CHÂTEAU PUYFROMAGE
Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, France
Frédéric Marques of Château Puyfromage takes traditional tact in his winemaking, producing a relatively orthodox style of right bank Bordeaux, albeit with a twist of provincial flare. He leads the efforts at the property, though each of his three brothers, Yves, Francis, and Philippe, control a portion of production. The Marques family is steeped in tradition of wine: various ancestors worked as coopers, négociants, winemakers, and winery equipment manufacturers. In 1943, Frédéric's grandfather purchased the property in Francs, the smallest Bordeaux AOC, perched on the famed limestone soils of the Saint-Émilion plateau.
Here, at one of the highest points in the region and far from the tempering influences of the Atlantic and the Gironde estuary, the more continental microclimate makes for hotter winters and drier summers than the rest of Bordeaux. Combined with the westerly winds that come off the nearby Dordogne and Isle Rivers, Puyfromage enjoys ideal conditions for sustainable viticulture: the countryside here is largely lush and green compared with the hardened coastal terroir of the Médoc. This has allowed Frédéric to begin the conversion to organic viticulture.
Wines