Le Puy, Francs-Côtes-de-Bordeaux “Retour des îles” 6 Bottle Case, 75ml

Equivalent Bottle Price £259.99

The “Retour des Îles” casks set sail from Douarnenez in Brittany, travelling down the Spanish coast, the first stop off is at Lisbon, Portugal. They continue along their way as far as Cape Verde and set off to take the Atlantic Ocean by storm. After a short stopover at Bélem in Brazil, they sail back up to the Caribbean with a stop in Barbados and Dominican Republic. They leave the warm waters to head for the Azores and then Falmouth in the United Kingdom. The journey could end there but, keen to explore the world, the wines sail back up the North Sea as far as Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Having had their fill of sea air and gorgeous landscapes they finally returned to Douarnenez. A year later “Retour des Îles” is bottled.

Le Puy has been in the Amoreau family since 1610 and overlooks the Dordogne River, on the same geological plateau as Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The vineyards account for 50 hectares of land spread across 3 plots with soils made of clay, limestone and silica. It’s quite common to find some sharpened flints between the vines as battles were waged on these very sites in olden times. They grow old vines of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère for the red wines, and only old vines of Sémillon for the white wines. Jean-Pierre and his son Pascal maintain a long family tradition of natural fermentation and long ageing in old barrels, crafting wines of finesse, purity and outstanding ageing potential. Bordeaux as it should be.