Château Puygueraud, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux 2014

Though the Côtes de Francs appellation didn’t exist until 1976, Georges Thienpont purchased this property in 1946. The vineyards had been devastated by the two World Wars, so for many years he used the property to grow cereal and keep cattle, but in 1979 he judged the estate ready for replanting. In 1983 he was assisted in producing the first vintage by his son, Nicolas Thienpont, a highly respected winemaker who is now responsible not only for Puygueraud but also top Saint-Emilion properties like Berliquet and Larcis Ducasse.

This property accounts for 35 of the 450 hectares in the Côtes de Francs appellation. With relatively cool clay soil, Puygueraud succeeds best in hot years when it delivers rich fruit and retains freshness. Since 2005 most of the cabernet sauvignon vines have been replaced with cabernet franc as it better suits this terroir.

Puygueraud is a blend of 70% merlot, 25% cabernet franc and 5% malbec which is aged for 16 months in oak, 40% of which is new. It is a wine of great depth, flavour and character at a modest price.

The estate also produces another wine, Cuvée George, as a tribute to George Thienpont. He was always a champion of malbec-cabernet blends, and so – very unusually for this region – Cuvée George always contains 35% each of malbec and cabernet franc.