Tasted in Puligny-Montrachet with Benoît Riffault, 15 November 2022.
Domaine Etienne Sauzet
11 Rue de Poiseul
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 32 10
www.etiennesauzet.com
More reports with Domaine Etienne Sauzet
Benoît on 2022:
“It felt good to harvest something this year – happy because it’s a correct volume – without excess like 2018.”
Benoît on 2021:
“A very small vintage. It was the heat of the week before the frost that has to take a lot of the blame, as early April frosts are hardly anything new – the snow didn’t help either. Less high on the hill we have 30-40% of a normal vintage. It’s an even smaller vintage than 2016, indeed anything from the 1970s – it’s 50 years since we’ve seen such a small vintage – 2003 was very small – the frost and the heat but 2021 is lower still – maybe we’ve lost about 60%. The Bourgognes and villages weren’t too bad but the crus delivered between 8 and 15 hl/ha. We have kept back the 2020 Combettes and Chevalier to distribute with these 21s… Three 1ers were assembled due to lower volumes – which will be called Terroir de Blagny. It’s hard to say that the wines are great but it was such a hard year we have to be happy. They are good wines with concentration and freshness – it’s nice to drink a fresh vintage like this. I don’t want to make a great vintage that’s been frosted each year though! The wines took on a good extra dimension after we racked them together.”
The wines…
A range that just grew and grew in quality at this address in 2021 – not everybody may be in the market for it, but their Montrachet was the greatest wine I tasted in my whole 130 visits before Christmas!
‘The new cuverie work is almost finished here – just the last details, I’ll be happy when it’s all over, it’s been a long project!.’ All wines are in tank, racked, with the first bottlings planned for Jan-Feb, the rest March-April. Classic cork is used here to seal the bottles but 49mm with different widths and then finished with wax. All the corks are pre-tested for TCA:
2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay
this cuvée from 3 parcels in the commune of Puligny, plus some bought grapes from the bottom of Meursault too. It could be Côte d’Or – the label hasn’t yet changed…
Here’s a nose of both concentration and fine depth – that’s a really fine, citrus, invitation. Grapefruit acidity and a growing width of flavour – there’s cushioned intensity here. Broad finshing, still with a hint of cushioning… Super Bourgogne.
2021 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Jardin de Calvert
‘We bought a domaine in the Hautes Côtes behind Rochpot after the 2014 harvest – the esprit here is a little like St.Romain.’ 4-500 m of altitude here, made in foudres.
Deeper, broader – padded out with a faint reduction – but clearly lots of aromatic dimension here. Plenty of gas. A more insistent acidity, slowly opening and finding enough cushion and broadening over the palate – becoming ever more attractive – I like the clarity of this.
2021 Puligny-Montrachet
Usually, 12 parcels in 7 different climats – a large part from Les Meix – approaching one-third. Houlières, Enseigneres, Rue au Vaches and others…
A more compact nose but here with an attractive ‘noble’ reduction and citrus skin complexity. More direct but still with good width, a faint cushion of oak framing these flavours. The mainly citrus complexity in this finish is taken to the next level with direction and intensity – not to mention serious length for the AOC – lovely wine – probably excellent villages!
2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
Direction Blagny with some depth of soil here.
Here is aromatic clarity and complexity combined to great effect. Direct, but then broadening over the palate – lovely texture then the intensity takes off – the style here in 2021 – Long, long, long. Ooh – that’s so good!
2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Perrières
Extra breadth and an almost spiced granular complexity here – starting to add more floral components in the glass. Broader, a little fuller in the middle too – intensity taking off again and here with really the most floral presence of all the wines so far – still supported by its citrus complexity. That’s also a beauty – perhaps in style I have a tiny preference for the Garenne – but I wouldn’t complain if either of these was in my glass!
More depth, a suggestion of reduction but a beautiful clarity too – that’s really appealing! Oh yes! – here we have the synthesis of the previous two – direct, beautifully textured and with a fine, faintly cushioned intensity. This is extra long too. Bravo!
Extra breadth of aroma again once more with a modest suggestion of reduction today, a more obvious mineral streak in this wine too. Hmm, a different, more open, shape than the Referts but a similar ‘Ooh!’ feeling as this flows effortlessly over the palate – Referts is by comparison slightly compact, this is a more creamy and impressively wide wine – another really great Puligny 1er.
Truffières, Champs Gains and Hameau be Blagny blended – 600-litres the paltry result.
Not the aromatic power of many – smaller dimensioned here – but what beautiful clarity! That’s really super in the mouth – the most saline and juicy of these wines today – a reprise in the finish too, faintly coated with a creaminess from the 600-litre barrel. Holding a hauntingly long finish. That is easily excellent and potentially another great result here!
2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières En la Richarde
Not the broadest wine but here, though with a super depth and associated clarity. Properly mineral, mouth-watering with juicy citrus – slowly adding some finishing floral components as it widens out that’s simply a beautiful wine!
A larger scaled aromatic, lots more yellow citrus and a small creaminess of oak. There is a muscled density here, only slowly melting at the edges – here’s a wine that you should wait for – but with great anticipation. Potentially great!
The third parcel away from Pucelles, old vines since 1936 – a small cuvée
The width here is more in the bass-notes plus a faintly smoky width of higher complexity. Ultra mineral, impressively intense yet always with full control – if there is some question of the greatness of some previous wines, there is none here – a super finishing reprise too – bravo!
The continuation of their Bienvenues parcel that runs all the way up to the Montrachet vines of Laguiche and just over the road from Pucelles.
Extra aromatic volume here – really filling out. A little extra step in mouth-filling volume, density too – a little like the Combettes – but such a balance of complexity, fine texture and insistent flavour. Salinity comes to the fore in this finish, the breadth of finishing minerlaity too. Bravo wine.
2021 Chevalier-Montrachet – there is none!
Technically ‘Le Montrachet’ but not on the label
Here it is the middle tones that shows the most forward and impressively – a small floral lift here too. Wow. Next level flavours – more floral and more depth of flavour too – a creaminess again but really the most floral of these. Unctuous but perfectly fresh – I so rarely note such a big difference here vs a clearly great Batard – but here we have it – you may have to sell your dog(s) to get hold of a bottle of this. Possibly the most impressive white of my whole tour!