France · Burgundy · Chablis · White · Still · wine-wine · 1138542
Lowest offer: 80.00 GBP (Buy)
Offers: 4 · Bids: 0
| Price / case | Vintage | Packing | Qty | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 391.88 GBP | 2019 | 3 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
| 1199.11 GBP | 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
| 1228.92 GBP | 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
| 240.00 GBP | 2022 | 3 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
No active bids.
| Vintage | Packing | Offers | Bids | Market price | WA rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 96 | |
| 2017 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 96 | |
| 2018 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 10238.28 | 95 |
| 2018 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 5119.14 | 95 |
| 2019 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 14049.12 | 96 |
| 2019 | 3 x 75cl | 1 | 0 | 3512.28 | 96 |
| 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 2 | 0 | 11548.80 | 96 |
| 2021 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 10708.32 | 93 |
| 2022 | 3 x 75cl | 1 | 0 | 93 | |
| 2023 | 3 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 94 |
Rating: 96 –96
The 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses wafts from the glass with aromas of oyster shell, citrus oil, crisp green apple, white currants and freshly baked bread, framed by a deft touch of reduction. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, it's taut and incisive, with a layered core of fruit, racy acids and a long, intensely mineral finish. It's worth a special effort to seek out.
Rating: 96 –96
Bursting with aromas of orange zest, pear, oyster shell and beeswax, Piuze's 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is full-bodied, satiny and intense, its ample core of fruit underpinned by racy acids and framed by chalky structuring, concluding with a long, pungently mineral finish. Out of the gates, this is the high point of the range—the only question is if this year's Côte de Bouqueyreaux might catch up with it in the fullness of time?
Rating: 94 –96
The 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is likely the greatest wine in Piuze's collection, wafting from the glass with notes of citrus oil, mandarin, dried white flowers and oystershell. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and complete, with a satiny attack, superb concentration, tangy acids and a long, saline finish. While it's quite structurally suave right now, I suspect it will tighten up by the time it's bottled.
Rating: 96 –96
The 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is brilliant, bursting with aromas of mandarin oil, orange peel, dried white flowers, oyster shells and blanched almonds. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and satiny, its enveloping attack segueing into a deep, tight-knit core that displays striking cut and tension—built around considerable reserves of dry extract—before concluding with a searingly mineral finish.
Rating: 94 –94
The 2014 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses has a much more intense and probably more complex bouquet than the Les Clos: orange zest, apricot, flint and even a touch of freshly picked strawberry streaming from the glass. The palate is vibrant, brimming over with energy, tensile and long with great precision on the finish. This is one of Piuze's best 2014s.
Rating: 92 –94
The 2011 Chablis Preuses has the precision of a finely cut gem. Flowers, peaches, nectarines and slate jump from the glass. There is a level of delineation and nuance in the Preuses that is striking. Weightless and pure, the Preuses is all class from the very first taste. It is one of the many highlights in this set of 2011s from Patrick Piuze. Anticipated maturity: 2014. 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: 94 –94
The 2010 Chablis Les Preuses melds the delineation and class of the Valmur with the weight of Clos. It boasts stunning depth and nuance to match a large-scaled, dramatic personality that is highly appealing. The Preuses is immediate, juicy and forward, yet there is plenty of underlying minerality and tension. Sweet honeyed notes wrap around the expressive finish. 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: 92 –92
The 2009 Chablis Les Preuses is quite understated. The fruit takes on layers of gorgeous perfume in an expansive, textured style that is highly appealing. This shows marvelous classiness and harmony from start to finish. All of the elements are beautifully balanced. 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: 91 –91
The handsomely lean Piuze 2008 Chablis Les Preuses might boast less richness or exoticism than is often displayed by the wines of this cru, but is nonetheless a complex wine, if one whose appeal will probably vary considerably by taster. Musk, lemon, and fusil oils in the nose mingle with hints of resin and spice from toasted oak, all of which are joined on the palate by a maritime range of saline, alkaline, and kelp-like elements. A lactic note dissipated over time. This penetrating, fascinating Chablis will probably need another year to knit and should be worth following for 5-7. Quebecois Patrick Piuze has followed a repeatedly-traveled path, having struck out on his own after working as cellarmaster for Brocard (and before that he worked for Olivier Leflaive, followed by Verget). Tasting his 2008s offers striking reminders of just how much unrealized potential there is in Chablis, when one considers the number of very recent start-ups (granted, the bulk market for 2008s was a buyer’s); that the twelve wines I tasted here constitute only a bit over half of Piuze’s portfolio; and above all in view of the high quality he has achieved in his inaugural vintage. Piuze follows as well a by now familiar micro-negociant formula that is “micro” in matters of management even if not in terms of total production: he exercises whatever he feels are the necessary controls to insure that the fruit he purchases can fulfill his ideals of style and terroir character, which involve fermentation exclusively in steel or cement vessels and maturation in tank and previously-used, often large-format barrels. Class distinctions here are quite subtle, with a seamless transition from some startlingly fine village-level wines through the crus. (For the record, the 2008 bottlings I did not taste are: Petit Chablis and the crus Butteaux, Foret; Montmains, Montee de Tonnerre, Vaillons, Bougros, Grenouilles, Valmur, and Vaudesir!) Various importers, including: Aliane Wines, La Jolla, CA; tel. (858) 361-4529 and David Bowler Wine, New York, NY; (212) 807-1680
Rating: 93 –93
The 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is also rather rich and textural this year, mingling notes of sweet orchard fruit and confit orange with notions of toasted nuts and buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with lively acids and a saline finish, I'd expect this to take on more cut and tension by the time it's bottled.
Rating: 93 –93
The 2015 Chablis Grand Cru les Preuses has a little more definition than the Les Clos, a pleasant spiciness coming through, with Mirabelle and yellow flowers. The palate is well structured with crisp acidity, very focused with attractive spicy notes, dried honey and dried quince towards the finish. There is weight and presence here, but unlike the Les Clos, there is considerable tension to boot. This is the pick of Patrick's wines in 2015.
Rating: 92 –92
The 2016 Chablis Grand Cru les Preuses has a refined bouquet with lemon thyme, mint and oyster shell—very focused and detailed. The palate is fresh and poised, quite energetic on the entry and maintaining that level right up until the saline finish, which has just the right amount of bitterness to urge you back for another sip. This feels tighter than Patrick's other crus at the moment and as such, I would afford it two, possibly three years in bottle.
Rating: 95 –95
The 2018 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is superb, revealing an incipiently complex bouquet that mingles orange blossom, iodine, shrimp shell reduction and wet stones in a saliva-inducing mélange. Full-bodied, satiny and multidimensional on the palate, it's layered, elegantly textural but incisive, with racy acids for the vintage and a long, saline finish.
Rating: 92 –94
The 2011 Chablis Preuses has the precision of a finely cut gem. Flowers, peaches, nectarines and slate jump from the glass. There is a level of delineation and nuance in the Preuses that is striking. Weightless and pure, the Preuses is all class from the very first taste. It is one of the many highlights in this set of 2011s from Patrick Piuze. Anticipated maturity: 2014. 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: 94 –94
The 2010 Chablis Les Preuses melds the delineation and class of the Valmur with the weight of Clos. It boasts stunning depth and nuance to match a large-scaled, dramatic personality that is highly appealing. The Preuses is immediate, juicy and forward, yet there is plenty of underlying minerality and tension. Sweet honeyed notes wrap around the expressive finish. 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: 90 –91
Along with the musky and scallop-like scents and flavors I would expect from this site, the Piuze 2012 Chablis Les Preuses exhibits a strongly alkaline, almost metallic streak, though this is satisfactorily integrated into a bright matrix of crabapple, grapefruit and white peach. The combination here of fullness with tartness is striking, if slightly incongruous, and the finish impressive for sheer length, if not notably transparent to nuance. This may merely need time – or perhaps wanted to be tasted on a different day – for its manifest wealth of sheer material to sort itself out. I would want to revisit it before prognosticating about its bottle evolution beyond stating that it will certainly be worth following through at least 2018. 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: 91 –93
The 2013 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses had just finished its malo 15 days earlier and had seen some SO2 . The nose is difficult to discern at the moment, although the palate has that key spiciness coming through with hints of mango and stone fruit on the weighty finish. 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: 94 –94
In the context of the site, Patrick Piuze's 2023 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is rather extroverted and fruit-forward, though that aromatic generosity may not come as a surprise given the warm growing season. Wafting from the glass with a bouquet of pear, pastries and beeswax mingling with yellow stone fruit, on the palate it’s full-bodied, multidimensional and precise, with bright acidity and considerable tension, concluding with a long, chalky finish. If this tightens up, my score may later seem conservative.
Rating: 96 –96
This is very dense and layered up with almond pastry, spiced pears and quince, ending with grapefruit. Pithy, but integrated and super long. Really succulent and supple. This is a great wine in 2018. Wait a decade here.