Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 2019, Piuze

Patrick Piuze was born in 1973 in Quebec, Canada. At the age of eighteen, Piuze met Marc Chapoutier, who inspired him to pursue a career in the wine world. Piuze traveled the world for years, working on vineyards in Australia, South Africa, and Israel. Returning to Canada, Piuze established a wine bar called Le Pinot Noir in downtown Montreal. However, his career as a restaurateur did not fully satisfy him and in 2000 Piuze moved to Burgundy, France, and started working at Oliver Leflaie’s winery in the village of Puligny-Montrachet. Piuze’s talents were quickly recognized and he was appointed in his second year as head winemaker of Olivier Leflavie’s Chablis production. From the service of a whaling ship, he was hired by La Maison Verget (Jean-Marie Guffens), whose wines are known for their fine terroir style. His career progressed at a fairly rapid pace and soon Piuze was already working as a cellar master in Jean-Marc Brocard’s house. In 2008, however, Piuze decided to become an entrepreneur and founded the house that bears his name. In his previous jobs, Piuze got to know the best winegrowers and vineyards in Chablis, so he was immediately able to make deals with the best smallholders. The idea is to produce Chablis wines with a strong terroir character, from the grapes of old vines. Piuze has strict control over the cultivation of the vineyards, and the harvest is entirely by hand.