THE HISTORY
The history of the 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. After four generations, Sauzet is still synonymous with high-quality, elegant Burgundian Chardonnay.
THE VITICULTURE
The domaine of Etienne Sauzet follows sustainable, organic, and biodynamic practices across their 37 acres distributed between Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Cormot-le-Grand in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. Much of these holdings are in the heart of the prestigious premier cru vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet. The age of the vines ranges from 23-74 years, and the resulting fruit reaches a high degree of ripeness in these well-placed vineyards. The average yield is 3-3.5 tons per acre.
THE WINEMAKING
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.
The wine is left on the lees as long as possible in order to extract all the flavor and richness out of them. Indigenous yeasts are utilized and the temperature of the cellar is lowered to 64-68ºF during vinification. Fining is with bentonite and casein or col de poisson. Filtration is with lenticular filters, which utilize cellulose. The domaine uses approximately 20- 25% new oak for the premier crus. Sauzet wines are superbly finished, fruity, full-bodied, and authoritative examples of white Burgundy. In the words of Robert Parker Jr., “This is one of the most serious estates in Burgundy. The wines are usually among the very best made...They are textbook white Burgundies, brimming with flavor, yet elegant and well balanced.
The domaine of Etienne Sauzet is made up of 26 acres, much of it in the heart of the finest premier cru vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet. The average age of the vines is 30-35 years. Gérard Boudot, owner of Domaine Sauzet, is seeking maximum finesse and an individual expression of the terroir in his wines. Boudot, who married the granddaughter of the late Etienne Sauzet, runs the domaine and has modernized and improved the vinification, making Sauzet wines among the most sought-after white wines of Burgundy. The estate has been bottling 100% of its production since the early 1950's. Since 1975, the domaine has been selling the entirety of its production in bottle. The white wines of Puligny-Montrachet are some of the most famous and most widely acclaimed in the world. This is undoubtedly due to the local microclimates and the clay, siliceous sand and lime contents of the soil.
