Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 2018

An admirably cool yet ripe nose offers up notes of white peach, honeysuckle, wet stone and soft spice nuance. The impressively-scaled, rich, full-bodied and palate staining broad-shouldered flavors brim with dry extract that does an excellent job of buffering the very firm acid spine shaping the wonderfully complex and lingering finish. This beauty is perhaps a bit more muscular than usual for a classic Combettes but the natural finesse is still present. Excellent.

Deep and concentrated, the 2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes unfurls in the glass with notes of pear, white currants, buttered toast and blanched almonds. Medium to full-bodied, textural and reserved, concluding with a long, mineral finish, this is the most introverted of Sauzet's premiers crus and will need some time.