2011 Puligny-Montrachet, "Les Referts", Etienne Sauzet £77.10
Sauzet is one of the well known names in the Cote d'Or, more specifically their highly sought after Puligny-Montrachets (as well as their Chassagne-Montrachets, Champs Gains, Chevalier-Montrachets and their Le Montrachets). Their vineyard area encompasses around 26 Hectares nowadays, most of which is from their Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru vineyards. Obsessed with their terroir, as most Domaines in Burgundy are, they are proud of their local microclimates aswell as with the clay, siliceous and lime content of the soil.
Its history goes back to the original Etienne Sauzet (1903-1975), where he started with a small plot of just over 10 Hectares and established the Sauzet name as one of the top producers in the village. Gerard Boudot is now the owner and winemaker (fourth generation) and saw the wine making practices going organic since 2006, with further changes to biodynamic practices in 2010.
Grapes are pressed without crushing and then fermented in oak until they are racked into tanks before the next harvest, where they see another 6 months of the lees. Their premier crus see between 20% and 33% new oak and 40% for their Grand Crus.
Now lets get onto the wine...
The Premier Cru of "Les Referts" is situated in the northern part of Puligny-Montracher, close to the border of Meursalt and right next to the "Combettes" vineyards, with very similar soils (more clay than the rest of Puligny-Montrachet.
Nose; lime and grapefruit citrus flavours first, with more stone fruits coming through with some peach and apricot, some white flowers too. I'm also getting some orangey tangerine flavours. Flavours from the oak come through as clove, nutmeg. The wine seems deep and almost sweet. This vintage saw 12 months in oak (around 20% new).
Palate; This wine really comes alive when tasted, it seems to grow on the palate, with a lot of concentration of fruit coming through. A really smooth wine, and an ultra long finish. It's drinking beautifully now (2011 vintage) and I'm tempted to buy a case as it really is an outstanding wine.
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