2012 Chevalier Montrachet

The 2012 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru comes from grapes stationed at the top of the slope. It has an open, airy bouquet that reveals hints of mint and licorice as it opens up, becoming more exotic with each swirl. The palate is well-balanced, vibrant and complex, certainly evoking a more ostentatious take on the climat with an animated, spicy, mint-tinged finish that fans across the mouth and lingers long after the wine has departed. This tenacious Chevalier-Montrachet brims over with personality and substance, daring to outclass old “Monty”. And you know what? I think it does. Etienne Sauzet has been a source of fine Puligny wines since I first dipped my toe into Burgundy. I visited their winery located on the fringe of Puligny that was constructed just over ten years ago: a tastefully furnished facility equipped with a comfortable tasting room, ideal for laptops tired of being precariously balanced between barrels. Sauzet’s policy has been to buy in fruit to augment their own 9.5-hectare of holdings, almost exclusively from within Puligny-Montrachet. The original parcels had been accumulated by Etienne Sauzet in the 1920s and expanded in piecemeal fashion until 1989, whereupon his daughter divided their vineyards for tax purposes. After almost inevitable familial dissention the holdings were splintered to form domains Jean-Marc Boillot (based in Pommard and taking a significant proportion of the vines) and Henri Boillot (Volnay). Together they essentially deprived daughter Jeanine and her husband Gerard Boudot of the lion’s share of their premier crus. Ergo from 1991 Gerard and Jeanine supplemented the family’s remaining vines with out-sourced fruit and set about rebuilding their own portfolio in Batard-Montrachet and Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet. Jeanine’s son-in-law Benoit Riffault, who escorted me through their 2012s, commented that these days the domaine is out-sourcing less than previously. Now approximately 15% of fruit is bought in through contracts and I can imagine that figure might ultimately be zero. Their portfolio did not go unscathed by the difficult growing season. There were one or two esteemed premier crus such as Les Folatieres and Les Champs Canet whereby the triple whammy of hail damage confiscated the wines of their usual breeding. Some of these parcels were up to 80% down and the total crop was depleted by half. Fortunately, they are in the minority. Otherwise, I found that their best wines were brimming over with vigor and tension, encapsulating the mineralite of their terroirs. Sauzet’s wines can sometimes be obscured by sulfur in their youth. However, I did not find such problems here. And I feel that as the domaine as relied less and less on out-sourced fruit, so their wines have become more and more consistent. In 2012 they are crowned by a scintillating Chevalier-Montrachet that ranks as one of the finest that I tasted. If that is beyond your means, then apart from some outstanding premier crus, their Puligny village cru is as dependable as ever. Spotting a couple of palates of village cru destined for “The Wine Society” in the UK, I imagined a lot of satisfied members savoring this superb wine over the next three or four years. N.B. Readers can view Benoit expressing his opinions of the 2012 vintage on www.erobertparker.com. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Bright, green-tinged yellow. Knockout nose combines aromas of Poire William, orange zest, tangerine, white flowers and spun sugar. Shows an almost candied quality to its oily soft citrus fruit but lovely integrated acidity and underlying chalky character energize the middle palate. This very ripe, round wine finishes with terrific length. In the context of the cellar, this is low in acidity and high in pH. But it has a texture of liquid silk.

This is also unusually expressive while exhibiting very subtle hints of exotic orange pekoe tea on the beautifully fresh nose of dried fruits that include apricot, white peach and acacia blossom. There is an opulent and caressing mouth feel to the very rich and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that coat the palate with dry extract before terminating in a delicious, mineral-driven and impressively long finish. This is rich to the point of succulence and while it will certainly age well this will be approachable much earlier than usual. Tasted: Jun 15, 2014. Drink: 2020+