Château Meyney: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Meyney lie in a single plot, covering an impressive 51 hectares of the St-Estèphe appellation, adjoining those of near neighbours Château Montrose (to the south) and Château Phélan-Ségur (to the north). As I have already indicated in my introduction, the estate’s proximity to the Montrose vineyards is remarkable; it is by driving down the D2E4 alongside the Gironde that this becomes most clear. One moment you are driving past the vines of Meyney, the next it is Montrose. The two share a spot on the same prominent gravel terrace overlooking the Gironde.
Having said that, the romantic description of the estate I espoused in my introduction might not be all it seems. Soil studies conducted at the estate indicate five distinct soil types, gravel, clay, limestone, marl and sand; this much was evident to me the first time I spent some time poking around the Meyney vineyards, when I quickly realised there is a significant amount of sand rather than more desirable gravel here. It is perhaps not that surprising this close to the Gironde. Nevertheless, the point is an important one; sand is not commonly regarded as one of the great terroirs of Bordeaux (see how the great estates of St Emilion, for example, cluster on the clay and limestone soils of the plateau, rather than the sandy plain below). I wonder whether the predominance of sand in the vineyards, rather than the more sought-after gravel, is another part of the reason why Château Meyney does not seem to have the ranking, nor the prestige, that its location first suggests is due.
