2018 Chevalier-Montrachet, Grand Cru, Etienne Sauzet, Burgundy

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

Located in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune, particularly in Puligny-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet produces white wines celebrated for their harmonious blend of rich fruit flavours, vibrant acidity, and distinctive minerality. As a Grand Cru, it stands at the pinnacle of Burgundy's wine hierarchy, producing age-worthy Chardonnays of profound depth and complexity.

The original Etienne Sauzet (1903-75) put together a wine domaine of around 12 hectares and established the Sauzet name as one of the top two or three addresses in the village. Initially the domaine was taken over by his son-in-law Gérard Boudot, who arrived in 1974, but in 1991 the inheritance was split up between the three grandchildren, one of whom (Jean-Marc Boillot) chose to take out his share of the vineyards. Since that time Gérard Boudot, now joined by daughter Emilie, and son-in-law Benoît Riffault, has augmented his holdings by purchasing grapes, some from the same appellations as his own holdings below, others to complement the range, such as Champs Gains, Chevalier-Montrachet and Le Montrachet itself. SARL Sauzet buys the grapes from three family property-owning companies (the original Sauzet vineyards, those purchased since by Gérard Boudot, and those recently purchased by Emilie and Benoît) and also grapes from two other producers with whom they have close contact. The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2006 and after two years of experimentation all switched to biodynamic cultivation from 2010. The grapes are sorted to remove grey rot where necessary, then pressed without crushing and fermented in oak until racking into tank before the next harvest, for a further six months élévage on the fine lees. The premiers crus receive between 20 per cent (La Garenne) and 33 per cent (Combettes) new oak with 40 per cent for the grands crus. The generic and village wines are elegant and stylish, while the 1er and Grands Crus are splendidly concentrated and opulent, yet beautifully proportioned and never overbearing.They are some of the most sought-after wines from Puligny and are models of intensity and balance. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.