Château Le Puy century wine tasting at Le Bernardin PrivéChâteau Le Puy The warm wood panels, rippled blue walls and the glow of the amber-colored lights provided an
frustrating sensation of harmony as white wine trade from all over the world pertained to Le Bernardin Privé for an epic wine tasting that covered a century. A distinct red wine manufacturer, Château Le Puy, from the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine area, was highlighting how their over 400 years of natural grape growing and natural winemaking practices produce exceptional wines with an unique sense of place that can stand the test of time– even past 100 years. A female will enter a room getty A woman going into the room stopped in her tracks as one of the most remarkable sights she had ever seen
existed: an endless line of wines ranging numerous years from a well-admired manufacturer. At first, she took a double-take as she couldn’t think what she saw with her own eyes, a 1921 vintage! The very site of such a vintage started to make her giddy with anticipation. As the white wine was poured into her glass, its pale garnet color with orange shades let her know that this was indeed a substantially older wine.”I’m going to need to swirl this wine for a number of minutes,” she believed to herself, as she believed a lot of funk from a centenarian red wine, and so, she would need to swirl her glass fiercely for it to blow off. But no, to her complete delight, the nose instantly beckoned to her with energetic and brilliant notes such as red cherries and cardamom spice and the taste buds was much more amazing with the silkiest texture that she had experienced from a Bordeaux wine. Nevertheless, this 100-year-old beauty still had all the benefits of age such as the complex aromatic layers of earth and stogie box with a surface that was so delicately captivating that it took her breath away. As she got the 1921 bottle, she stood there awestruck by the very notion that not only was she holding a sensational bottle of red wine but it was a wine made by people who had long passed and who lived throughout such a various time. 1921 Vintage Today, Le Puy is co-owned by member of the family and winemaker Pascal Amoreau and as he stood there after the epic century tasting with his child by his side, he showed appreciation to his family lineage, such as his great-grandfather
, Jean Amoreau
, for never catching the temptation of utilizing chemicals or fertilizers in their vineyards. It wanted World War I, which was afflicted with brutal fight under horrific conditions, and Jean found himself in a deep anxiety before the start of the 1921 growing season as the stock exchange crashed and wiped out the household’s total cost savings. He blamed himself as he ought to have known that the times were too unstable however his smooth-talking lender had won over his trust. Pascal Amoreau and his son Château Le Puy Jean’s other half offered beans from her garden to assist the family out and one day she took a more popular function in becoming the winemaker when all the guys enlisted in the army for World War II. But during that time, Jean might not even think of another colossal war or that things could get even worse for him and his
family. The great growing season for the red wine grapes raised his spirits and the warm summer motivated him to spend as much time outside as possible which can be found in convenient as he hunted for video game to keep the family going without the safety net of cost savings. Incredibly, he never buckled to try the much easier route of using chemicals once they appeared after the Second World War as his white wine Le Puy was treasured for its “medicinal” homes and out of the medical red wines in the area, it was considered the greatest quality. Over 40 years later on, in 1964, Jean’s boy helped establish a company that pioneered agro-biology and biodynamics in France, staying with biodynamics for years even when such practices were ridiculed. But the Amoreau household upheld the values of practicing biodynamics 1.
Château Le Puy’s Commitment to Terroir Château Le Puy estate Château Le Puy Le Puy’s fierce dedication to the expression of terroir, local color, in their white wines goes against the basic prejudgments of what Bordeaux mainly highlights, such as the name of the château or the bigger sub-region(a.k.a. appellation).
The particular vineyards, often times, do not take center stage. Harold Langlais, a partner with the Amoreau household in running Château Le Puy
, illustrated this point by stating that they constantly have someone coming by their residential or commercial property asking why they don’t have a sign with the name of the château on it. And it is because Le Puy is very first and primary about the vineyard being the star, for this reason, why they do not focus excessive on their name.Château Le Puy utilizes horses in their vineyards Château Le Puy The vineyards of Le Puy are located on a limestone rock plateau just east of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol and the limestone does a good task of taking in water, so during hot temperature levels, they still have a good natural water supply, which enables transpiration 2, cooling the microclimate within the canopy of the vines. Remarkably, the châteaux that produced fresh white wines throughout the extraordinarily hot vintage of 2003 in Bordeaux had soils that kept water. However making certain to work naturally in
the vineyards is inadequate for Le Puy for the overall expression of terroir as they made certain that practically half of their 247-acre estate is comprised of a protected natural reserve with forests and ponds that surround the vineyards, thus, really living up to the biodynamicideal of motivating harmony through natural symbiotic relationships. According to the Amoreau household and Harold Langlais, it is impossible to have real biodynamics without a flourishing environment. When the grapes are gathered, it is then critical to not change the purity of the terroir in the winery, therefore, Le Puy has a low interventionist attitude in the cellar: spontaneous fermentations with wild yeasts coming from the vineyards, no punch-downs and no pump-overs for extraction as they macerate the red wine like a tea and no purification.
The Future of Le Puy Back in 1921, Pascal’s great-grandfather could have never pictured that Le Puy would one day develop a devoted following all over the globe.
Naturally, they have a core group in the Western world of Le Puy enthusiasts, yet on the other side of the earth, they have among the most popular great wines in Japan. In 2004, 2 Japanese manga(graphic book )authors included 12 great white wines in their hit comic series called The Drops of God, with there being a 13th wine called’ The Drops of God, ‘which was never ever exposed
in the comics as it specified that everyone has their own individual taste of what’ The Drops of God’wine need to be. However when the television adaptation of this comic series came out in 2010, the 2003 Château Le Puy was selected as’The Drops of God.’Pascal’s dad, Jean-Pierre, ceased global sales of the 2003 as he hesitated that the cost would be increased to such a level that their white wines would become out of reach for their long time faithful customers. And today, while the Amoreau family and Harold Langlais continue the work that goes back 400 years, they have actually expanded the mission to include a more accurate expression of terroir with their Château Le Puy’ Barthélemy ‘, which comes from a plot that has 12 inches of clay top soil above the limestone rock plateau instead of their flagship wine Château Le Puy ‘Em ilien’, sourced from the rest of the vineyard, which has topsoil which contains red clay, silt and limestone above the limestone rock, with’Barthélemy’being normally a deeper and denser white wine. Likewise, their ‘Retour des Îles’white wines, that include four barrels of ‘Barthélemy’ that are placed on a cargo ship that just uses sails to propel the boat, travels for 8 months on water reproducing how red wines took a trip in the remote past, show an intriguing advancement to the expression of terroir that is created by such a journey. And one day, Harold said he would like to keep the bottles of their flagship Château Le Puy ‘Em ilien’red wines longer so that when it reaches completion customer, it reveals its”complete identity.”Guy trying to find responses to his problems as the sun increases getty Many of the practices of Le Puy, such as the different biodynamic practices, make common sense and it comes down to having a large workforce with 20 workers in the vineyards. Yet how some of these practices are carried out, such as following the moon’s stages, can be challenging concepts to wrap somebody’s head around. But Harold says it best when he absolutely mentions,”We make psychological white wine,”and he describes it by stating that Jean-Paul Sartre, a French writer and existentialist, stated something to the result that feeling is the unexpected dive of one’s consciousness towards the magic. There is a time and place to judge things based upon numbers and statistics as well as the approval of the filthy elements of truth that is part ofa life lived. Yet, at
times, even the most agnostic realists will discover themselves on their knees requesting for something greater than themselves to help them discover the light in the darkest times in their lives. That something greater has numerous names offered by numerous individuals worldwide, but to the team at Le Puy, it is merely called magic.Château Le Puy: 1 Century 1921-2021 of White wine Château Le Puy, Château Le Puy ‘Em ilien’ vertical tasting: 1921: Garnet color with orange colors, an energetic nose with intense notes such as red cherries and cardamom spice and an exceptionally smooth palate with damaged earth and cigar box notes on the surface– fragile yet vibrant. 1932: Much deeper garnet color with cinnamon stick and nutmeg on the nose and zingy sour red cherries with dirty earth on the taste buds. 1944: Similar in color to ’32 with scents of dried wildflowers and toasted almonds with some grip on the tannins and dried herbs on the surface. 1949: This color was lighter than the’44, with an amazing nose of collapsed gingerbread and bacon fat that has a linear body with tart red fruit. 1953: This was one of the palest colors with a delicate nose with subtle hints of forest flooring, white pepper and black
raspberry fruit on the palate with a fine tannic structure. 1957: Such a refreshing nose that
is similar to a walk in the forest after it has drizzled
, with fresh basil leaves and tasty spice on the surface. 1964: Sandalwood incense with crushed increased petals and ripe black raspberry fruit with sculpted tannins offering it lift. 1971: Interesting that this vintage could compete for the palest red wine with the’
53. A really quite nose with great deals of fragrance and sweet fruit such as cherry pie and cinnamon rock sweet with a tip of cured meat to
balance the sweet qualities with a round texture. 1977: Some youthful ruby shades displaying in the color with fresh sage and thyme on the nose and
a fleshier white wine than the previous vintages with wild berry tastes. 1980: Mint and eucalyptus on the nose with dried blueberries and
touches of morel mushrooms that has a genuine skill to the texture. 1985: Fine sediment in the white wine with more ruby shades showing in the color and leather on the nose with blackcurrant
leaf with chewy tannins. 1987: Stewed cherries and tips of tar with broken rock and a brilliant surface. 1990: Pale ruby nose with dried bay leaf and wild strawberry fragrances with
great deals of vigor and an overall sense of balance and harmony with a good amount of weight and high level of acidity. 1995: Newly selected curry entrusts to exotic passion fruit notes and zingy cranberry lift on the surface. 1998: A touch of lavender and dried mulberries with pressed flowers and fine tannins that gently slide on the palate. 2002: Herbs de Provence with black fruits and small grip to the tannins with an extreme focus
and drive on the taste buds lifted by crisp acidity at the end. 2005: Darkest color up until now with cassis on the palate highlighted with notes of licorice and asphalt with great laced tannins.
2012: A spectacular purity of fruit in this white wine with strawberry, raspberry and cranberry that has a milky minerality intertwined with a nimble body that dances across the palate. 2019: Baking spices, blackberry scone and cocoa dust stabilized by tasty umami notes with lavish tannins and a juicy surface. 2021: Crumbled limestone and strawberry protect on the nose with a captivating
violet note in the background with a hint of black pepper and lots of structure, yet it is fine in quality with well-managed tannins. Château Le Puy’ Barthélemy’white wines 2001: Intense and energetic right
from the start, with great deals of juicy fruit with marked level of acidity and a flower finish.
2006: Lots of intense, focused red cherry and blackcurrant fruit with a stony minerality that has incredible vitality
and energy and a long, delicious finish. ‘Barthélemy’Retour des Îles 2016: This wine was aged in barrel on a sailboat and has a beautiful nose of cocoa nibs
, star anise and candied lilac flowers with flexible tannins and a total vivacity that is simply tempting.