Wine Advisor
Etienne Sauzet, Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Unwinding in the glass with aromas of pear, orange oil, freshly baked bread, peach, smoke and spices, the 2020 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is full-bodied, satiny and layered, with terrific old-vine concentration, racy acids and chalky dry extract. Deep, multidimensional and structured, it will reward a bit of patience.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a very chiselled bouquet, focused and precise with crushed stone and touches of dried honey, a little jasmine with time in the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine definition, tensile and spicy, fine depth although it just misses a little precision on the finish, like a runner who flags on the final lap. Let’s see how this will show in bottle.
About the Producer
Etienne Sauzet is an estate based in Puligny-Montrachet, making some of the most sought-after Chardonnay wines in Burgundy. Sauzet's wines are prized for their elegance at village level and for their extra weight and concentration at Premier and Grand Cru level. The portfolio includes leading examples of Chevalier-Montrachet, Le Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Champs Gain. The domaine is made up of 15 hectares (37 ac) of estate vineyards split between the communes of Puligny-Montrachet, Cormot-le-Grand and Chassagne-Montrachet with small amounts of fruit externally sourced. The grapes are fermented in oak and aged in barrel for around a year – premier crus see up to 33-percent new oak, while grand crus get 40-percent. After barrel aging, the wines are racked into tanks for another six months on lees. Etienne Sauzet was established at the forefront of Puligny-Montrachet production by Etienne Sauzet himself (1903-1975). His 12 hectare (30 ac) estate was taken over by his son-in-law Gérard Boudot, although in 1991 Boudot's cousin Jean-Marc Boillot took out his share of vineyards, requiring Boudot and his family to make additional acquisitions to bring the property back to its current size.
