Château Puynard Rosé Vin de France 2022
Château Puynard Rosé Vin de France 2022
Château Puynard is a small winery and family home of Irish expats and former London wine retailers, Andrew Eakin and Naomi Murtagh, established in 2016 in Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux. Puynard consists of 16 hectares of contiguous, naturally-farmed vineyards on a gentle slope surrounding the 18th century Château. The Puynard team utilizes their experience with natural and regenerative farming practices to produce new and surprising styles of ultra-delicious wines that break the mold and historic preconceptions of conventional Bordeaux.
The Puynard property, built in 1790, has been home to seven-generations of winemakers prior to getting a fresh start from the current owners, Irish expats Andrew Eakin and Naomi Murtagh. The couple purchased Château Puynard in 2016 and made their first vintage in 2017. From the start, Andrew and Naomi utilized organic farming principles and were subsequently granted their organic certification by Ecocert in 2020. The previous owners had ceased all use of chemicals in the vineyard 10 years prior to Andrew and Naomi’s arrival.
Located near the village of Berson on the right bank of the Gironde river, the property consists of 16 hectares of contiguous, gently-sloping vineyards on the southeast side of the Château, planted in two different soil types: sandy-clay on the plateau and clay-limestone on the hillside. The vines are grown in double Guyot with short pruning. They utilize regenerative cover crops between rows to encourage rich, living soil and a diverse animal life in the vineyard.
Châtau Puynard produces a range of wines with a youthful point of view, centered around innovation, maximum drinkability and enjoyment. In many ways, Puynard breaks the old Bordeaux mold, opening the door to alternative viticultural possibilities for the region. To start, they produce an iconoclastic, super-limited natural Rosé, the most compelling pink wine we have experienced from the Bordeaux region—a lively, low-ABV, and crushable direct-press rosé made from a single-hectare plot of 35 year-old merlot. The wine has some youthful petillance from the carbon dioxide preserved in the process to protect the wine, giving it an especially unique profile. This rosé is a small and delightful bomb of tangy fruitiness!
It has a very expressive nose, with aromas of strawberry, white peach and floral scents. The mouth displays a nice roundness on the attack, powerful aromatic strawberry, a creamy texture and a fresh, straight and vigorous finish. Just 2,000 bottles were produced.
Vinification – After hand-harvesting, grapes are entirely destemmed and crushed, with only the free-run juice used. A brief skin contact with the must is made under temperature control. The must is then spontaneously fermented with native yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine then undergoes spontaneous malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, for two months. The wine is racked directly into the bottle, unfiltered.