Domaine Étienne Sauzet

Étienne Sauzet (1903-1975) assembled the domaine in Puligny-Montrachet over the first half of the twentieth century, building it around the village's most celebrated white-wine vineyards into one of its top addresses, with roughly 12 hectares by mid-century. The estate passed to his granddaughter Jeanine, and her husband Gérard Boudot took the helm in 1974, directing it from the founder's death in 1975. Over a four-decade tenure Gérard shaped the contemporary identity and reputation of Sauzet, building it into one of the handful of apex Puligny-Montrachet producers alongside Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Ramonet. He is the figure most associated with the modern estate, and he remained involved in an advisory role well after the fourth generation took over day-to-day work.

• Étienne Sauzet (1903-1975) built the domaine over the first half of the twentieth century, reaching about 12 hectares by mid-century
• Gérard Boudot married Sauzet's granddaughter Jeanine and took the helm in 1974
• He directed the estate from the founder's death in 1975 and shaped its modern reputation over four decades
• Built into an apex Puligny producer alongside Leflaive and Ramonet; remained an advisor after the handover

In 1991 the estate was divided among Étienne Sauzet's three grandchildren. One of them, Jean-Marc Boillot, took his one-third share as actual vineyards out of the domaine to build his own estate, rather than leaving the holdings intact. The departure cut Sauzet's owned vines from about 12 hectares to just under 9, a material loss of prime Puligny land. Gérard Boudot responded by establishing a négociant arm that buys grapes and must from trusted growers, allowing the domaine to keep producing across its full range despite the reduced ownership. Jean-Marc Boillot is sometimes confused with other members of the Boillot family: his maternal grandfather was Étienne Sauzet, while his paternal line is the Boillot family of Pommard, and his brother is the separate producer Henri Boillot of Volnay.

• 1991: the estate was divided among Sauzet's three grandchildren
• Jean-Marc Boillot took his one-third share as vineyards out of the domaine to found his own estate
• Owned vines fell from about 12 hectares to just under 9; Gérard Boudot added a négociant arm to keep the range complete
• Jean-Marc Boillot (maternal grandfather Étienne Sauzet) is distinct from his brother Henri Boillot of Volnay and the Pommard Boillots

Sauzet works about 9 hectares of estate vines, supplemented by purchased grapes through the négociant arm, almost entirely in Puligny-Montrachet. At Grand Cru level the estate owns vines in Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, the latter from old vines, and rounds out its four-Grand-Cru range with Le Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet made largely from purchased grapes. The nine Premier Crus span the appellation's finest sites: Les Combettes, the apex Premier Cru in many vintages and a neighbour of Bâtard-Montrachet, together with Champ Canet, La Garenne, Les Referts, Les Perrières, Les Folatières, La Truffière, Hameau de Blagny, and Champs Gains. Puligny-Montrachet village and a Bourgogne Blanc complete the range, and every wine is Chardonnay.

• About 9 hectares of estate vines plus purchased grapes through the négociant arm, almost entirely in Puligny-Montrachet
• Estate-owned Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet; Le Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet largely from purchased grapes
• Nine Premier Crus: Les Combettes, Champ Canet, La Garenne, Les Referts, Les Perrières, Les Folatières, La Truffière, Hameau de Blagny, Champs Gains
• Puligny-Montrachet village and a Bourgogne Blanc complete a range that is exclusively Chardonnay

The domaine entered its fourth generation in the early 2000s when Gérard's daughter Émilie Boudot, Étienne Sauzet's great-granddaughter, and her husband Benoît Riffault gradually assumed leadership; Riffault joined around 2002 and took on the principal winemaking role, with Gérard staying close in an advisory capacity. The couple deepened the estate's commitment to sustainable farming, converting to organic viticulture from 2006 and to biodynamics from 2010. The transition has been managed for continuity rather than disruption, preserving the house style while tightening precision in vineyard and cellar.

• Fourth generation: Émilie Boudot (Étienne's great-granddaughter) and husband Benoît Riffault, from the early 2000s
• Benoît Riffault joined around 2002 and took the principal winemaking role; Gérard stayed on as advisor
• Organic viticulture from 2006; biodynamics from 2010
• A continuity-minded handover that preserved the house style while sharpening precision

Sauzet works in a classic white-Burgundy register, pressing gently and raising the wines in barrel with moderate new oak, roughly twenty to forty percent for the Premier and Grand Crus, before bottling. The house style is characteristically more aromatic and fruited than the chiselled-mineral school of Roulot or the restrained-mineral identity of Leflaive, while still building wines that age well over a decade or more. Within the apex tier of Puligny-Montrachet commerce, Sauzet sits alongside Domaine Leflaive, the village's dominant institutional reference, and Domaine Ramonet, the apex Chassagne producer with Puligny sourcing, with its larger four-Grand-Cru range made possible by the négociant arm. The estate's allocations route through specialist retailers worldwide, and its reputation has held at the apex across the past two decades.

• Gently pressed, barrel-raised, with moderate new oak (roughly 20 to 40 percent for the Premier and Grand Crus)
• More aromatic and fruited than the Roulot or Leflaive schools, while still ageworthy
• Apex Puligny cohort: Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Ramonet, with Sauzet's broad Grand Cru range enabled by the négociant arm
• Allocated through specialist retailers worldwide; apex reputation sustained over two decades