There is plenty to admire in the 2011 Chablis Clos. The wine literally comes alive in the glass with gorgeous nuance and detail. It boasts striking precision in a large-scaled style for this site. Layers of expressive white stone fruits bury the minerality in a seamless expression of Clos with no hard edges and fabulous overall balance. Piuze used a pneumatic press here, and it seems to have yielded beautiful, elegant juice. 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
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