Domaine Etienne Sauzet

Etienne Sauzet established his eponymous estate in the 1920s and quickly became one of the village’s most respected producers. His granddaughter, Jeanine, married Gérard Boudot in the early ‘70s, and he assumed winemaking duties at the domaine. Things became a little more complicated in 1991 when the Boillot siblings went their separate ways, and the vineyards were divided up accordingly. Gérard continued to make the wines at the estate, supplementing Domaine fruit with some choice parcels of contracted fruit.

In 2006 farming went organic and four years later biodynamic, with certification following in 2013. By this time, Gérard had retired and his daughter, Emilie, and her husband, Benoît Riffault (from the highly regarded Riffault family in Sancerre) were running the operation.

They have continued to buy vineyards where possible, including 5 hectares in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, which looks like a shrewd purchase with the climate continuing to evolve as it is. This gives them 15 hectares in total, and there are few domaines out there with such a comprehensive collection of their village’s best vineyards.