Bordeaux’s Top Values: Château Puygueraud

Château Puygueraud is one of Bordeaux’s great wine values. It’s the family property of Nicolas Thienpont, the legendary winemaker and grower on Bordeaux’s right bank who has worked as a consultant to some of the best properties in the region. Nicolas took over the property in 1983 from his father Georges and has made the wine here with his son Cyrille since 2009. The property is situated in the Bordeaux Côtes de Francs appellation, on the same vein of rocky limestone which runs through the Côtes of St Emilion and the Castillon appellation. The wines have been good for some time. I’ve been tasting them consistently during the primeurs period over the past decade or so. This is one of my go-to value everyday drinking reds at around £16-17 [$25] retail. I’ve recently bought cases of Puygueraud en primeur and I thought it would be interesting to see how the 2018, 2019 and 2020 vintages are getting on and compare at this point. Below are my notes and scores on these bottles.