2022 Château Puyblanquet, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Inky purple colour, clear austerity here, showing edges of blackcurrant, black chocolate, saffron and slate. Located near to Châteaux Boutisse and Pressac, on cooler clay-limestone soils, enjoyable.
Drink 2026-2038
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (April 2023)
The 2022 Puyblanquet is all finesse and class. Readers will find an airy, gracious Saint-Émilion that is much more about understatement and elegance than power. Crushed flowers, mint, sage, crushed rocks, tobacco and dried flowers all run through this airy, wonderfully refined Saint-Émilion. There's a level of precision that is like that of a white wine.
Drink 2026-2042
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2023)
About this WINE
Château Puyblanquet
Château Puyblanquet returned to the Malet Roquefort family ownership in 2020, 60 years after its sale, before which their ancestors held it from 1819–1959. A single 19-ha vineyard of limestone plateau and clay-limestone soils is planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The grapes are vinified by parcel in stainless-steel temperature-controlled vats before their élevage in 50% new French oak barriques for 12 months.
St Émilion
St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank.
St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel.
Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol. Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.
In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices. The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.
St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012
Merlot/Cabernet Franc
Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grape varieties commonly used in Bordeaux-style blends, particularly in the Bordeaux region of France. When these two grapes are blended, they can create a wine that combines the best characteristics of each variety.
Merlot is known for its smoothness, soft tannins, and ripe fruit flavours. It often contributes black cherry, plum, and chocolate flavours to the blend. The grapes are relatively easy to grow and ripen earlier than other Bordeaux varieties, making them versatile for blending.
Cabernet Franc, on the other hand, adds structure, depth, and complexity to the blend. It typically brings aromas of red fruits such as raspberry and strawberry, along with herbal notes like bell pepper and tobacco. These grapes have thinner skins and can be more challenging to cultivate, requiring specific growing conditions to reach their full potential.
When Merlot and Cabernet Franc are combined, the result is a well-balanced wine with various flavours and aromas. The blend often exhibits a Bordeaux wine's medium to full body, along with a smooth texture and moderate tannins. The specific flavour profile can vary depending on the proportions of each grape in the blend and the terroir and winemaking techniques employed.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Puyblanquet has extra resonance for its owner, Alexandre de Malet Roquefort (of Ch. La Gaffelière). It had to be sold in 1959 after 150 years of ownership, to cover inheritance taxes; the family rebought it in 2020. Their commitment to its reacquisition is understandable: Puyblanquet can offer delicious drinking, and not without complexity. It is rarely seen elsewhere on the En Primeur market; Berry Bros. & Rudd take the lion’s share.
The wine is richly perfumed with notes of blackcurrant, dark chocolate and Asian spice, tightening up with a lick of minerality on the finish.
Merlot 80%; Cabernet Franc 20%
Drink 2026-2038
Score: 17/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2023)
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