Château Meyney 2021

Château Meyney is one of the established estates of Saint-Estèphe, the northernmost of the great Médoc communes on Bordeaux's Left Bank, with Anne Le Naour as technical director. The wine blends Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and a little Petit Verdot. Saint-Estèphe holds more clay in its soils than its neighbours to the south, and that cooler, water-retentive clay is the source of the appellation's firmer structure and its capacity to age. Cabernet on the gravel ridges gives cassis, cedar and grip, Merlot on the clay fills the palate with plush red fruit, and Petit Verdot adds colour and spice. The 2021 spent eighteen months in oak barrels, a long élevage that rounds the tannins through slow oxygen exchange and layers in spice and toast. The wine is built for the long haul. The colour is deep, the nose shows dark currant, plum and cherry over cedar, tobacco and a savoury, earthy note; the palate is full and structured, the tannins firm and fine grained, the finish long. Give it time in the cellar or a decant. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees. It suits beef, lamb and game.