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CHÂTEAU SOLEIL, WINNER OF THE COUPE DES CRUS DE SAINT EMILION ONCE AGAIN
FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW, CHÂTEAU SOLEIL HAS WON THE COUPE DES CRUS DE SAINT EMILION, APPELLATION PUISSEGUIN – SAINT-ÉMILION.
Didier Miqueu, is the co-owner of Château Soleil in Puisseguin Saint-Emilion appellation. The estate has once again won the Coupe des Crus of Saint Emilion. A habit which he never gets tired of.
CHÂTEAU SOLEIL, THE CHOICE OF THE EARTH
Since the acquisition of Château Soleil in 2005, Didier Miqueu only has one wish: “to work this Puisseguin estate as if it were a cru classé of Saint-Emilion”. With his friend and co-owner Stéphane von Neipperg, they have set up ambitious cultural practices. The 20 hectares of the estate are farmed in a well thought out manner, with manual harvest and slow fermentation. “The first condition to hope to make great wines is to have a very good terroir and I think we have it”, says Didier Miqueu. For both men, the idea is to make
“a wine to the glory of merlot, main grape variety planted on the clay-limestone soils of the Saint-Emilion area. A wine that is pleasant to drink young andwhich can also age beautifully, like the great wines of Bordeaux”. Fruity quality and wine balance are the two objectives that Château Soleil aims for each year, along with the will to be constant: “Having arrived fairly regularly and quite systematically in the closing stages of the contest really validates the cultivation practices and the quality of the soil”.
2010, 2011 AND 2012, AN AWARD-WINNING TRILOGY
During the 2015 Coupe des Crus de Saint-Emilion, it is the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages which were judged. To Didier Miqueu: “2010 is undoubtedly one of the greatest Bordeaux vintages of recent years. The absolute and relative quality is no longer to be demonstrated”. After a hot and dry 2010 summer, Château Soleil was faced in 2011 and 2012 with more contrasting climatic conditions.
Yet, the estate delivered two very interesting vintages. The 2011 offers a spicy and fruity nose and a full mouth that reveals elegant tannins. The 2012 has silky tannins and a long finish full of freshness. “The vineyard has given back to us the care we gave it. These vintages are pleasant enough and quite perfect to enjoy in the coming years”.