France · Burgundy · Chablis · White · Still · wine-wine · 1491917
Lowest offer: 46.24166666666666666666666667 GBP (Buy)
Offers: 2 · Bids: 0
| Price / case | Vintage | Packing | Qty | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 281.00 GBP | 2023 | 6 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
| 554.90 GBP | 2024 | 12 x 75cl | 2 | uk / United Kingdom |
No active bids.
| Vintage | Packing | Offers | Bids | Market price | WA rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 90 | |
| 2017 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2017 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2018 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 5417.28 | 92 |
| 2018 | 6 x 1.5L | 0 | 0 | 92 | |
| 2018 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 2708.64 | 92 |
| 2019 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2019 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 7024.56 | 93 |
| 2020 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 3512.28 | 93 |
| 2022 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 6182.64 | 93 |
| 2023 | 6 x 75cl | 1 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2024 | 12 x 75cl | 1 | 0 |
Rating: 93 –93
A fine effort, Piuze's 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux opens in the glass with aromas of pear, orange oil, freshly baked bread, pastry cream and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with racy acids, chalky grip and a saline finish, it's a classically proportioned wine that will age with grace.
Rating: 93 –93
Offering up aromas of citrus oil, blanched almonds, drawn butter and white flowers, the 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is medium to full-bodied, satiny and textural, its layered core of fruit girdled by bright acids, concluding with a long, saline finish. From very old vines growing in clay soils, this cuvée has turned out especially well in 2019.
Rating: 92 –94
Notes of lemon oil, grapefruit, crisp green apple and iodine introduce the 2017 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux, a deep, medium to full-bodied wine with an elegantly glossy attack, a firm core and a pure, chalky finish. The amplitude of which the site is capable is effortlessly controlled.
Rating: 93 –93
The 2017 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is showing very well from bottle, unwinding in the glass with notes of green apple, iodine, clear honey, mandarin and frangipane. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with impressive textural presence allied with racy acids and a compelling sense of structural reserve. This is a superb Butteaux from Piuze.
Rating: 92 –92
The 2014 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux comes from vines planted east-west. It has a very defined, more exotic bouquet than the Fôrets with a touch of licorice just in the background. The palate is vibrant, elegant and refined with a taut line of acidity, poised and focused with a long, saline finish that is as intellectual as it is pleasurable. This is superb.
Rating: 90 –92
Piuze's 2011 Chablis Butteaux is impressive. It boasts serious depth and extract in its rich, voluminous fruit. This is a decidedly masculine wine endowed with tremendous depth and an authoritative, decisive personality. Mineral notes emerge over time, most notably on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013+. Patrick Piuze is one of the most thoughtful producers in Chablis, so it is hardly a surprise that these wines continue to show significant improvement. One of the developments over the last year or so has been an experimentation with an old-fashioned mechanical press, which Piuze thinks may give him wines with a greater capacity to age, even if they are a bit tougher upon release. Given the considerable attention, and frankly mystery, that still surrounds the premature oxidation of white Burgundies, it is going to be very interesting to see what this approach yields. Piuze recently took over a section of the old Vocoret cellars in the center of town, which gives him some additional space, which was much needed. Unlike most of his peers, Piuze works exclusively with purchased fruit, most of it from vineyards he farms directly or supervises. Piuze makes a number of fabulous wines, but of particular interest are the "Terroir" series wines, which seek to highlight the unique qualities of each of the main villages within the Chablis appellation. As far as I know, no one else is making wines like this. Piuze bottled some of his 2011s early. Those wines were left on their lees for their entire elevage. I tasted the rest of the 2011s from barrel, where they had never been racked. As for the 2010s, Piuze is one of the few producers who is quite frank in saying he is not a huge fan of the vintage. Accordingly, Piuze chose not to bottle magnums for any of his wines. Various American importers, including: David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680, Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529
Rating: 91 –91
Readers will find one of the more larger-scaled wines in this lineup in the 2010 Chablis Butteaux. It possesses notable richness and nuance in its apricots, yellow peaches and flowers. There is more than enough fruit to fill out the wine's broad shouldered frame nicely. The Butteaux is delicious today, but also appears to have the stuffing to age gracefully for at least a few years. Anticipated maturity: 2012. Patrick Piuze is one of the most thoughtful producers in Chablis, so it is hardly a surprise that these wines continue to show significant improvement. One of the developments over the last year or so has been an experimentation with an old-fashioned mechanical press, which Piuze thinks may give him wines with a greater capacity to age, even if they are a bit tougher upon release. Given the considerable attention, and frankly mystery, that still surrounds the premature oxidation of white Burgundies, it is going to be very interesting to see what this approach yields. Piuze recently took over a section of the old Vocoret cellars in the center of town, which gives him some additional space, which was much needed. Unlike most of his peers, Piuze works exclusively with purchased fruit, most of it from vineyards he farms directly or supervises. Piuze makes a number of fabulous wines, but of particular interest are the "Terroir" series wines, which seek to highlight the unique qualities of each of the main villages within the Chablis appellation. As far as I know, no one else is making wines like this. Piuze bottled some of his 2011s early. Those wines were left on their lees for their entire elevage. I tasted the rest of the 2011s from barrel, where they had never been racked. As for the 2010s, Piuze is one of the few producers who is quite frank in saying he is not a huge fan of the vintage. Accordingly, Piuze chose not to bottle magnums for any of his wines. Various American importers, including: David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680, Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529
Rating: 88 –88
The 2009 Chablis Butteaux shows more focus than the Forets. Clean, well-articulated aromatics yield to beautifully nuanced fruit in this nicely balanced Chablis. Neither the Butteaux nor the Forets is as exciting as one might expect considering their respective pedigrees. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. Patrick Piuze’s resume includes stints with Olivier Leflaive, Jean-Marie Guffens and Domaine Brocard. A desire for more of a hands-on approach in all facets of winemaking led Piuze to start his own micro-negociant operation a few years ago. All of the wines are fermented with ambient yeasts and are aged on their lees in steel and neutral oak with no batonnage. Of the premier crus, the Vaillons, Forets and Butteaux are aged entirely in oak, as are all of the grand crus. The wines go through full malolactic fermentation. Stylistically, the wines lean towards the Cote d’Or in terms of their personalities. In 2009, Piuze began picking on September 14, earlier than normal, and the wines also went into bottle early (before the 2010 harvest), both with the aim of trying to maintain as much freshness as possible. About 50% of the wines are aged in neutral oak. Some of the gems in this lineup are in the entry-level offerings, where there may be less competition for higher quality fruit than in some of the more prestigious sites within Chablis. I was only able to taste one 2010, as the rest of the wines had not yet been bottled at the time of my visit. I also sampled a number of 2008s, including the Vaucoupin, Vaillons, Blanchots and Les Clos, all of which were very pretty. Various American importers, including: David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680 and Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529
Rating: 93 –93
The deeper clays of this site tend to do well in warmer years, and the 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is no exception, offering up aromas of dried white flowers, peach, citrus oil and freshly baked bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and fleshy palate that retains good cut and tension in this warm vintage, concluding with a mouthwateringly saline finish.
Rating: 90 –90
The 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux has a well-defined bouquet with touches of mint and bay leaf. I like the energy here. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, a twist of bitter lemon, edgy and saline with a taut, linear finish. “Proper Chablis” (as they say).
Rating: 90 –90
The 2016 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is very conservative on the nose, almost reluctantly opening with light sea spray and seaweed-like scents. This is certainly very evocative of the sea. The palate is well defined with a pleasant salinity, continuing that marine theme. It is fresh and bright with a punchy, sappy finish. This is a Chablis that is full of character.
Rating: 92 –92
Notes of green apple, lime, oyster shell and iodine introduce Piuze's 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux, a medium to full-bodied, ample and attractively layered wine that's concentrated, cool and controlled, with tangy acids and a saline finish. This cuvée derives from a parcel of 75-year-old vines in clay-rich soils that have weathered the warm vintage conditions very well.
Rating: 90 –92
Piuze's 2011 Chablis Butteaux is impressive. It boasts serious depth and extract in its rich, voluminous fruit. This is a decidedly masculine wine endowed with tremendous depth and an authoritative, decisive personality. Mineral notes emerge over time, most notably on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013+. Patrick Piuze is one of the most thoughtful producers in Chablis, so it is hardly a surprise that these wines continue to show significant improvement. One of the developments over the last year or so has been an experimentation with an old-fashioned mechanical press, which Piuze thinks may give him wines with a greater capacity to age, even if they are a bit tougher upon release. Given the considerable attention, and frankly mystery, that still surrounds the premature oxidation of white Burgundies, it is going to be very interesting to see what this approach yields. Piuze recently took over a section of the old Vocoret cellars in the center of town, which gives him some additional space, which was much needed. Unlike most of his peers, Piuze works exclusively with purchased fruit, most of it from vineyards he farms directly or supervises. Piuze makes a number of fabulous wines, but of particular interest are the "Terroir" series wines, which seek to highlight the unique qualities of each of the main villages within the Chablis appellation. As far as I know, no one else is making wines like this. Piuze bottled some of his 2011s early. Those wines were left on their lees for their entire elevage. I tasted the rest of the 2011s from barrel, where they had never been racked. As for the 2010s, Piuze is one of the few producers who is quite frank in saying he is not a huge fan of the vintage. Accordingly, Piuze chose not to bottle magnums for any of his wines. Various American importers, including: David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680, Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529
Rating: 91 –92
The Piuze 2012 Chablis Butteaux – from 45-year-old vines in a parcel whose soil has always been actively worked – displays palpable extract-richness to accompany its spine-tingling brightness, its nip of lemon pips and white pepper serving for enhanced invigoration. A complex, pungent array of largely “mineral” adjuncts – kelp, iodine, brine – inhabit a silken palate and a dynamic, uplifting and refreshing finish. This should be quite exciting to follow through at least 2020. Quebecer Patrick Piuze – a former cellarmaster for Brocard about whose inaugural 2008 vintage under his own name I enthused in issue 191 – has since then significantly expanded his range; further honed his already formidable skills; and acquired some superb new sources of fruit, making his one of the most exciting among France’s modern breed of micro-negociants not to mention among newcomers to Chablis during the past decade. Incidentally, like many of the aforementioned breed, Piuze sells his wines overwhelmingly (at last count, he says, 93%) abroad. He exercises considerable control over the viticultural regimen practiced by his dozen suppliers (three dominant) in the parcels for whose fruit he contracts, and continues to be a tireless experimenter and self-critic in matters of vinification. With 2011, he began utilizing a mechanical rather than bladder press for half of his wines, and in 2012 exclusively, citing his belief that this enhances dry extract and stability, though it requires much more time and someone standing by the press. Piuze adds that this approach also gains him some of the advantages in quality of juice associated with traditional Champagne presses, but that a vertical press such as used in that region is impractical for his large number of small lots and small team (with only two other full-time participants, his partner Sylvie Quittot and his father-in-law). Non-cru wines here are raised almost entirely in tank and crus in previously used barrel. “We picked beginning September 20 in 2012, and as fast as we could” Piuze notes, “because there was quite a lot of rain and it’s easier to pick with water on the grapes that I can dry-off than with water in the grapes.” Alcohols, unadjusted, registered from 11.8-12.3% (very close to the estate’s readings in 2011). “The point is not to pick early but ripe,” Piuze generalizes, “and to pick ripe but not overripe where you lose brightness and saliva inducement for the sake of fat.” Most of Piuze’s 2012s finished malo-lactic conversion by Christmas but alcoholic fermentation only in early spring. “I don’t do this on purpose, it just usually happens” he notes, adding “I don’t know why myself. But the levels of volatility come out all right, and anyway, I don’t like wines that have too little volatile acidity.” Despite what was already the certainty of a late 2013 harvest, Piuze planned to bottle his 2012 crus (excepting Les Clos) already in July, a testimony to economic considerations – “I’m already lucky enough (just) to be able to do what I do, that it’s not even a burden to bottle one stage earlier than I otherwise would” he notes with a grin – but also a policy that has stood his wines well in past vintages. So many sites I hadn’t anticipated were represented in the 2012 line-up that the time I had allotted for our tasting session did not permit opportunity to taste even one of Piuze’s 2011s (nor did my subsequent schedule), so I’ll plan to report next year on how at least some of his efforts from that vintage are faring. Imported by Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529, David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680, and Martine’s Wines Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400
Rating: 88 –90
The 2013 Chablis 1er Cru Les Butteaux has a Zen-like, wet stone and transparent nose with superb definition and terroir expression. The palate is clean and fresh with vibrant green fruit and a taut line of acidity, while the slightly citric finish offers a subtle marine influence. Fine. Drink 2016-2025. Visiting Patrick Piuze for the first time at his winery in Chablis ville, not that far from Francois Raveneau, was something that I eagerly anticipated after the praise heaped upon him by David Schildknecht. Indeed, I found much to admire here: one of the region's most active and dynamic micro-negociants that debuted as recently as 2008. Quebec-born Piuze is a coiled-spring of energy and opinions, a principled winemaker who knows exactly what he would like to achieve without pushing too hard. I detected a burning streak of independence about the winemaker. Before tasting through his 2013s he told me about dropping out of college to pursue his passion for wine, backpacking around the world, before finally leaving Montreal for Burgundy in 2000 where he worked at Olivier Leflaive. One has the sense of someone searching for, and eventually finding, his calling. I can empathize with that. Leflaive's portfolio introduced him to Chablis and he was soon starting his tenure as cellar-master at Jean-Marc Brocard. But that independent mind-set continued to burn and perhaps inevitably, he assembled enough friends and contacts to supply him with quality fruit from the region's most desirable vineyards to form his own enterprise. He maintains that youthful rebellious nature; neatly circumventing the appellation-s rules about eschewing premier cru vineyard designations with his "Terroir de?" series that are all worth hunting down. "I pressed a little longer in 2013, since I did not want to risk breaking the cake," he told me as we settled into his underground cellar that stretches underneath the road via a tunnel. "I reverted back to my Vaslin press in 2012 vintage because we did not have enough dry extract in the wine. The 2012 growing season was as good as it gets. There was a slow maturation of berries that gave us very healthy grapes without much disease pressure. We began the harvest on September 20 under good conditions and the cold night preserved high acidity levels. In 2013, I harvested over 8 days instead of the usual 14, finishing on October 5. People probably think it was the rain that was the biggest risk during the harvest, but actually it was the high night temperatures that seemed to keep the rot going. And so, in my opinion, it was actually the Thursday that was the most damaging day. I have undertaken a shorter elevage in order to keep the freshness and the alcohol levels are very moderate, the highest alcohol coming in at 12.3 degrees." Imported by Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529; David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; tel. (212) 807-1680; Martine-s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400
Rating: 93 –93
Issuing from a parcel of 80-year-old vines in clay-rich soils, Patrick Piuze's 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is another success this year. More complete than Montmains, it’s a flamboyant wine, soaring from the glass with a bouquet of iodine, elderflower, peach and tangerine zest. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and layered, with great cut, tangy acidity and a long, saline finish. More powerful and fleshier than Séchet, it delivers no less enjoyment. It’s well worth seeking out.
Rating: 93 –93
Beautifully ripe and glossy peaches and apricots with hints of brulée on the nose and palate. This is open now and there’s a very late, sleek line of mineral, saline character that arrives super late at the finish. It’s all here. Pay attention to the late line of minerals on the finish. Drink now or wait ten or more years.