Traveling Light Relay

One thing I failed to mentioned in my previous post was that our 2nd bottle, Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Champ Gain, is a Chardonnay. There is two way to know this, the hard way is to do a bit of research (internet, library books), the easy way is to ask Vincent W. Well, I did both, not that I doubt Vincent’s wine knowledge, but doing research is kinda fun. Looking at the wine label, Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Champ Gain, I know one word only….

It turns out, Domaine Etienne Sauzet is the name of the producer (I have no clue if it is well-known). It was called “benchmark Burgundian Domaine” ((Justerini & Brooks: Etienne Sauzet))As for Puligny Montrachet, it’s a town “where many feel the finest dry white wines in the world are produced” ((Burgundy Wine Company: The Wines of Puligny-Montrachet)) Wow… now I know Vincent only get the good stuff. And I’ve read similar comment about Puligny Montrachet in different sources (internet, books) So where is this place… in Burgundy of course, being a Burgundian wine.

Burgundy wine can be divided into two groups, classics and the rest. Under the classics (and the best), there are the Cote d’Or and Chablis. Chablis is almost all Chardonnay, but that’s not where Puligny Montrachet is; it’s under Cote d’Or (means “golden slope”, referring the slope where the vineyards are found) (( Immer, Andrea. Great Wine Made Simple, New York, 2000. Pg 169-172 )) Cote d’Or can be divided further into two area, both name after a major town, Cote de Nuits (Coat duh NWEE) and Cote de Beaune (Coat duh BONE). So… Puligny Montrachet belongs to Cote de Beaune. (Big deal…) Finally, Champ Gain is the name of the vineyard…

So here it is, Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Champ Gain, I know what it means now. (Pronouncing it is another matter)