Etienne Sauzet Chardonnay Bourgogne 2018

Domaine Etienne Sauzet is routinely ranked among the top three or four estates in all of Puligny-Montrachet, and this entry-level Bourgogne offers a genuine taste of that pedigree at a fraction of the price. Etienne Sauzet himself assembled the domaine in the years between the two World Wars, and after his passing in 1975 it fell to his granddaughter Jeanine Boillot and her husband Gérard Boudot, who modernised the winemaking while steadily converting the vineyards — organic from 2006, biodynamic from 2010, fully certified by 2013. Today the estate is run by their daughter Emilie and her husband Benoît Riffault, continuing a hands-off, terroir-first philosophy across the whole range. This Bourgogne is assembled from three parcels within the commune of Puligny itself, supplemented by a small amount of purchased fruit from the lower reaches of neighbouring Meursault — genuinely superior sourcing for a wine carrying Burgundy's most basic appellation. As with every wine in the Sauzet range, it's aged on its lees for ten to twelve months to build texture and depth, bottled under classic cork and finished with wax.

The result punches well above its station: crisp Granny Smith apple and fresh pear lead on the nose, with a nuanced, mineral-driven character that's unusually pronounced for a regional white. The palate is silky and well-balanced, carrying real weight and malic freshness through to a finish lifted by white pepper and a touch of dill — burgundy-report has called recent vintages "exceptionally good for Bourgogne," even noting it could easily be mistaken for a Côte d'Or-labelled wine on pedigree alone.