2007 Domaine Étienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Grown in the fat neck of this grand cru that runs alongside Bienvenues and up to Pucelles, the Sauzet 2007 Batard-Montrachet smells with aggressive pungency of citrus oils, peach kernel, and quarry dust, then displays more overtly stony, alkaline mineral character, prominent acidity, and restrained sense of ripeness than one normally expects from this cru. Big-boned and palpably dense, it doesn’t lack for a sense of energy nor does it become heavy, but on the other hand, those seeking charm or seduction from this palate-coating, ineradicably intense wine will at least for now be disappointed. Gerard Boudot harvested the majority of his fruit during the first week in September, after what he considered to have been one last, critical week of ripening, and believing that it was more important to retain ripe acidity than go for a bit more potential alcohol. He reports having chaptalized selectively – largely at village level and to a very small degree – but the wines top out below 13% finished alcohol. Boudot did a rigorous selection not, he claimed, to remove rot but to cull any under-ripe berries and bunches. All of his 2007s were bottled by March, 2009 after their having spent 5-6 months assembled in tank, a period of passive watchfulness that is among diverse aspects of Boudot’s regimen to have been adjusted in recent years in response to high incidence of wines from the late ‘90s that displayed excessive oxidization after a half dozen years. The regimen of new oak here, incidentally, is 20-25% for the premier crus (with the exception of a bit more on Combettes), and never stands out as a factor detectable in itself. (The wines of this domaine legally belong to two entities, that of Domaine Etienne Sauzet and the company consisting of Boudot and his wife. In addition fruit is acquired for a few bottlings on long-term contract. I have not attempted to call attention to these differences in my notes, and in fact numerous crus represented here have multiple official owners.) Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802