Domaines Pedro, Château Le Meynieu: Nelson CHow visiting the heart of the Médoc

Winegrowers’ portraits Vertheuil-Médoc

Domaines Pedro,
Château Le Meynieu

Nelson CHow visiting
the heart of the Médoc

This charming property, tucked away in the countryside, enjoying a wonderfully exposed vineyard and planted with noble varietals, is situated in Vertheuil, close to Saint-Estèphe.

Jacques and Hervé Pedro, respectively chairman and technical manager, honoured us with the visit of the domain. This family duet at the service of the vine and the wine manages three chateaus with respect for tradition and a constant concern for perfection, three vineyards that express subtlety, character and balance.
Subtlety is Château le Meynieu. Heritage listed, this wine-producing castle is mentioned in the general catalogue of the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. Its 22 hectares of vines surround a charming nineteenth century mansion. Between modern vat house and traditional winery cellar where oak barrels are lined, this Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc offers a generous wine in the respect for the fruit, highly appreciated for its elegance and delicate bouquet.


Jacques et Hervé Pedro

Château Lavillotte evokes the character. In the early 60s, there were only a few old vines on the verge of dying. Yet the terroir is wonderful, the exposure unparalleled and the soil conducive to vine with limestone and pebbles. Today, this 11 hectare vineyard is planted with noble grape varieties: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. It is the object of the most careful attention and skilled cultivation techniques. The vines are 40 years old on average and are harvested when their fruits are ripe, before a vinification in the traditional manner. The wine is matured in oak barrel, then bottled and kept in superbly conditioned underground cellars for ageing. Château Lavillotte gives refined wines with a good bouquet, rich in tannins melting in delicious harmony.



Nelson Chow

The Domaine de la Ronceray represents balance. Situated on a plateau with stony subsoil adjoining Château Lavillotte, it is also planted with noble and carefully selected grape varieties. This Saint-Estèphe Cru is made using the same traditional cultivation techniques and same painstaking approach to vinification and ageing. This explains why Domaine de la Ronceray is able to produce such generous wines, both velvety and mellow, much in demand for their elegance.

It is in the extraordinary underground cellar of Château Le Meynieu that Nelson Chow, president of the Hong Kong Sommeliers Association, tasted the Château Lavillotte 2010, as well as the 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010 vintages of the Château Le Meynieu. Just behind the tasting room, impressive rows of bottles stacked on top of each other are aligned everywhere along the walls, sometimes up to the ceiling, sometimes even on several ranks, where the wine ages slowly. None exceeds, they are tidied up manually by vintage, according to an ancestral method which is hardly used nowadays because of the manipulation time which it requires. The unostentatious beauty of these cellars reflects the passion of the men who officiate here.

Dominique Peyral-Bon


SCEA des Domaines Pedro

Château Le Meynieu
33180 Vertheuil-Médoc – France
Tél.: +33 (0) 5 56 73 32 10 www.domaines-pedro.fr