Clos Puy Arnaud

The château

Puy Arnaud had a name long before it had a Valette. In 1874 Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, listed Puyarnaud as a village of Belvès with several growers among its first crus, Louis Rouleau among them at 30 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels). By 1897, in Féret’s Les vins de l’arrondissement de Libourne, the Château Puy-Arnaud, still under Rouleau, had 15 hectares on the rocks of Puycarpin at the edge of Sainte-Colombe, made 75 tonneaux of red and 10 of white, and counted among the most sought-after wines of the district.

Thierry Valette comes from a family whose négoce firm dates from 1870 and which, through his great-grandfather Alexandre Valette, bought Troplong Mondot and Pavie from 1937. He sat on the board of Château Pavie, with his cousin Jean-Paul among others, from 1979 until the family sold it in 1998, and 2 years later, in 2000, he bought Clos Puy Arnaud. The estate lies at 90 to 100 meters on a plateau of limestone with fossil starfish, under a very thin soil of clay, silt and sand, in 15 plots over 12 hectares, planted mostly to Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc, 35 years old on average. When the Castets was pulled up, 150 Mancin vines were saved and moved to another plot, where they are kept as a conservation collection. An elm more than 150 years old is the emblem of the property and stands on its labels.

Valette farmed organically from 2001, without certification at first; certification began in 2006 and the Agriculture Biologique label followed in 2009. Biodynamics came alongside: first trials in 2005 and 2006, full commitment in 2008, the Biodyvin label in 2010, Demeter certification in 2014. The 2019 grand vin (the estate’s first wine) shows the method: 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked by hand, moved by gravity as whole grapes into wooden and cement vats, fermented naturally at no more than 25°C, then raised 6 months, one third in barrel, 15% of it new, one third in demi-muids and one third in amphora, and 3 more months in uncoated cement. The estate makes about 50,000 bottles, 60% of them grand vin; Vibrato and the Cuvée Bistrot, wines of fruit, are sold as Vin de France, as is Silt, a Sauvignon Blanc. Castillon’s growers voted in February 2024 to leave the Côtes de Bordeaux name and stand as Castillon alone; after talks with the INAO, the change is expected around 2027 to 2028.

At a glance

Appellation

Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

Commune

Belvès-de-Castillon

Classification

No classification

Owner

Thierry Valette, since 2000

Vineyard

12 hectares in 15 plots; vines 35 years old on average

Soil

Thin clay, silt and sand over limestone with fossil starfish, at 90 to 100 meters Terroir of Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux →

Grapes

Merlot 60%, Cabernet Franc 33%, Cabernet Sauvignon 4%, Malbec 2%, Sauvignon Blanc 1%; a conservation collection of 150 Mancin vines

Farming

Organic farming since 2001, certified Agriculture Biologique in 2009; Biodyvin, 2010; Demeter, 2014

Cellar

Gravity; wooden and cement vats; 6 months in barrel, demi-muid and amphora, then 3 to 8 months in cement, depending on the vintage

Production

About 50,000 bottles, 60% of them grand vin

Wines

Clos Puy Arnaud; Les Ormeaux; Vibrato and Cuvée Bistrot, Vin de France; Silt (Sauvignon Blanc), Vin de France

In history

Among the first crus of Belvès, 1874; 15 hectares and 75 tonneaux of red under Rouleau, 1897