Château Le Puy (Famille Amoreau) 'Duc des Nauves' 2023 VDF Bordeaux

750ml bottle

12.5% abv

Black fruit – plum & cherry. Well balanced between its freshness and velvety tannins.

A cuvée from a neighboring vineyard belonging to the Amoreau family, situated on the same astéries-limestone mother rock as those of the estate, but at a slightly lower altitude—80 meters above sea level compared to Le Puy’s 110 meters. The topsoil is slightly sandier and less clayey here, and it is a bit deeper than at Le Puy—between 1.0 and 1.3 meters.

The culture and the vinification are carried out by the Château le Puy team following the same approach: natural, organic, and biodynamic. The wine is made up 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation occurs with indigenous yeast, maturing in small, cement vats, bottled without filtration after 12 months. The aromatic bouquet reveals black fruit, plum, and cherry, well balanced between its freshness and velvety tannins.

Château Le Puy is certified biodynamic as of the 2015 vintage.

The estate is situated on the same plateau as Saint Emilion and Pomerol and sits on the second highest point in the Gironde at 110 meters above sea level (approximately 350 feet). The vineyards are planted to a number of red varieties, including Merlot (85%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%), Cabernet Franc (7%) along with a touch of Malbec and Carmenère. The exclusive white variety is Semillon. The soil type varies but is principally a mix of clay, silex, and limestone, with very high acidity levels. The average age of the vines is 50 years and no synthetic treatments have ever been used at the estate, which is certified biodynamic. Harvest is manual, the grapes are entirely destemmed and the cuvaison is long, continuing for two to four weeks. Only indigenous yeast is utilized, there is no chapitalisation, nor is SO2 used during the fermentation. The “elevage” of the Le Puy wines is done according to the lunar rhythm. The two essential red cuvées of the estate, “Emilien” and “Barthelemy,” are raised in barrel for 24 months. The wines are neither fined nor filtered before bottling. Jean-Pierre Amoreau and his son, Pascal, oversee the vineyards and vinification.