Patrick Piuze- a Montreal native- took the region by storm when he arrived over decade ago. He worked for Leflaive, Jean-Marc Brocard and Jean-Marie Guffens before starting his own label in 2008, and has very quickly come to be counted among the legendary names of the region.
Piuze works with purchased fruit, and his great relationships with the growers of Chablis have allowed him access to choice parcels in all of the great sites.
As for technique, he is a maverick. While 90% of Chablis is machine-harvested, he harvests everything by hand, a paramount factor in the quality of his wines. While most cellars use a pneumatic press, he uses a vertical one because he likes the initial blast of oxygen for the wines in hopes of preventing pre-mox later, a way of thinking also espoused by Jean-Marc Roulot.
95 Points Vinous
Pale, bright green. White peach, lime zest and nutmeg on the nose and palate. Rich and tactile on the palate, with the creaminess of texture that comes from a high proportion of millerandé berries. Boasts superb inner-mouth tension for its size and finishes very long and smooth, with little sign of phenolics. Piuze told me he always picks this parcel at 5:00 on a sunny afternoon because that approach results in flakier lees. He compared this to picking a tomato: ‘If you bite into it in the morning it’s tight but if you pick it later in the day it will be full of taste.’ Splendid potential here.
94 Points William Kelley (Wine Advocate)
The 2014 Chablis Grand Cru Valmur, which is limited to two barrels and one feuillette, has an expressive, fruit-driven bouquet with scents of orange blossom, apricot and yellow flowers, whereas the palate delivers plenty spice, dried honey and right on the finish just a faint tang of nutmeg. It feels viscous in the mouth, delivering one of Piuze’s best 2014s.