Etienne Sauzet

Benoît is from the Loire Valley – Sancerre to be exact – so grew up with Sauvignon not Chardonnay. He married Emilie Boudot, the great granddaughter of Etienne Sauzet, so Chardonnay it had to be! Emilie is focused on the commercial side of the business, while her father Gérard, who ran the estate from 1975 onwards, is as retired as one can be ‘living over the shop’. The estate extends to 15 ha with their production supplemented by some bought-in grapes for the Garenne, Chevalier-Montrachet and Bourgogne, originally to replace vines lost some years ago due to inheritance. A tasting with either Gérard or Benoît in their swish tasting room is an unrivalled education in the different terroirs of Puligny-Montrachet. Each wine as one moves up the scale copes with a little more new oak, culminating in 40% for the grand crus. There are nine different Puligny-Montrachet 1er crus and four out of five of the grand crus: Bâtard, Bienvenue-Bâtard, Chevalier and Le Montrachet. The more modest Bourgogne ‘La Tufera’ is always a good buy, as is the Puligny-Montrachet, a blend of nine different parcels.