Chateau Le Puy, Bordeaux: Wine Styles, 10 Best Bottles, Prices (2024)

Nestled in the same plateau as Pomerol and Saint Emilion, Chateau le Puy is counted among the most iconic Bordeaux wine estates. 

The winery has always focused on producing graceful, balanced, and complex wines that only get better with age!

So, dive in and explore the brilliant wines of Chateau le Puy, 10 fine bottles to buy in 2024, and their investment potential.

Also, discover how these exceptional wines are produced and the estate’s success story.

The Exotic Wine Styles Of Chateau le Puy

Chateau le Puy produces several delectable Bordeaux wines ranging from classic Bordeaux blends to rose and sweet wines.

• Emilien: Emilien is a blend of 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Carmenère.  The wine is aged in a mix of 50hl foudres and 228l barrel, giving it velvety tannins, garnet red color, and a seductive bouquet.
• Barthélemy: It is a limited production wine made from 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is sourced from the “Les Rocs” vineyard situated on a plateau with deep limestone bedrock.  It is dense with a firm structure.
• Duc des Nauves:  This biodynamic wine is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Duc des Nauves is fermented and aged in cement (for a year) and bottled without filtration. 
• Retour des Îles: Retour des îles is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. This unique Cuvee is aged in barriques on a sailing boat for 9 to 10 months, which gives it a dark, dense garnet red color, powerful ripe red berry aromas, and a fuller body.
• Rose-Marie: It is a rose wine made from the “saignée” method.  The wine is bright with sweet red fruit notes.
• Blaise-Albert: Made from the meticulously selected grape bunches from ‘Les Rocs,’ Blaise-Albert wine packs a rich character, great elegance, ripe red fruit aromas, and velvety tannins. 
• Marie-Cecile: It is a 100 % Semillon white wine, showcasing a sparkling golden color, a fruit-filled nose of pears and exotic flowers, and a full-bodied palate. 
• Marie-Elisa: It is a sweet, noble rot wine produced from the botrytized Semillon grape bunches harvested in several stages to ensure optimal maturity. The wine has an intense aromatic palette with complex, refined flavors.

10 Exceptional Chateau le Puy Wines To Buy In 2024

Here are our handpicked Chateau le Puy wines for your next celebration.

• 1949 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien
• 1988 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien
• 2018 Chateau le Puy 'Retour des Iles'
• 2014 Chateau le Puy 'Retour des Iles'
• 2011 Chateau le Puy Marie-Elisa
• 1995 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Barthelemy
• 2017 Chateau le Puy Marie-Cecile
• 2020 Chateau le Puy Marie-Cecile
• 2016 Chateau le Puy Rose-Marie
• 2016 Chateau le Puy 'Duc des Nauves'

1. 1949 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien ($17,937)

This biodynamic Bordeaux wine boasts ripe red fruit, subtle mushroom, and forest floor scents. The palate of this certified organic wine is delicate and velvety. 

2. 1988 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Emilien ($1,034)

This vintage Bordeaux has bell pepper, cherry, plum, and wood nose. The palate displays drying tannins with intense cherry flavors.

3. 2018 Chateau le Puy 'Retour des Iles' ($383)

This vintage wine has a dense, garnet-red hue, ripe, red fruit aromas, and a balanced and round palate.

4. 2014 Château le Puy 'Retour des Iles' ($334)

This vintage wine is full-bodied, well-balanced, and rounded on the palate with melted tannins. The nose has complex earthy and oak aromas.

5. 2011 Chateau le Puy Marie-Elisa ($207)

This excellent Merlot wine has crisp acidity and seductive thyme, honey, and spice aroma.

6. 1995 Chateau le Puy Cuvee Barthelemy ($605)

This vintage Barthelemy reflects the Bordeaux terroir with its fragrant floral nose.

7. 2017 Chateau le Puy Marie-Cecile ($100)

This Semillon wine has crisp acidity, great elegance, fruity flavors, and a long finish.

8. 2020 Chȃteau le Puy Marie-Cecile ($63)

This natural dry white wine has a golden robe with a fruity nose of pear and flowers and a full-bodied palate.

9. 2016 Chȃteau le Puy Rose-Marie ($45)

This delicious Bordeaux wine is fresh yet complex with pear, dried cranberry, and rhubarb notes. The palate has bright acidity and gravelly minerality.

10. 2016 Chȃteau le Puy 'Duc des Nauves' ($34)

It has spiced plum, clove, and piney aromas with red fruit and licorice flavor, and smooth tannins.

Investing In Chateau le Puy Wine

Chȃteau le Puy wines have the potential to age for several decades. For example, a great Emilien vintage can effortlessly age for 30+ years.

These incredible wines are also well-acclaimed among wine critics - one of the reasons why the Chȃteau le Puy wines’ prices increase steadily as they age. 

For example, the 1967 Chȃteau le Puy Cuvee Emilien grew by 230% in 2020-21, from $869 to $2,875.

Even the 2001 Chȃteau le Puy Cuvee Barthelemy showed a price appreciation of 120%, increasing from $164 to $362 from 2020 to 2021.

So, if you’re looking to start a fine wine collection, the Chȃteau le Puy has some great bottles to offer. 

To select the best vintage and source an authentic Chȃteau le Puy bottle, you need a trusted wine investment company like Vinovest that will also ideally store your bottle.

But what makes these wines so great?

Chateau Le Puy: Viticulture And Vinification 

Chateau le Puy shares the same soil as Saint Emilion and Pomerol and overlooks the Dordogne Valley. It is located 110m above sea level - the second-highest point in Gironde and stretches over 35 hectares.

The red varieties are predominantly Merlot (85%) with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and a touch of Malbec and Carmenere old vines.

As for whites, the estate is dedicated to Semillon vine plantings that thrive in the clay, silex, and limestone soil, with very high acidity levels.  

The average age of Chateau le Puy vine plantings is 50 years that are looked after by Jean-Pierre Amoreau and his son, Pascal Amoreau.

The vineyards are harvested according to the winery’s biodynamic principles without synthetic fertilizers or herbicides. 

Unlike other Bordeaux estates, Chateau Le Puy blends while varieties are still in grape form. Further, the winery uses indigenous yeasts for the fermentation of their wine without chaptalization and sulfur.

Emilien and Barthelemy are aged in oak barrels for 24 months and bottled without filtration. 

A Brief History Of Chateau Le Puy

The Amoreau family started producing wine commercially in 1610 when Le Puy wasn’t a prestigious name.

But, for a long time, the Chateau remained Bordeaux’s best-kept secret. However, the winery’s independent spirit and its old-school practices slowly brought its incredible wines under the spotlight. 

In 2003, the Drops of God presented it as the best wine in the world. Soon, the top restaurants added it to their wine lists, and sommeliers started recommending it.

This success helped the Amoreau family take over the La Closerie Saint-Roc estate in 2013. 

In 2017, le Puy left its appellation because it believed that the strict INAO regulations didn’t represent its biodynamic practices. 

However, the “Vin de France” label hasn’t deterred passionate wine lovers from getting a taste of these exotic wines.

Get An Age-Worthy Chateau Le Puy Bottle For Your Cellar!

The complex, flavorful, and age-worthy Chateau Le Puy wines are great to open on special occasions and will also make an excellent addition to your wine collection.

A reputed wine investment company like Vinovestcan help you buy, store, and sell authentic Chateau le Puy and other wines from around the world.