PIUZE AT HI-TIMES - Hi-Times, Costa Mesa, CA (3/1/2011)
This was a great surprise for a cheap in store tasting. Patrick Piuze was over in the states and stopped by to pour his wines. Young enthusiastic guy who is a lot of fun with an open party like attitude. he prefers to let his wines do native ferments and will only intervene if there appears to be a stuck fermentation. He says that some years the ferments can be six months or can be much shorter like three and a half months due to nature. He is a negociant who sources from 18 different properties within Chablis. Patrick has a personal relationship with most of the growers and doesn’t have to pester them about what he wants in the vineyard.
I found the 2009 Chablis to all have a clear ripeness to them. For the most part they still showed good acidity but the flavors were richer and more tropical than I usually like. The Fourchaume was the only one of the four that I thought suffered from the richness of the fruit. This is still clearly a new producer to watch.
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2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroirs de Chablis - France, Burgundy, Chablis
From the north facing vineyard on the slope behind Les Forets in a mix of clay and limestone. Stony nose showing ripe lemon. More ripe lemon, lemon pie notes in front of a long acidic finish. Surprising concentration for a lower tier bottling. A real nice value. -
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourchaumes - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
From a plot in the heart of the vineyard. Expressive nose of lemon chiffon with some sulfur showing up. Ripe lemon flavors, clean with mineral notes. Shorter and not as acidic as the other bottles, even a bit rough on the finish. This made it more fruit driven than the other bottlings. Very overpriced. -
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Perfumed nose with touches of minerals and sulfur. Expressive, complex and lengthy palate though a bit washed out towards the finish that lingers. Ripe lemon seems to be a hallmark of '09. Much better than the Fourchaume for less money. -
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Smokey mineral nose. Very precise with a mineral laden finish. The finish is actually spectacular and complex. Very acid driven and possibly tight though I’m not sure there is a lot of fruit concentration. With that finish, its hard to wait on this anyways. -
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroirs de Chichée - France, Burgundy, Chablis
From a plateau top vineyard on limestone. Chalky nose with a bit of sulfur. Pure fresh lemon juice palate with tart, sharp, almost biting acids. The acids are very strong here, almost too much. I’m not sure there is fruit to open that would balance this out a bit more. Solid for the money.
Posted from CellarTracker