Château Meylet, St Émilion
Michel Favard started to make wine with his own label in 1978 from 3 parcels, total 2 hectares, which have been his family’s vineyards since 1859. Before 1978 they also made wine, but sold everything in bulk. Already in 1978, Michel felt that there was something wrong with spraying poison on the soil and the vines, so he started to look for another way to work closer to nature.
He started to learn how to work organically and in 1987, he started to farm 100% biodynamically after he got mesmerized from reading Nicolas Joly’s book on that subject. He was, at the time, still into industrial winemaking though and it wasn’t until he started to hang out with famous natural winemakers such as Lapierre, Roch, Overnoy and Pacalet in 1990, that he realized how he could make his wine to suit him all the way from growing to drinking. He started to work with very careful pigéage, no sulfur during vinification, careful use of new oak and shorter time of maceration than before. He adds a tiny bit of sulfur before bottling (10 mg/hl).
Today his son, David, is taking over the main work at the Château but Michel still spends a lot of time there. David also has an organic farm in Ayveron where he grows flowers and fruit along with breeding rabbits and doves. He also just planted some high altitude vineyards over there.
David will follow his dad’s philosophy and continue to make these delicate, fruity, mineral and aromatic beauties.
2013 Château Meylet
Soil: Sand-limestone, iron-rich clay, and gravels.
Grape: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec
Appellation: AOC St-Émilion Grand Cru
Age of Vines: Planted in 1948
Vinification: Destemming by hand but then some of the ripe stems is put back with the fruit for the maceration. Alcoholic fermentation with maceration for 3 weeks in big, old oak tanks before gentle pressing and aged 20 months in barriques, 20-30% are new. Then blending and bottling takes place before at least one year of bottle ageing before they start to sell the wine.
2010 Château Meylet
Soil: Sand-limestone, iron-rich clay, and gravels.
Grape: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec
Appellation: AOC St-Émilion
Age of Vines: Planted in 1948
Vinification: Destemming by hand, but then some of the ripe stems are put back with the fruit for the maceration. Alcoholic fermentation with maceration for 3 weeks in big, old oak tanks before gentle pressing and aged 20 months in barriques, 20-30% new. Then blending and bottling takes place before at least one year of bottle ageing before they start to sell the wine.