tasting / laying down / 2021 Burgundy
PATRICK PIUZE Canadian Patrick Piuze started his Chablis négociant firm in 2008 and produces 150,000 bottles across some 20 cuvées. He buys in grapes, which he harvests and presses, with a Vaslin press, to a serious 5.45 bar, which takes more than five hours, but he breaks the cake only once. This does give an attractive, light phenolic bite to some wines. The press is managed by eye and the juice drops by gravity into a tank for a short three-hour débourbage most vintages, but rather longer for 2021, as the lees were not the best: “They bring some fat to the wine.” Of greatest interest for me are the wide range of village wines, most of which are barrel- fermented. Generally, producers blend different parcels, but Piuze has made a feature of these single-vineyard wines. Bottling takes place between May and July following the harvest. Piuze was convinced by Egon Müller’s wines that long élevage does not determine longevity in bottle. He picks early, with the focus on acidity. Hence the ABV of most village wines is under 12%. I have been able to include only a few, but all were interesting. There are some grands and premiers crus, too, including a very mineral Mont de Milieu. Piuze finds the 2021 vintage more opulent than 2020. “More into yellow fruit, peach and apricot. The challenge was to find as much freshness as possible.”
Chablis Côteau de Fontenay
From a south-facing parcel, with a cold north wind. Ripe, candied lemon. Alluring density and spice, balanced with lemon freshness, although here it is more of a citrus caress. Juicy finish. 2023–28. | 84
Chablis La Grande Vallée
Really rather good intensity, density, and richness, with a smooth smudge of graphite and smoke on the finish. Excellent village wine. 2024–29. | 85–86
Chablis Terroir de Chablis
From village parcels adjacent to the premiers crus of Vaillons and Foret. Very pithy, with an almond- kernel attractive bitterness, but it becomes much smoother to finish. 2023–28. | 84
Chablis Terroir de La Chapelle
Citrus aroma and a splashing fruit palate, with lively energy and a lime-zest finish. An appetizing phenolic bite. 2023–28. | 84
Chablis Terroir Decouvette
From the Fontenay hillside, where it moves from premier cru to village. Quite nutty, with savory richness and smooth, soft minerals. 2023–28. | 84
Chablis Terrior de Flys
From a parcel under Mont de Milieu. Straight and pure, with a cut of acidity. Crisp edges and a shiny, mineral finish. 2024–29. | 85
Chablis Terrior de Fyé
From vines surrounding Montée de Tonnerre. I like the energy, bite, and grip. Lots of vitality and keen, super-salty minerality. 2024–29. | 85
180 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023
Full, bold, and savory, without the glossy richness of 2020. It has a cooler, somewhat more austere face, but with less density in 2021, this powerful wine is more approachable. 2028–40. | 95
High-toned. Lively, citrus, and delicate. Lightly salty and nervous. Spot-on. 2023–27. | 85–86
Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux A high-toned, sherbet-lime aroma, with floral notes on the pure, straight, and breezy, ozone palate, ending with a fine, soft-salt finish. Delicate and delicious. 2025–30. | 92–93
Chablis Premier Cru Forêts
Compact and cold. A strict profile, with tension, an earthy, silex smokiness, and grip. An attractive pithy bitterness snaps on the finish. 2024–30. | 92
Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Savory, punchy, and dense, with no lack of grip. Darker, meaty profile, which carries into a vigorous, graphite, oyster-shell finish. 2025–32+. | 94
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons
A white-peach and flower aroma, lightly rounded and silky; it dances across the palate, with lively freshness. 2024–28. | 91–92
Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots
From an east-facing parcel at the top of the site, and the oldest vines of the domaine. Delicate and refined. Pure and super-intense, with a sea-breeze, lively, lacy, airy quality. Pure and singing vibrancy on the shimmering finish. Love it. 2028–40. | 95
Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Rich and concentrated aroma, with salted caramel. A fairly full body, richly textured and lightly muscular on the palate. It has some heft for Marsannay. Savory, with miso-caramel notes. 2023–27. | 87
DOMAINE FRANÇOIS RAVENEAU Isabelle Raveneau runs the domaine with her cousin Maxime, who focuses on the vineyard, while Isabelle concentrates on the winemaking. They feel very strongly that it is better to have a holistic and sustainable approach than to be organic, and argue that in a difficult, wet vintage such as 2021, with high disease pressure, it is better for the vineyard and the environment to use one or two systemic sprays than frequently spraying copper and sulfur, which is washed off by rain into the soil; moreover frequent tractor passes compact the soil and are polluting. Their 25 acres (10ha) are in quite a small area, which Isabelle sees as “our great strength, for we can be very reactive. The whole estate can be treated in one day.” On the winemaking side, the must is inoculated to ensure a reliable fermentation in tank, where it also goes though malolactic before racking into barrel, receiving sulfur for the first time. The wines are moved back to tank, so the barrels can be used for the next vintage and bottled in spring. Isabelle said, “After a devastating season, it helps to see the wines so pretty and joyful,” but adds, “2021 is slightly too joyful to be classic Chablis, which should be more austere. We had similar conditions to 2016, but this is purer; 2016 was more exotic. Silky and fresh at the same time.”
Petit Chablis
DOMAINE SIMONNET-FEBVRE Chablis Premier Cru Côte de Léchet
Slim and bright, with lime-flower aromas. Straight and pure, with an attractive pithy bitterness to finish. 2023–26. | 86
Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Some tension, with a savory, dark, and mineral grip. 2023–27. | 87
MAISON DE LA CHAPELLE After 12 years making wine for Laroche, Grégory Viennois is now focused on his small négoce business in this home village of Vaupelteigne. He started in 2014, with fruit sourced from vineyards in Irancy on Kimmeridgian soils. It is a simple set up, with oak vats for the fermentation in a small barn behind the house. He uses some whole bunches, placed in several layers. “Never more than two weeks vatting with low extraction,” Grégory explains. “The more I advance, the less I extract. In 2021, we did not need to extract.” There were only two reds in 2021. The Irancy Beaux-Monts was too low-yielding and went into the blend. I particularly like the Bâtardes, from a gentle slope on white marl, which makes a super-svelte Pinot.
Aligoté
Lime flowers and salted almonds. Butter mint. Silky and fresh, with brioche notes and soft-salt minerals to finish. It is delicate and pure. 2023–26. | 82–83
Irancy Les Bâtardes
60% whole bunches. Rose petal, with a hint of thyme and thyme flower. A silky glide onto the palate. Delightful, fluid texture. It’s woven with freshness and has just delicious fresh-cherry fruit to finish. Such a svelte texture. I was surprised and impressed by this wine. 2026–30. | 87
CÔTE DE NUITS MARSANNAY
DOMAINE BRUNO CLAIR I tasted with Edouard and Bruno Clair who reflected on the similarities with 1991. The Clair family have vineyards on a wide stretch of the Côte, and they found that those on the hotter, thinner, limestone soils, including Rue de Vergy and Chambolle Véroilles, were most affected by the frost, as the buds were more developed when it struck. They used fewer whole bunches in 2021—one third rather than the half used in 2020—but increased pigeage, from between four and six punch-downs in 2020, to between eight and 14 in 2021. What a fabulous flight of wine from the Clairs. White
Marsannay Les Grasses Têtes
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