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Bâtard Montrachet 2016 75cl

AOC Grand Cru | Côtes de Beaune | Bourgogne | France
CHF 810.75
Évaluations et Scores
96 Robert Parker
The 2016 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru was not too affected by frost according to Benoît, as the vines were partly protected by the wall that runs along the top of the vineyard toward Montrachet. It has a well-defined bouquet with expressive scents of green apple, fresh pear and a slight touch of mint, conveying a sense of coiled-up energy and frisson. The palate is well balanced with a fine thread of acidity, just a little honeyed in texture with quite an intense, spicy finish that leaves you with a positive impression. You know what...this might well turn out to be the best wine from Sauzet this year. Bravo.<br/>Despite a small miscommunication surrounding the timing of our appointment, winemaker Benoît Riffault hastily prepared the barrel samples of 2016. He always seems chipper, with a smile on his face, despite confronting the prospect of frost damage in 2016 that turned out more severe in 2017. “In 2016 there is no Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet or Haut Côtes de Beaune or Puligny Folatières because of the frost,” Benoît lamented. “It was not an easy vintage. The first day of the big frost was crazy, and then the second two frosts affected the village crus. The second problem was mildew pressure during the spring and summer, which altogether means we are 40% down in quantity. We started picking on 20 September and harvested over six days. We did not have to do much sorting, but the difficulty was deciding the exact date to pick in each parcel. The wines are matured in 20% to 30% new oak.” I thought that this was a solid, quite consistent set of wines from Sauzet. Since most of their holdings lie in Puligny, they found some reprieve from the frost thanks to cloud cover the following morning, unlike their neighbors in Chassagne. With the exception of their Truffière and Champ Gain that both seemed to have a mouse on their faces, the premier crus were pleasingly consistent. Among the three grand crus, the Bâtard-Montrachet put in a strong performance and in fact, I found more tension and concentration here compared to either the Chevalier-Montrachet and Montrachet itself.<br/>
Producteur
Domaine Etienne Sauzet
Etienne Sauzet a créé son domaine homonyme au milieu du 20ème siècle. L’exploitation comportait environ 12 hectares et se classait parmi les ténors de Puligny. A la disparition d'Etienne, son gendre Gérard lui a succédé en 1974, permettant au domaine de franchir un nouveau seuil de reconnaissance. En 1991, pour cause de succession, l’exploitation a été partagée entre trois petits-enfants, dont Jean-Marc Boillot qui a décidé de rattacher sa part à son propre domaine, laissant 8 hectares. En découle une large gamme déclinée en maintes appellations, issues à la fois des vignobles en propre et des achats de raisins, tous originaires de Puligny ou de Chassagne. Ces achats ont trois provenances : les vignobles historiques de Sauzet, les vignes achetées par Gérard, ainsi que les parcelles acquises plus récemment par sa fille Emilie et son mari Benoît Riffault. Ils gèrent ces vignes avec un sens du détail identique à celui qu’ils appliquent à leur propre vignoble. Depuis 2006, ils pratiquent la viticulture biologique et adhèrent à des méthodes biodynamiques depuis 2010. La maîtrise de leur vignoble leur a permis d'atteindre des sommets vertigineux. Même leur Bourgogne Blanc classique est de toute beauté. Emilie et Benoît se trouvent aux côtés de Gérard dans la gestion du domaine.