stone fruit flavors. Strong acidity here will require time to be absorbed. Winemaker Benoît Riffault opined that the Sauzet 2013s generally have more incisive citrussy acidity than the '14s but that this element is less in balance with the wines' fruit.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(an assemblage of six cuvées): Pale straw-yellow. Deeply pitched nose offers hazelnut and musky lees. Supple and fine-grained, showing good energy and balance but a slightly elevated impression of acidity. Not yet displaying its personality but finishes with good subtle length--and smoother than the Chassagne-Montrachet.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(an assemblage of six cuvées): Pale straw-yellow. Deeply pitched nose offers hazelnut and musky lees. Supple and fine-grained, showing good energy and balance but a slightly elevated impression of acidity. Not yet displaying its personality but finishes with good subtle length--and smoother than the Chassagne-Montrachet.
About the Producer
Etienne Sauzet is an estate based in Puligny-Montrachet, making some of the most sought-after Chardonnay wines in Burgundy. Sauzet's wines are prized for their elegance at village level and for their extra weight and concentration at 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 15 hectares (37 ac) of estate vineyards split between the communes of Puligny-Montrachet, Cormot-le-Grand and Chassagne-Montrachet with small amounts of fruit externally sourced. 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. After barrel aging, the wines are racked into tanks for another six months on lees. Etienne Sauzet was established at the forefront of Puligny-Montrachet production by Etienne Sauzet himself (1903-1975). His 12 hectare (30 ac) estate was taken over by his son-in-law Gérard 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.
