Bottle Apostle, Decanter Retailer Awards 2015
Bottle Apostle was named Decanter's Large Independent Retailer of the Year 2015.
(Image credit: Decanter)

The owners of award-winning retailer Bottle Apostle have bought a Bordeaux château. See the details below...

Andrew Eakin and Naomi Murtagh, owners of independent wine merchant Bottle Apostle in London, have bought Château Puynard in Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux.

The 17 hectare Château Puynard is planted to 75% Merlot with the rest made up of Cabernet Sauvignon and a touch of Cabernet Franc, along hillsides that overlook the Gironde River.

It was previously owned by Cyrille and Nicolas Grégoire, whose family sold Chateau de la Rivière in Fronsac in December 2013 and who last year became owners of Château Ripeau, a Grand Cru Classé in St-Emilion.

This is the first vineyard purchase for the couple, who plan to sell the wine through their own shops as well as other distributors. Cyrille Grégoire will be staying on in an unofficial capacity to help with the handover.

‘We lived in Paris for three years before setting up the shops in London, and have regularly gone on wine sourcing trips around France over the past few years,’ Eakin told Decanter.com.

‘So we have had a long-standing connection with the country. Bordeaux is a city that we love, and it’s easy to travel to and from London for our other businesses. We are realistic. We know making wine is a lot of hard work, and we are not expecting to get rich from it. This is about making a wine that we’re proud of.’

Bottle Apostle now has five locations across London, and was named Decanter’s Large Independent Wine Retailer of the Year 2015.

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Jane Anson
Jane Anson

Jane Anson was Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent until 2021 and has lived in the region since 2003. She writes a monthly wine column for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, and is the author of Bordeaux Legends: The 1855 First Growth Wines (also published in French as Elixirs). In addition, she has contributed to the Michelin guide to the Wine Regions of France and was the Bordeaux and Southwest France author of The Wine Opus and 1000 Great Wines That Won’t Cost a Fortune. An accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux École du Vin, Anson holds a masters in publishing from University College London, and a tasting diploma from the Bordeaux faculty of oenology.

Roederer awards 2016: International Feature Writer of the Year