Barrique Puffeney
Description
Barrique Puffeney is a blend of lambics brewed in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and aged in pinot noir barrels from Burgundy. Aged in two Puffeney Barrels (Vin Jaune and Macvin) and blended. Bottled December, 2019.
History / Other Notes
"When I started blending lambic in 2013, I was heavily inspired by the wine world. There’s several wine makers out there that are a source of inspiration for this project, but few have such a legendary status as Jacques Puffeney in Arbois, Jura. This name does not need much explanation, just the fact that his colleague winemakers call him the “Pope of Arbois” says enough.
Focussing on low yields and excellence in the wine making and aging process, his wines have a legendary reputation among Jura lovers. As a big fan of his wines, one of my ultimate dreams of becoming a lambic blender was to use one of his barrels at some point. In 2014 that dream collapsed because the news came that Puffeney was planning his retirement, so he sold most of his vineyards. As it goes with Jura wines, he does long barrel aging (vin jaune is legally required to be barrel aged for a minimum of 6 years and 3 months), so there was a little spark of hope to possibly get a hold of barrels when he bottled his “last” harvest in the years following 2014.
In 2017 I met Wouter De Bakker, a sommelier and natural wine enthusiast from Antwerp. Through his company Terrovin, he was importing Puffeney wines, so I told him about my dream barrels. Much to my surprise, Wouter got a hold of not one, but two Puffeney barrels! One vin jaune barrel and one macvin barrel. After tasting a lot of barrels, I made a blend of lambics brewed in 2015, 2016 and 2017 that were raised in pinot noir barrels from Burgundy, and put the blend in the Puffeney barrels. At first the idea was to make 2 separate bottlings out of it, but the blend was greater than the sum of the parts. After almost 2.5 years in the bottle, it’s ready to release today. Due to the unavailability of the barrels, this beer could only be produced once.
A tribute to Jura wines, to visionary wine makers, and to the Pope of Arbois. Merci Jacques!"
Bottling date : December 2019
Alcohol by volume : 6%
Recommended cellaring temperature : 12°C
Recommended serving temperature : 16-18°C
Aging potential : pretty much infinite