Red Wines

wines

This is a blend of Le Charlemagne, and Hautes Mourottes, which from 2024 Pierre-François will make separately, calling the former Charlemagne and the latter Corton-Charlemagne. In 2023 there are eight barrels worth, made in two new barrels, two older barrels and a concrete egg. These have been racked to tank since just after the harvest. Pale in colour, stony with a little toast also. Crisp white orchard fruit with a little flesh behind, and good tension. Nicely balanced at 13.5% alcohol. Drink from 2029-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JM

Old vines directly on the mother rock. Mid lemon yellow, a bouquet which is more about ripe citrus and maybe some herbal notes, verbena. Striking linear energy on the palate, the ripe citrus continuing through to the finish. All the Chassagne-Montrachet 1ers crus are quite different, which is a very positive point in favour of the vintage (and Adrien’s skills!) Drink from 2028-2034. Jasper Morris | 93 JMAromas of pear, pastry cream and white flowers introduce the 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers, a medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless wine that’s pure and racy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPA slightly cooler and airier nose is comprised by notes of just sliced citrus and apple along with pretty floral nuances. The middle weight flavors aren’t not as rich or powerful though they are finer with a subtle minerality adding a sense of lift to the vibrant, balanced and long finale that isn’t quite as complex. While this isn’t quite as interesting as the Fairendes, it still merits interest.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Maltroye 1er Cru has a "buttoned-down" nose that demands coaxing to reveal its yellow fruit, hazelnut and light orange rind scents. The palate is well balanced and opens up wonderfully with aeration, displaying a touch of orange rind, spice and smokiness on the finish. It’s quite mercurial and, to my senses, fascinating.Vinous Media | 92 VM

This is even cooler and more restrained as the nose only grudgingly reveals its aromas of mineral reduction, green apple, spice, acacia blossom and a deft touch of wood. The gorgeously textured medium weight flavors brim with both minerality and sappy dry extract that buffers the youthfully austere and even more persistent finish. This too is very classy and a classic Clos de la Mouchère of grace and poise. If you can find it, buy it.Burghound | 95 BHA fuller yellow here, and an extra degree of completeness, more weight and almost all the class. The oak is still at 50% new and is very well integrated. Gorgeously rich, with little fruits dancing through a meadow. Once again, I do see the magic of this. Henri was strongly advised by his father to look after “Madame de la Mouchère”. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru is another very classy wine. Vertical in feel, the 2023 is super-bright from the outset. White pepper, flowers, mint, sage and pear reinforce that impression. Readers will find an airy, deceptively mid-weight Puligny that possesses remarkable depth.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM

This deeply coloured wine from the Pommard side of the village boasts a pronounced plummy fruit with nuance from hints of wood smoke and saddle leather. The texture is firm and draws the wine to a lingering finish. The grapes are from d’Angerville’s 1.06ha parcel. The 2023 vintage has more stuffing than many, although there is no lack of charm. This wine will probably require five to seven years to show its best. A lovely success.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECA medium crimson tint to the colour. An extrovert riper fruit on the nose, sheer beauty on the palate, a slightly darker tint to the raspberry behind. And then it all comes flooding back incrementally across the palate. “A wine which levitates”, suggests Guillaume. Very persistent indeed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPA bright and wonderfully fresh nose also offers up ripe cherry scents are laced with hints of spice and red currant. The mouthfeel of medium-bodied flavors is fine to the point of being borderline delicate while delivering good punch on the firm, serious and saline-inflected finale. Lovely.Burghound | 91 BHA medium crimson tint to the colour. An extrovert riper fruit on the nose, sheer beauty on the palate, a slightly darker tint to the raspberry behind. And then it all comes flooding back incrementally across the palate. “A wine which levitates”, suggests Guillaume. Very persistent indeed.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMA lighter crimson colour. Crushed strawberries on the nose, but no whole bunches here. More about the sensuality than precision in this wine, a riper style of fruit though not necessarily any higher in degree. A long and agreeable finish. Drink from 2030-2037. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

Mid lemon yellow. Grilled almonds Marjolaine suggests, and I agree. Once more the flesh and the oak on the nose are apparent. All the requisite weight and white fruit, silky length, a little salinity, understated but very long indeed. Rather hidden at the moment. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, from vines planted in 1996, had quite a bit of that matchstick reduction on the nose when I tasted it from barrel, but you can discern the concentration here. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. Acidity counters its richness as hints of ginger and white pepper emerge toward the finish. Powerful compared to its peers, this Grand Cru will require two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2023 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a wonderful mineral-driven yet understated bouquet unfolding in the glass with subtle oyster shell/crustacean scents. The palate is beautifully balanced with a keen thread of acidity that slices through the more malic fruit profile. Very harmonious with a judicious dab of spice on the finish, this is a marvelous follow-up to the 2022.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMPale with a green tint. Not so much nose on display yet. Then the volume of pure white fruit with some grapefruit bitters towards the back. Biding its time before displaying its wares. Tightly knit, good tension, this may take quite a while to unwind. Drink from 2030-2036. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMElegant, pure and beautifully layered aromas of honeysuckle, acacia, carnation, white peach and a whiff of citrus confit precede caressing, rich and relatively seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that deliver fine length on the balanced and more complex finale. Like the Combettes, this is really quite classy and stylish.Burghound | 92-94 BH

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er Cru showed more reduction on the nose, yet there is clearly a lot of intensity here. It’s slightly more resinous than its peers, containing touches of melted candle wax and lanolin. The palate is well balanced and poised, with a keen silver thread of acidity and real energy building toward an assertive and complex finish. It is far superior to the 2022 when I tasted it last year. This is superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMA fine mid lemon colour. Discretion continues to be the Sauzet watchword. The Champ Canet has the ideal balance between the concentration of white fruit flesh, acidity, nuance and length. The fruit ripples over a bed of minerals. Very compelling. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMVery firm reduction is such that the lightly wooded nose reveals nothing today. By contrast, there is good verve to the delicious and attractively textured flavors that aren’t quite as dense as those of the Truff but, also somewhat unusually, they do display more minerality on the bitter lemon zest-inflected finale.Burghound | 90-93 BH

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru has another riveting bouquet with notes of white peach, orange pith and crushed limestone. It is intense but very elegant and delineated. The palate has exquisite balance and a little more rondeur compared to others. A touch more spiciness emerges toward the finish, with perhaps the longest aftertaste. This is superb.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMHere too the nose is cool and airy with its aromas of smoked apple, acacia blossom, crushed fennel and citrus confit. The richer and more concentrated, though less mineral-driven, middle weight flavors coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the clean, dry, delineated and balanced finale. This is really quite classy and well-worth your interest.Burghound | 91-94 BHA large block adjacent to Meursault. A fairly pale lemon yellow, with a concentration of solid white fruit on the palate. Significant weight, powerful on the palate, all very much a monolithic block of flavour, some ripe grapefruit at the finish. Weightier perhaps but Benoît’s style here at Sauzet is not for the massive. Two thirds come from 70 year old vines, one third 30. Good acidity to finish. Drink from 2029-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Perrières 1er Cru has a compelling strictness and mineralité on the nose, averting the more tropical inclinations of the preceding Champ Gain. It has just a small touch of reduction. The palate is well balanced with a keen line of acidity. There is a patina of oak to be absorbed, but there is real tension and attack in this Les Perrières. This is a concentrated wine that deserves more time in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMMid lemon yellow, a stony tension to the nose, softer fruit behind that, as we are lower on the slope, with an engaging generous finish, infiltrated by the sense of minerality. Very persistent. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMAn airy and cool nose combines notes of pear and citrus with those of acacia blossom and just sliced citrus. Once again the mouthfeel of the medium-bodied flavors is super-sleek with a beguiling sense of underlying tension that carries over to the saliva-inducing, stony and beautifully delineated finale that isn’t quite as complex or persistent though it’s close.Burghound | 90-92 BH

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet les Referts 1er Cru shows a little more ripeness and tropical traits than other cuvées from Sauzet. Its bouquet features notes of pineapple, nectarine and citrus peel, yet there remains delineation and mineralité that upholds a sense of Puligny-Montrachet. The palate is well balanced and weighty in the mouth, but I admire the tension and poise. It gradually builds toward the harmonious and subtle spice on the finish. Give this time.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA slighter fuller lemon and lime colour. The bouquet suggests greater density of fruit. A light lick of oak which suits the more clay-based wines. Excellent energy, the oak backing up the fresh vigour of the fruit, and a well-balanced finish. Not the ripest, but quite powerful. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMPungent aromas of moderate reduction and wood toast prevent an assessment of the nose. More interesting are the succulent, round and caressing middle weight flavors that possess solid volume and power that seems to build on the compact, sappy and well-balanced finale. Fine development potential here.Burghound | 91-93 BH

Offers a lovely lemon peel and mineral-inflected aroma, with hints of linden flowers and orange blossom. The texture is silky but not light; there is plenty of acidity to carry the weight of the extract. The grapes are from nearly 1ha of east-facing vines overlooking En Remilly; they are lightly crushed and gently pressed before fermentation in cask, 20% new. Give this two or three years in the cellar before opening and enjoy it over the next decade.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECThe 2023 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Charmois has turned out beautifully this year, offering up notes of citrus zest, lime leaf, nutmeg and hazelnuts. Medium- to full-bodied, satiny and precise, with good cut, density and persistence, it’s worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPMid lemon yellow. A touch of sandalwood, but otherwise quite chiselled. A substantial volume of white fruit on the palate, more flesh than Champlots, fine acidity, a little grapefruit behind, and very persistent. Picked at the perfect moment. Iodine from the rock. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Saint-Aubin Le Charmois 1er Cru has a more neutral bouquet despite coaxing. It was a bit reticent at the time of my visit. The palate is crisp with a slightly shrill entry. This is quite sharp and "pointed" for a Saint-Aubin with a dab of ginger lingering on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Chalumeaux 1er Cru is more understated but more complex than the Hameau, with fine delineation and crushed stone infusing malic scents. The palate is well balanced with a twist of sour lemon on the entry, tensile and focused with a precise and quite persistent finish. This is a well-crafted Puligny that will give a decade’s drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er Cru comes from a single hectare block. The aromatics leap from the glass with vivacious citrus peel, crushed stone and white flower scents that are beautifully defined. The palate has exquisite balance, a shimmering line of acidity and wonderful poise with a persistent, subtly spiced creamy texture on the finish. I thought the 2023 was outstanding…the 2024 could be even better.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet has turned out very nicely, offering up a reductive bouquet of pear, baking spices, sweet citrus oil, toasted nuts and struck match. Medium- to full-bodied, satiny and suave, with a layered core and a mineral finish, it will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPA faint green tint. Very slightly reductive. A little more perfumed afterwards, so there is certainly adequate ripeness here. Fairly generous on the palate, complex, and needing more time. Drink from 2030-2035. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JM

The 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru comes from a single block towards the north part of the vineyard. There is a lovely smokiness on the nose, crushed stone and light sea spray scents deftly translating the pedigree of Combettes. The palate is fresh and sapid on the entry. This is nicely detailed, citrus-fresh towards the finish that lingers in the mouth. It is a Puligny that you really appreciate in retrospect and tempts you back for another sip. The 2023 was great…likewise the follow-up.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes is lovely, offering up aromas of honeyed orchard fruits, toasted nuts, white flowers and deftly judged reduction, followed by a full-bodied, ample and satiny palate with exceptional volume and density for the vintage, concluding with a long and expansive finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPMid lemon yellow. A little touch of biscuit on the nose, then a broad swathe of white orchard fruit. Combettes likes a year with a bit more water and this shows in the quality of the 2024. Just the right trace of acidity at the back to keep this in balance, while we benefit from the broad brush of the fruit. Drink from 2030-2036. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JM

The 2024 Puligny-Montrachet les Folatières En la Richards 1er Cru was an absolute knockout last year. This vintage is definitely impressive with fine tension and mineralité, a sense of gusto and purpose that shaded the preceding Truffières. The palate is taut and fresh with a keen line of acidity. Detailed with a clever reduction that surfaces on the finish but never defines this wine, this seems very persistent and will repay cellaring. Superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières En la Richarde opens in the glass with a generous bouquet of ripe citrus fruits, peach, toasted nuts and honey. Medium- to full-bodied, satiny and suave, it’s deep and layered, with a pleasing sense of completeness and a long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPPale colour with a faint lime streak. Plenty of tension, more a limestone feel, perhaps less ripe, evidently a little stricter. Quite generous fruit on the palate, even a suggestion of bacon fat, and notable length. This is one of the more backward wines in the stable, but with potential. Needs time. Drink from 2031-2037. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

Mid lemon yellow. Just a little more depth of white orchard fruit. There is noticeably more body on the palate with white stone fruit now and a crisp finish to balance the additional weight of the wine. A good balance between clay and minerals, with a persistent aftertaste. Drink from 2030-2035. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMFrom a parcel planted in the 1980s on 161-49C rootstock, Sauzet’s 2024 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières wafts from the glass with notes of pear, green apple and nutty reduction. Medium-bodied, fine-boned and racy, it’s pure and saline, with a more elegant, refined profile than the chunkier adjacent Réferts.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Les Perrières 1er Cru is relatively closed on the nose, more obdurate and minimalist, though with aeration there are touches of cold stone/Alpine stream that you can eke out. The palate is fresh on the entry. Real weight here but it needs a little more tension and mineralité to lift the finish. Maybe that will develop once in bottle? At the moment I just prefer the Hameau de Blagny.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2024 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts is richer and more muscular than the Perrières, offering up reductive aromas of pear, sweet citrus fruits and spices. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and satiny, it’s deep and textural, with good persistence on the saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru takes a little time to unfurl on the nose, eventually offering light walnut and flinty aromas that pin it down as Puligny. The palate is well balanced with a twist of orange rind on the entry. Fine weight, very cohesive, this gains momentum and structure towards the finish. Quite a "solid" Puligny, one with substance, one that I would be inclined to cellar for three or four years. Great promise.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMPale lemon yellow with a faint green tint. The bouquet shows proximity to Meursault with a little more flesh. A little touch of biscuity oak. More volume in the mouth, just a little less mineral but still there is a fine vigorous aftertaste. Drink from 2030-2034. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JM