Chateau Meyney 2017

Great density, breed and length, characterful and true to its style, built for long ageing.

Fresh and direct, featuring a pure core of damson plum and cherry fruit, laced with light floral and red tea notes. Subtle chalky minerality gives the finish cut and length, while a pretty perfume lingers. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2021 through 2028. 15,416 cases made.

Meyney has had a strong couple of years, and even in this challenging vintage this is a wine to look out for. Attractive baked plum aromatics on the nose, not as concentrated as 2016 but with silky, well-extracted cassis fruit and appealing spice on the finish. More closed down than it was En Primeur, it will need a few years from this point to open up.

Some quite assertive, ripe dark berries here. The bold, quite rich palate is firm yet fresh with cassis and black-fruit flavors. Lighter, elegant vintage. Drink or hold.

Deep cherry red with a purple rim. A hint of savoury oak on the nose but plenty of black fruit to hold sway. An inviting and subtle dusty overlay. Pretty oaky on the palate — unusual in this vintage — but the char is quite definite. Just fresh enough, but I hope it puts on more flesh before bottling. Tough and charry on the finish. (JH)

The 2017 Meyney has turned out beautifully. Dark, pliant and generous in feel, the 2017 possesses striking depth and polish to match its mid-weight personality. Dried cherry, mint, dried flowers, licorice, cedar and tobacco infuse the 2017 with lovely layers of aromatic nuance and complexity. All the elements meld together nicely. Just as it was en primeur, the 2017 is relatively understated for Meyney, but that is not a bad thing at all. Meyney appears to be moving in a very positive direction over the last few years, and that is, of course, great to see.

Much better from the bottle than from the barrel, you now find a wine packed with sweet red fruits, spice, mint leaf, tobacco, flowers, and blackberries. Medium-bodied, with loads of ripe red fruits and vibrancy on the palate, with just a touch of oak to round things out, this is already showing quite well. Drink from 2023-2035.

A terrific effort, the 2017 Meyney is a concentrated, nicely structured wine in the vintage that’s going to have a broad drink window. Lots of black cherry, chocolate, cedarwood, and leafy tobacco notes define the bouquet, followed by a medium-bodied red with a solid spine of acidity, supple tannins, and a great finish. It’s a classic, beautifully done Saint-Estèphe to enjoy over the coming 15 years or so.

Kunz barrel sample 18: (58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot) Dense, velvety, fruity bouquet, cassis cream, fine plums, currants, tobacco, licorice. Tightly woven, finely opulent palate with concentrated fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a complex, dark aromatic profile, a muscular yet elegant structure, and a very long, dense, delicately peppery finish with plenty of lingering flavors. Can still improve.

Dense, deep, mineral bouquet with cassis, black cherries, licorice, herbs, nougat, mocha. Dense, multilayered, powerful palate with fine, silky-sandy tannins, dark, concentrated fruit, finely muscular structure, diverse aromatics, long, compact finish. 18/20 2025 - 2045

The 2017 Meyney is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It jumps with ready-to-go notes of crushed black and red currants, mulberries and fragrant soil, plus wafts of dried sage and charcoal. Medium-bodied, the palate is bright and energetic with a great core of vibrant fruit and a soft textured finish.

Frank, taut and sappy, Meyney 2017 offers a palate of great length, with very well-integrated tannins.

Juicy, moreish, fresh and fruity wine, licorice, taut, with supple tannins; a classy, racy wine.

What beautiful fruit intensity and freshness… A delicious, juicy character on the palate. The wine has body and fine-grained tannins. It is balanced, flavorful, and perfectly supported by its structure.

Logo on the cork: AL Dark, intense color. Very aromatic nose with ripe, creamy, and subtle fruit. Silky on the attack, juicy mid-palate, flavorful; the wine firms up slightly on the finish with medium length.