LE PUY 'Barthelemy' 2001

Owned by the Amoreau family since 1610, Château Le Puy overlooks the Dordogne valley on the same geological plateau as Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, once called the ‘Plateau of Wonders’. The Château was originally built at the beginning of the 17th century and later extended in 1832 by Barthélémy Amoreau.

There are 35 hectares of vines spread over three plots with soils made of clay, limestone and silica. It’s quite common to find some sharpened flints between the vines as some parts used to be battlefields in medieval times. 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. The “elevage” of the Le Puy wines is done according to the lunar rhythm. The wines are neither fine nor filtered before bottling. Jean-Pierre Amoreau and his son, Pascal, oversee the vineyards and vinification.