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Inaugural Chablis (2008 and 2009) from Patrick Piuze
Arlequin Wines, San Francisco
Tasted March 3, 2011 by drwine2001 with 475 views
Introduction
This was my first experience with this Canadian-born vigneron who previously worked at Jean-Marc Brocard and started producing his own wines in the 2008 vintage. He makes some 18 different wines a year from purchased grapes, so this was but a small slice of things. There were some very good wines here, albeit all '08s. If you liked '06 Chablis, you'll be a bigger fan of these '09s than I was. Based on this tasting, my concerns relate to the oak signature of some of the bottlings and the relatively high price of the range across the board.
Flight 1 (9 notes)
White
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Chichée
Ripe, rich wine which does not seem particularly Chablisien. I'd be thinking much farther south (Macon) if I were to taste it blind.
White
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Chichée
What a different profile from the '09-much more salinity and iodine up front. None of the tropical fruit found in the younger vintage. Focused, lean and quite delicious with a strong quinine quality at the end. Above its class as a village wine and the best value in this line up.
White
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupin
Exotic nose of tropical fruit and blood orange. More taut on the finish than the entry, but still lacks the acidity and grip one would like from Premier Cru Chablis.
White
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupin
Like its '09 counterpart, this also has some distinctive citrus aromatics, but here they are offset by more typical oyster shell notes. Good minerality and structure framed by a very dry, rocky finish. Excellent wine.
White
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume
Toasty. The first wine to really show its wood. Riper and more viscous than the previous '08s, but this feels dilute and somewhat hollow in the mid-palate. It picks up in the finish, but this neither well integrated nor that good at this point.
White
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Pale. Full and viscous but it has good lemony fruit. Not much minerality and again an oaky base. The best part is its excellent, long finish.
White
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
A honeyed note suggested botrytis (although the winemaker insisted the grapes were clean-"1992s acted the same way", he said). In the mouth, classic weight and the most penetrating acids of any of these wines. I liked this very much but would have enjoyed it even more if the wood had not appeared at the end and imparted some astringency to the finish.
White
2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros
Dry but toasty nose. Very rich citrus fruit on the palate without the requisite tension provided by the acidity. Too overblown for me. Although the finish was a relative highlight (as with many of these wines), not enough to pull this up to Grand Cru level.
White
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros
Back to oyster shell and brothy aromas. Nice mouth feel with much more discrete wood than in some of the others. Wonderful presence and expansion in the mouth, excellent grip, subtly complex and long. Probably the best of the bunch, but the '08 Vaucopins was a worthy challenger at little over half the price.