2019 Chateau Le Puy Barthélemy

Produced from the Amoreau family’s highest-altitude vineyard, “Barthélemy” (named after the ancestor who built the current-day château back in the early 19th century) is released significantly later than Emilien, and displays a purity and complexity that induces shivers.  5% Merlot plus 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, is sourced from a single vineyard site known as “Les Rocs” on a plateau with a deep limestone bedrock.  The wine spends 24 months in 228L barrels (less than 10% new) with no addition of SO2 at any stage of the elevage.  A more dense and mysterious wine than its companion with a deeper robe and more firm structure, we see resemblance here to the finest old wines of its neighbors to the west in the best districts of Saint Emilion and Pomerol. Certified organic. Barthélemy is not inexpensive, but it is worth every penny, and if you are already in love with Emilien—or you just want to experience a very particular apex of Bordeaux—you must try it.