Grande Vallee
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Fresh oysters, grilled sea bass, goat cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Patrick Piuze's Chablis 'Terroir de la Grande Vallee' is a masterful expression of village-level Chablis, sourced from a specific valley nestled near the village of Courgis. This parcel is renowned for its classic Kimmeridgian soils, rich in marine fossils and limestone, which impart the signature flinty, saline minerality that defines the region. Piuze treats his village-level cuvées with the same reverence as Grand Crus. The grapes are harvested by hand from old vines, gently pressed, and fermented using indigenous yeasts in neutral wood casks. This minimalist winemaking philosophy allows the distinct voice of the Grande Vallee terroir to shine through, offering a pure, crystalline, and energetic expression of Chardonnay that pays homage to the ancient geological history of Burgundy.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded on July 1, 2008, by Quebecois vigneron Patrick Piuze, this boutique Chablis négociant-vinificateur has emerged as one of the region's most uncompromising champions of terroir. Following pivotal stints at Olivier Leflaive, Maison Verget under Jean-Marie Guffens, and Jean-Marc Brocard, Piuze established an innovative model grounded in long-term contracts with premier growers. Operating without owning vineyards, he works exclusively with old vines situated within the historical, unexpanded boundaries of Chablis. Sourcing from Kimmeridgian and Portlandian limestone slopes on both banks of the Serein River, Piuze mandates hand-harvesting, non-interventionist viticulture without chemical inputs, and early picking to preserve tension and saline freshness. Vinification is rigorously artisanal: vertical basket pressing, native yeast fermentation, and aging in neutral French oak barrels (four to eight years old) for cru bottlings or stainless steel for village wines, always bottled unfined and gently filtered. Signature releases include single-terroir village cuvées such as Les Bas de Chapelot and Plateau Cornasse, alongside premier crus like Butteaux, Forêts, and Montée de Tonnerre, and benchmark Grand Crus including Les Preuses and Blanchots.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
12% - 12.5%