42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 18% Petit Verdot

Food pairings: Roast lamb, grilled ribeye, duck breast and venison, truffle dishes, and aged cheeses such as Comté or Gruyère.

Winemaking: After hand harvesting and careful sorting, the 2018 was vinified plot by plot following a few days of cold soak, and part of it finished malolactic fermentation in new barrels. It matured 18 months in French oak barrels, 35% new. The harvest ran from September 24 for the Merlot to October 12 for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Anne Le Naour is the winemaker, with Hubert de Boüard consulting.

Vineyards and terroir: Meyney's 51 hectares form a single block on a gravel rise above the Gironde estuary, between Montrose and Calon-Ségur. Under the Garonne gravel lies deep clay-limestone and a rare 3-meter vein of blue clay, also found at Pétrus, which gives the wines their velvety texture. Petit Verdot, planted here since the 1920s, is a signature of the blend.

History: Cistercian monks farmed this land from the 13th century. After 1625 the Feuillant fathers made it a model estate and finished the house in 1662. The Cordier family owned it from 1919. Since 2004 it has belonged to Crédit Agricole's CA Grands Crus, which has invested heavily under Anne Le Naour.

In the pictures: A postcard from the early 1900s showing Saint-Estèphe seen from its great vineyards on the Gironde side, the part of the appellation where Meyney lies (photo: Veuve Henry Guillier, public domain).