A Testimony to Skill and Insight
2013 Piuze Chablis:
Preuses, Blanchots & Butteaux
We've been huge fans of Patrick Piuze's wines since his first vintage.
He's making wine at a very, very elite level.
The 2013 proves just how skilled Piuze is. Word on the street is that they are some of the most successful wines of the vintage.
Piuze seems to have judged the 2013 vintage impeccably. The wines maintain a snap, a precision and an expertly calibrated ripeness.
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| Patrick Piuze |
Today, we're happy to offer a trio of Piuze's top wines in 2013 - Preuses, Blanchots and Butteaux.
Piuze's success in 2013 came at a cost: yields were down by 45%. Producing wines as clear and mineral as Piuze's requires an absolutely ruthless selection.
The 1er Cru Butteaux shows just how impressive the dividends of those low yields were. There's an electric spine of stony minerality and acidity backed up by perfectly ripe stone fruits.
The Grand Crus kick the intensity level up several notches. The Blanchots is always a favorite for its power, precision and seashell-drenched minerality. Stephen Tanzer's tasting note really captures the balance and completeness of the 2013: "Piuze really nailed the harvest date here."
The Grand Cru Preuses is more textural with richer, perfumed fruits and a gorgeous sleek elegance. Preuses is one of the best of Chablis' Grand Crus and a personal favorite of ours. Les Preuses is a south-facing vineyard known for producing regally mineral and floral wines. If Clos is commanding, Preuses is seductive. Its minerality is more emphasized, more linear, more detailed and complex.
2013 was a difficult vintage in Chablis. Flowering was late, deciding when to pick was tricky and if you waited too long, the rain and rot came. The fact the Piuze was able to be so successful in the 2013 vintage is a testimony to his formidable insight and dedication. I can remember tasting my first Piuze wine and immediately knowing that he just got it. 2013 only reinforces this.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine and Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Stephen Tanzer: "Cool perfume of lime blossom and powdered stone. Tangy and dense with extract, with sexy yellow fruit and spice flavors enlivened by a strong chalky element. A touch of saline bitterness really stimulates the taste buds on the long, gripping finish. This youthfully austere, very promising wine will need time in bottle."
Stephen Tanzer: "Pale yellow-green color. Cool aromas of lemon-lime, spearmint, white pepper and oyster shell. Suave and fine-grained but youthfully subdued, with a deeply juicy character and a hint of spicy oak (this wine was aged in 2008 barrels, which Piuze described as "our most recent"). Finishes with subtle echoing length. Piuze really nailed the harvest date here."
Stephen Tanzer: "Pale yellow. Elegant if slightly reduced nose offers orange zest, honey, white pepper and exotic flowers. Wonderfully intense and stylish, displaying lovely inner-mouth perfume without any impression of weight. Not at all a muscular style of grand cru. Really reverberates on the very long, subtly gripping finish. Superb wine in the making, my favorite today among these 2013s."