In April 2018’s Decanter magazine there was a great review of St Emilion satellite vineyards.
It was great to see that, highlighted as the selection with a rating of 89, is Château Bel Air from Puisseguin, from my favourite proprietor, famille Dubard (Château Laulerie).
When you drive from St-Martin to St-Emilion you pass through Puisseguin. It’s well worth stopping off to find some excellent wines which are much cheaper than those within the defined area of St-Emilion merely because of their postcode. You can also find them in all the main supermarkets. There’s also a good mention for the Castillon wines which fall into the same bracket. As indicated in the graphic, the areas to look out for are:
- Montagne-St-Emilion
- St-Georges-St-Emilion
- Lussac-St-Emilion
- Puisseguin-St-Emilion
- Côtes de Castillon
Here are some to look out for in the supermarkets:
- Waitrose Puisseguin
- Dubard Château Bel Air (recommended)
- Tesco Montagne-St-Emilion
- Co-op Chateau Jouanin Côtes de Castillon
I should also include a mention for Lidl’s St-Emilion Grand Cru, recommended to me by Gerry Rooney, at a very tempting £10.99 for the excellent 2015 vintage. I’m looking forward to opening mine with lunch on Easter Sunday!
