2022 Patrick Piuze Chablis "La Grande Vallee"

One of Piuze's finest lieu-dit bottling this year, as is reliably the case, is the 2022 Chablis La Grande Vallée, sourced from climat Les Pargues. Delivering aromas of pear, white flowers, toasted hazelnuts and oyster jus, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and satiny, with a layered core of fruit and a saline finish. Quebecois Patrick Piuze, who established his eponymous maison in Chablis after stints working with Jean-Marie Guffens and Brocard, has produced a fine set of 2022s. These are some of the richer, more textural wines that I've tasted at this address, despite Piuze being a comparatively early harvester. Readers will remember the rudiments of Piuze's approach: hand-harvested grapes are pressed firmly in old Vaslin presses, their juice fermented in used barrels and stainless steel, with sur lie élevage of comparatively short duration, because Piuze wishes to capture the maximum of freshness and energy by early bottling. The resulting wines are elegantly textural but incisive, clearly differentiated by site. This is also the best address to explore the village-level Chablis AOC, as Piuze produces a number of cuvées and lieu-dit bottlings designed to highlight the diversity that this large appellation encompasses. (WK)