En Primeur | Etienne Sauzet

The domaine was founded by Etienne Sauzet in the early 1900s, and since then the vineyard has passed down through the generations. The estate has remained largely intact, apart from one of his grandsons, Jean-Marc Boillot who created his own domaine in 1991 with his part of the inheritance. Today the family interests of 15 hectares are managed by Etienne’s great granddaughter Emilie and her husband Benoît Riffault. Benoît comes from Sancerre and has white winemaking in his blood. 

These wines are not available online please email or call us for details.

More about Etienne Sauzet

Certified as biodynamic since 2013, the domaine’s winemaking style is to ferment in cask, giving the wines 12-month maturation on their lees, before transferring into stainless steel tanks where they remain on lees for a further 6 months prior to bottling. The domaine has followed this approach for many years, one which is increasingly popular as it allows both the richness of fruit to be enhanced and preserves the classic Puligny elegance and purity.

Benoît started harvesting on 22nd August, 95 days after flowering so just a little ahead of his traditional scheduled date. In 2020 his fruit was more aromatically advanced compared to 2019 and he was keen to capture all the floral and stone fruit nuances characteristic of the vintage. His harvest policy was simple: get the fruit in as quickly and as efficiently as possible. So, they picked throughout the day (unlike some estates who preferred morning only harvesting) and gathered all 15 hectares in just seven days, in perfect conditions, before the grape sugars rose too fast. Benoît describes the vintage as having spheric fruit characters, a new term to me, but an apt one!

Pricing

  • IN BOND prices exclude UK Duty and VAT. Wines can be purchased In Bond for storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse, or for export to non-EU countries. Duty and VAT must be paid before delivery can take place.

  • RETAIL prices include UK Duty and VAT. Wines for UK delivery can only be purchased this way.

Additional Information

  • Duty Paid wines have been removed from Bond and cannot subsequently be returned to Bond.  VAT is payable on Duty Paid wines. These wines must remain Duty Paid but can be purchased as such for storage subject to VAT.

  • En Primeur wines can only be purchased In Bond. On arrival in the UK these wines can either be stored In Bond in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse or delivered directly to you. When you decide to take delivery, Duty and VAT at the prevailing rate become payable.

Tax status

  • IB: In Bond. These wines have had no UK Duty or VAT paid on them. Wines can be purchased In Bond for storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse, or for export to non-EU countries.

  • DP: Duty Paid. Wines for immediate UK delivery must be purchased Duty Paid. VAT is payable on Duty Paid wines. Wines which have been removed from Bond cannot subsequently be returned to Bond. They must remain Duty Paid but can be purchased as such for storage subject to VAT.

  • EP: En Primeur. These wines are lying in the Domaines’ cellars until shipping. They can only be purchased In Bond. On arrival in the UK these wines can either be stored In Bond in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse or delivered directly to you. When you decide to take delivery, Duty and VAT at the prevailing rate become payable.