St-Emilion Château Puy-Blanquet sold to La Gaffelière owner
Historic ties between the Malet Roquefort family of Château La Gaffelière and grand cru estate Puy-Blanquet have been renewed following the deal.
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Château Puy-Blanquet, a St-Emilion grand cru estate that lies in the village of St-Etienne de Lisse, has been sold to the Malet Roquefort family, owner of Château La Gaffelière for more than three centuries.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The deal marks a return for the family, which has been present in the St-Emilion wine world since 1705 and previously owned Puy-Blanquet for almost 150 years.
The 24-hectare estate has 19 hectares of vineyards located on clay-limestone soils and has been owned by the Jacquet family since 1958.
Vines are planted to 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an average vine age of 25 years.
According to the JP Moueix merchant house, which sells the wines, ‘Puy-Blanquet was known as one of the best St-Émilion grand crus as early as the 19th century.’
Puy-Blanquet’s current estate director, Pierre Meunier, trained with Moueix, which owns several Bordeaux Right Bank properties including La Fleur-Pétrus in Pomerol and Bélair-Monange in St-Emilion.
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
Of recent vintages, Puy-Blanquet 2018 was rated 90 points by Decanter’s Jane Anson.
Alongside La Gaffelière, a Premier Grand Cru Classé estate, the Malet Roquefort family’s portfolio includes Château Armens, a St-Emilion grand cru property, and Château Chapelle d’Aliénor, classified as Bordeaux Supérieur.
There have been several château purchases across the St-Emilion area in recent years, notably in 2017.
St-Emilion vineyard prices varied widely in 2019, from around €240,000 per hectare right up to €3m per hectare for the most prestigious sites, according to the latest figures from French land agency Safer.
Vineyards in St-Emilion ‘satellite’ appellations cost €95,000 per hectare on average, Safer said.
You might also like:
Hobby vineyards: a new must-have for wealthy Bordeaux wine lovers?
St-Emilion Classification: Do vineyards matter?
Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.