Le Roc
de
Château Puybarbe
APPELLATION
Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg AOP
GRAPE VARIETIES
78 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Malbec
WINEMAKING
Meticulously selected grapes entered first a 5-day cold maceration, followed by temperature-controlled fermentation to retain the purity of fruit, elegance and freshness. Long and gentle 38-day extraction, parcel by parcel vinification, racking three times and aging in French oak barrels (100 % 2nd round) for 12 months prior bottling and additional aging for 8 months in bottles.
COLOR
Dark red.
NOSE
Dense ripe fruit, well integrated oak notes, well balanced, silky tannins
PRODUCER NOTES
Château Puybarbe is situated at the highest elevation of the Côtes de Bourg appellation looking over the Gironde estuary on the right bank of Bordeaux. The 41-hectare vineyard comprises predominantly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and is cultivated according to sustainable philosophies. Château Puybarbe is in second year Organic and Biocyclic Vegan conversion and uses no herbicides or chemical fertilizers and is both HVE (High Environmental Value) and ISO 14001 certified since 2017. A modern winery was inaugurated for the year 2001’s harvest. It integrates many technical advances, such as gravity filling of vats and micro/macro-oxygenation, at the service of a traditional know-how respectful of the grapes and the wine, and with a clear objective to be one of the best producers in AOP “Côtes de Bourg”.
VINTAGE
Followed by a mild and rainy winter, the spring was really wet. The early budbreak led to an early flowering in May, which resulted in an early vintage – we started harvest September 14 and finished just before the heavy rains first week of October. Another significant factor to the vintage was the dry and hot summer: From 18 June to 11 August, 54 days of drought, then 20 more days with no rain at all after the last weekend of August. When compared to vintages of 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2019, arguably the best vintages in Bordeaux in recent history, it’s rare for an ‘earlier’ vintage to be included, but 2020 breaks the mold with its excellent quality.
VINEYARD
The vineyards sit on a south-sloping sun-drenched plateau. Vines are planted at 5,000 plants per hectare in calcareous-clay soils. Average age of vines is 30 years, oldest parcels 75 years. The vineyard is managed sustainably. Natural weeds between the rows absorb excess moisture and promote microbial life in the soil. The vines are pruned to the double Guyot method, cultivated according to sustainable viticulture practices and with a strict control of yields on a plot-by-plot basis.
Technical notes
Winemaker: Cecilie Piederrier / Simon Abrivard
Production: 33 000 bottles
Vintage: 2020
TA: 5.0 g/L
RS: <2 g/L
Alcohol: 14.5 %
Vinmonopolets varenummer: Lanseres i BU i januar 2024
