Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien, Francs Cotes de Bordeaux, France

Gentle extraction and patient maturation define 2021 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien, the Amoreau family’s historic red named after an ancestor born in 1656. This Merlot-led blend expresses the estate’s limestone plateau through fresh cherry fruit, floral detail and a delicately saline finish. Two years in seasoned wood develop its texture while allowing the wine’s freshness and fine tannins to remain central.

Product Details:

• Grape Varieties: Merlot-led blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carménère.
• ABV: 13.2%.
• Residual Sugar: 0.9 g/L.
• Total Acidity: 3.59 g/L expressed as sulphuric acid, equivalent to 73.27 meq/L.
• pH: 3.46.
• Total Sulphur Dioxide: 22 mg/L.
• Free Sulphur Dioxide: Below the laboratory’s quantification limit of 6 mg/L.
• Fermentation: Destemmed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks.
• Extraction: Gentle submerged-cap infusion.
• Maturation: 24 months in seasoned wood, comprising approximately 12 months in large oak vats followed by 12 months in used barrels.
• Clarification: Natural settling; bottled unfiltered.
• Enrichment: No chaptalisation.
• Farming: Organic and biodynamic; estate accreditations include Ecocert and Demeter.
• Harvest Method: Hand-harvested and sorted.
• Soils: Clay, silica and fossil-rich limestone.
• 2021 Yield: 12.2 hL/ha.
• Winemakers: Pascal and Jean-Pierre Amoreau.

Sensory Description:

Garnet with purple reflections, the wine opens with fresh cherry and meadow-flower aromas, complemented by redcurrant and blackcurrant. The palate is rounded and silky, with velvety tannins and bright acidity giving the fruit precision. A subtle sanguine character adds savoury depth, leading into a long, delicately saline finish.

Winemaker's Background:

The Amoreau family traces its presence at Le Puy to 1610, with fifteen generations contributing to the estate’s winegrowing tradition. Based in Saint-Cibard on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, the family maintains vineyards within a broader landscape of woodland, meadows and ponds. Pascal and Jean-Pierre Amoreau continue an approach centred on biodiversity, organic and biodynamic cultivation, indigenous fermentation and patient maturation, seeking wines that express their soils through finesse rather than force.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve at 16–17°C in a generously proportioned red wine glass. Pair with roast beef and mushroom sauce, roast chicken with root vegetables, grilled tuna or mature cheeses. Taste before deciding whether to decant, allowing gentle aeration if the wine initially seems reserved. Its supple tannins make it approachable now, while careful cellaring offers scope for further development.