Puffeney is one of the Jura's old guard and one of its great traditionalists.
He's so well-respected within the region that he's nicknamed the Pope of Arbois.
He was also one of the first from the region to make wines that became widely available (thanks to the courage of his importer, Neal Rosenthal). Puffeney's wines were my first introduction to the Jura.
Puffeney's wines have a rugged honesty that deeply impresses. They are wines that we love and have been a fixture at Crush since our doors opened.
In 2014, Puffeney announced that he would be retiring the following year. The estate was sold to Guilluame d'Angerville's Jura project, Domaine Pelican. These days, the last vintages of Puffeney's wines rarely see the light of day. Currently, you'll only find four listings for the 2012 Vin Jaune.
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In terms of style, if you're familiar with the vin jaunes of Macle in Château-Chalon or Montbourgeau in Etoile, with their fine, mineral-infused, and elegant structure, Puffeney's area of Arbois produces richer, more powerful wines. They are oily in texture, robustly earthy, and punctuated by spice. What they sacrifice in terms of elegance, they compensate for with character and fascination.
Puffeney's 2012 Vin Jaune is a more powerful vintage of the wine. It boasts an almost wild complexity ranging from earth to burnt citrus, baking spices, yellow plums, and walnuts.
The virtues of vin jaune reveal themselves with age - 20, 30, 40 years and beyond. With age, the wines get even more captivating and their oxidative notes actually recede some. Bottles of Puffeney from the eighties have been absolutely gorgeous. We encourage you to grab a few bottles and watch them age. The soulfulness and unyielding traditionalism of Puffeney's wines may be impossible to replicate.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
