2014 Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne

We had this 2014 Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne (Chardonnay). We are in research mode, trying to learn what style of Chardonnay we really like and how vintners make the style that we like, so a lot of Chardonnay imbibing is in our future. We really liked this Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne. Chardonnay is one of those varieties that is very malleable in a winemaker's hand. However, there are two styles that Chardonnay drinkers gravitate toward:¹

• Style A: a more “traditional/ oaky” Chardonnay style, marked by “caramel”, “butter”, “honey”, and “oak” attributes
• Style B (a “crisp/fruity” style, with “tropical fruit”, “melon”, and “green apple” notes

Would you believe that this Sauzet had both flavor profiles, not too heavy handed on the traditional oaky, while having some of the tropical fruit. How did they do that? I searched on the Internet but information was very sparse. My husband, on the other hand had taken out a hard cover book that we have written by Remington Norman and Charles Taylor MW, called The Great Domaines of Burgundy, Third Edition, which had a short write up of Etienne Sauzet.
Etienne Sauzet began with 3 ha in Puligny-Montrachet at the turn of the 1900s and continued to add more vineyard land. Tragically, in 1989, Etienne's daughter decided to divide the vineyards, for tax reasons between her three children, but did not stipulate that the domain remain intact!
In 1974, Gérard Boudot, who is married to Etienne Sauzet's grand-daughter, Jeanine, succeeded Etienne Sauzet, with one third of the original domaine intact, including the grand cru holding of Bâtard-Montrachet.
The grapes that go into the Bourgogne is a blend of wine fermented in stainless steel vats and wine that is barrel fermented this leads to a wine that is full and ripe with good length. This may explain why the Bourgogne still has fruit flavors but also has oak notes.
I concur, this is my new favorite Chardonnay.
Once I fine-tuned my search, I did find a site that provided more detail on the care that Gérard Boudot takes in the vineyard and how they harvest and make their wines. If you're interested in learning more, check this out this site: VinConnect: Etienne Sauzet.
References:
1. Gambetta JM, Bastian SEP, Cozzolino D and Jeffery DW., Factors influencing the aroma composition of Chardonnay wines, 2014, J Agric Food Chem 62:6512–6534.
2. Remington Norman and Charles Taylor MW, The Great Domaines of Burgundy, Sterling Publishing, New York, London, Third Edition, 2010.