For the uninitiated, Château le Puy is a historic estate owned by the Amoreau family, nestled on the same plateau as Saint Emilion and Pomerol. Le Puy means “high place” or “elevated ground,” both literally and in a more metaphorical sense. Their winemaking dates back 15 generations, to the 1610s.

And, in all that time, the winemaking and land management have not changed much. After World War II, chemical fertilizers and herbicides became the norm, but nary a synthetic treatment touched their land. “My grandfather was too stingy to buy chemicals,” reigning patriarch Jean Pierre Amoreau joked to the New York Times in 2017. Thanks to this stubbornness, stinginess, foresight or whatever you want to call it, this vibrant land was ecologically frozen in time.

Instead of resorting to chemicals, the focus was and is on soil health and biodiversity, with 150 acres of forest on the property, including stretches of hazelnut and fig trees. “You have to have wild areas around the vines to maintain a balance,” Amoreau said.

The estate centers around a cromlech, an ancient smaller-scale Stonehenge that the family sees as a source of energy and connection with the powers of the universe. Balance and harmony are always at the forefront, both in their land management and in the cellar.

It’s a huge treat to get to share this wine with you; only a handful of bottles made it into the US, and we are the largest single account for this wine.