After a day tasting 2018s in Gevrey-Chambertin, I wanted a change of pace for dinner. Cooked some griolles and tagliatelle for a simple dinner, using a splash of oxidized 1975 Bollinger and some crème de Bresse for the sauce, and opened a 2011 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Savagnin. I have around 35 bottles of Puffeney left, and now that he has retired, I open them less frequently. However, the 2011 is drinking spectacularly well. My colleague Luis tells me that it saw two years élevage under flor. Offering up aromas of preserved lemon, chamomile, and a top-note of fino sherry, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, with an elegantly textural attack, good depth at the core, and racy but nicely integrated acids, concluding with a sapid finish. The wine has unwound quite a bit over the last two or three years, and I would place it at the beginning of maturity. These are becoming quite rare so anyone who appreciates the style should snap them up if they have the opportunity. 93/100
Wish I had more. I cherish the bottles I do have.
That’s a nice little stash you got there. What do you think of opening an 02 savignin?
Sounds like a good idea, especially with the right food.
Funny story I remember bringing bottles of Puffeney Trousseau out to parties in Napa around 2007. All of the winemakers loved the wine. I think I was partially responsible for all of the newer plantings of Trousseau.
I find his Savagnin his best bottling…thanks for the note William.
Didn’t he sell the vineyard to d’Angerville? What has become of it? All in D de Pelican? Still some floating around?
Some went to his nephew, Frederic
https://www.sipfinewine.com/wines/Frederic-Puffeney-Arbois-Tradition-2012-w4285248pk
2012 is the current vintage of vin jaune.
i have seen both a 15 and 16 trousseau released by jacques. what is the deal with these? are any of the other wines still being made?
i know i would take the cuvee m poulsard over an overnoy any day.
Thanks William -a nice note and makes me wish I still had some Puffeney around. Who are some of your other favorite Jura producers?
I thought 2014 was to be the last bottled vintage for Jacques Puffeney.
2014 vin jaune should be the last wine released.
a few places in nyc sold the 15 but i regrettably passed on them
Ahh ok great to hear. Anyone try Freddie’s juice?
The articles did say he would consult somehow, so it’s possible.
A CT check has 662 bottles of various 2014 Jacques Puffeney vs 26 bottles of 2015. There are 51 bottles of 2016 Berangeres, with no other wines entered. No notes yet on that though.
Yes, but both those articles are wrong, because he did and does continue to make a little bit of wine. I have drunk 2016 Trousseau Les Berangères myself in Arbois. So he has certainly kept some vines. For how much long and if there’s anything in addition to Trousseau, I couldn’t say.
I like Lucien Aviet and Macle very much among the more classical producers, while Ganevat and Mirroirs are my favorite “natural” producers. The Overnoy wines can be wonderful, and they’re probably more consistent now Emmanuel Houillon is making them, but I tend to mentally categorize them in a class of their own, where different rules apply. Stéphane Tissot is a force of nature, but my mileage has varied aging his topped-up Chardonnays, and I tend to think his vin jaunes are the best wines he makes. I have also been enjoying François Rousset-Martin’s wines lately.
Do you have any thoughts on Tissot’s reds in particular?
Not William, but I’ve liked his Trouseau before.
Thanks for chiming in. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what the deal was when I saw '15s out. Thought it might be along the likes of a Olivier/Domaine Leflaive mixup at the retailer end with Frederic Puffeney being mistaken for Jacques and didn’t want to deal with the headache of sorting it all out with out of state shops.
Doesn’t look like much wine is leaking out to market but would be nice if he kept at it for a bit longer.
Yes, I have 2016 Trousseau in my cellar. I’ve heard he kept just a small parcel of those as a retirement project.
Anyone who likes oxidative Jura wines should check out Montbourgeau, another classical producer from Rosenthal’s book. Different terroir than Puffeney, but beautiful wines. I’ve also liked what I’ve had from Joseph Dorbon, which comes as close to Puffeney stylistically as anything I’ve had.