CHÂTEAU MEYNEY
2018 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Saint Estèphe
This property has seen a significant improvement in quality since 2004 when it came under the umbrella of CA Grands Crus. We've been impressed by several vintages since and this is another. The estate's dense clay soil has certainly helped with the summer heat, producing a wine that's endowed with fresh blackberry and dark cherry fruit, sweet spice and coffee. It has a refined mid-palate with lovely smoothness and depth. The fine tannins frame the wine rather than envelope it. It's another very well made Saint Estèphe but one that should be cellared for at least 5-10 years to be at its best. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040L&S (Apr 2019)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
This could easily be kept for another five years before opening, but honestly you are going to get a ton of pleasure if you don't wait and instead just ensure you have opened it up with a good three or four hours in a carafe. It's a consistently good quality estate, with 51ha of vines just next to Château Montrose but unclassified and often one of the best value St Estèphes - particulary in 2018, where Estuary breezes were so helpful during the heat of September. Majors on fleshy, almost primary blackberry and raspberry fruits, powerful but restrained, with a ton of spice through the finish. Reactive winemaking choices also, as they ensured one week maceration of the grapes with their skins than usual to ensure the ripe fruits weren't overplayed. Yield 49hl/h. Harvest 24 September to 11 October. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Oct 2021)
The 2018 Meyney has opened up slightly on the nose since I tasted it from barrel, gradually revealing attractive scents of brambly black fruit, raspberry, Indian ink and hints of sage and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, well-judged acidity and plenty of graphite toward the finish, which just needs to develop more precision. This feels a bit blocky at the moment, but I am sure it will eventually come round. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Meyney is every bit as impressive as it was en primeur. Technical Director Anne Le Naour has done a terrific job in reining in some of the excess weight and power of previous vintages, but without sacrificing richness. Classy and layered, Meyney boasts fabulous depth and tons of character. Ripe red/purplish fruit, spice, blood orange, smoke and incense are some of the many aromas and flavors that mesh together. The 2018 offers striking immediacy, but also has enough structure to develop well in bottle for 15-20 years, maybe more. The 2018 Meyney is a wine of immense pleasure. Best of all, it is a tremendous value. Drinking range: 2023 - 2043 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
Blueberry, blackcurrant, clove, dark chocolate, praline and gravel on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins. Focused, chewy and layered. Fantastic effort here. Try from 2025. Rating: 95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)
The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Meyney gives up blackcurrants, black berries and plums on the nose with earth and spices plus fried herbs and lots of oak. The big, full-bodied palate has some promising fruit but is a bit hard and oaky. Rating: 89-91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Barrel sample. Black core with deep purple rim. Very oaky on the nose, sweetly toasty as a counterpoint to stony, dark fruit. The oak really dominates the palate, the tannins thereby thickened, like thick chocolate. Chewy finish but it does have enough freshness. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
A very dense yet tight and focused red with blackcurrants, blackberries and hints of spices and walnuts. Full-bodied, very compact and long. Intense finish. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
It's clear that this is hugely concentrated, as is the Montrose right next door, but there's also beautiful juice and freshness underneath the black fruits and the powerful grip. Tannins, acidity and fruit: it's all there. This is great quality and should be long-lived, with a rich palate, evenly balanced and austere in all the right places. Another good vintage at this increasingly impressive property. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2019)
The assemblage in this vintage is 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 18% Petit Verdot. The nose is dark, fresh, ripe and poised, showing aromas of perfumed hedgerow fruits, fresh and bright, with very pure black plum and black cherry veins behind. The palate is cool, fresh, beautifully textured and balanced, with a reserve and poise that matches very nicely the deeply buried tannic backbone and fresh acid profile. There is plenty of firm grip in the finish, although the overall effect is cool, refined, yet brimming with sinewy texture and fruit, and a deliciously fresh acid-driven vigour. Very well done. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
Château Meyney
Chateau Meyney in St. Estephe has a long history starting in the 1662, when it is mentioned in records as a convent, making it one of the oldest estates in the Médoc. It occupies a gravelly bank facing the Gironde and is a neighbour of Montrose.
The 51 hectare vineyard with vines averaging between 35 and 40 years old is planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. The gravel based terroir has a large streak of blue clay close to three metres thick.
In 2004, Meyney was bought by CA Grands Châteaux, also owners of Château de Rayne Vigneau and Château Grand-Puy Ducasse. They have employed Hubert de Boüard as consulting oenologist.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.