Patrick Piuze Chablis Montee de Tonnerre 2017 DWS – Domaine Wine Shippers

Born in January 1973 in Quebec, Canada, Patrick Piuze is the third son of a middle class family who was never marked out to wine-producing. When he turned eighteen, Patrick met Marc Chapoutier who were a real springboard towards his professional life and helped him to get started in wine-producing. Thanks to him, Patrick travelled all over the world and worked in several wineries in Australia, South Africa and Israel. Then, he went back to Quebec and started up a wine bar called “Le Pinot Noir” in the center of Montreal. His two-year experience in catering and wine waiting helped him to create a certain culture of wine-tasting there but deep inside, all he wanted was going back to his beloved wineries and cellars.

In the summer of 2000, Patrick left Montreal and carried his backpack to Burgundy, one of the most beautiful regions in France. He joined Olivier Leflaive and his staff in Puligny-Montrachet for the harvest season. After a short course at the Beaune CFPPA (Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole), he was entrusted with Olivier Leflaive’s Chablis winemaking. There, he developed his savoir-faire and then left Olivier Leflaive’s winery four years later for La Maison Verget, where Jean-Marie Guffens passed him his passion for terroir. Patrick Piuze then started to make a name for himself as an excellent winemaker. His fame led him to be recruited a year later as a cellar master by Jean-Marc Brocard.

At this time, Patrick took the most important decision of his life : he founded his own winery on July 1rst, 2008. It was a real challenge to settle all by himself. Patrick’s main intention is to make a real difference between “wine grower” and “winemaker”. He doesn’t own any vineyard but has a strong influence as a counsellor for the wine growers. He established a trust building approach and a long-term partnership towards wine growers. This philosophy enables him to pick the best lots in Chablis, most of them of very old vineyards, to collect high quality grapes.

He mainly purchases grapes and provides a varied wine range from Chablis (four different vineyards) to Grands Crus (six references, among which Les Preuses and Grenouilles) and eleven Premiers Crus. Thus, 110.000 bottles has been produced. Through his wines, Patrick Piuze has always been intent on revealing the true character of Chablis and its wide-ranging terroirs and vineyards.

– Winery Note