2023 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Chassagne Montrachet Les Encégnières

This relatively small domain is located in the village of Puligny Montrachet. Gérard Boudot is married to the granddaughter of Etienne Sauzet and has managed the domain since 1974. Little by little he managed to rediscover the typicality of the different terroirs and over the last ten years he has been making beautiful Puligny's. Now he works with his daughter. Gérard Boudot gets the concentration of his wines from a harvest picked as late as possible and healthily. He achieves the finesse and characteristic elegance through his slow vinification. This harmony can be found in both his regular Chardonnay and his Grand Crus, each with the very typical terroir nuances. Known worldwide, these wines have become almost impossible to find. For a number of years, Gérard Boudot has been assisted by his daughter Emilie and son-in-law Benoit Riffault. Benoit has been responsible for winemaking in recent years, with Gérard in a coaching role in the background.

Benoît Riffault is pleased with his 2022 wines, and with good reason, as this is one of his best vintages to date. His harvest dates were more or less the same as in 2020, so relatively speaking a little earlier, and that translates into impeccable balance across the board. Hand-harvested fruit is pressed without crushing. The pressing cycle lasts about three and a half hours and performs "quite a few", i.e. more than 20 rotations. The must is sulfited at the end of the pressing and allowed to settle for 24 hours, but Riffault retains most of the lees and ferments in wood. Larger formats, including foudres, now complement 228-liter Burgundy barrels. The wines are stored in the tank in July/August before the new vintage begins, while the premiers and grands crus spend as much as six months on their lees before being bottled. All Sauzet wines are bottled with high-quality, unbleached natural cork.

The plot 'Les Encégnières' is located next to a Premier Cru called 'Vide Bourse' and even more importantly, next to Grand Cru 'Batard-Montrachet'. One of the most iconic plots in all of Burgundy. The wine is light yellow. Ripe, clean aroma of pear and flowers. Smooth, rich pear and peach flavors give a nice impression of sucrosite, balanced by sufficient acidity. Good concentration and material here. The finish is tactile and slightly phenolic. This quite large-scale 'Village' wine could now be enjoyed for its rich yellow fruits.