Château Pédesclaux 2017

Critic scores

• James Suckling94
• Wine Enthusiast94
• Vinous92
• Jeb Dunnuck92
• Decanter92
• Wine Spectator92
• Wine Advocate91

The 2017 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 85/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: April frost cut the crop in half: the plots that were spared give fine, classic wines, and the vintage must be judged estate by estate.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

The blends are finalized on December 8, the balance between the 4 grape varieties of the property offers superb complexity. The 2017 vintage is characterized by a very high proportion of Cabernets in the final blend. 65% Cabernet-Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet franc, a first since the takeover of Château Pédesclaux by Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzetti. A step has been taken and the tannic structure of Château Pédesclaux is enhanced. This wine has a subtle nose of red fruits enhanced by musky notes. In the mid-palate this musk evolves towards floral aromas, fresh almond and blackcurrant bud. On the spicy finish, we recognize the freshness of the Timut pepper which gives a nice length. A nice grain of mineral and coated tannin gives structure to this 2017 vintage.

Blend of the 2017 vintage

Figures from the 2017 sheet

• 47 hl/haYield
• 35 yrsVine age

Winemaking

Gravity vatting and light crushing. Cold pre-fermentation maceration. Gentle extraction with rack and return and punching down. Gravity vinification without the use of a pump.

Ageing

16 months in barrel, 40% new barrels.

Terroir

Beneath the vines of Pédesclaux lies a geological masterpiece whose origins date back 40 million years. It is this unique terroir, quintessentially Médoc, that the 1855 classification recognises. The château stands on a plateau of gravel overlooking the town of Pauillac; the soil is made up of clay-limestone gravels, in reality a mixture of clay, limestone, fine gravel and pebbles. These plots in fact adjoin renowned properties such as Mouton-Rothschild and Pontet-Canet. Pédesclaux works with three different grape varieties: 47% Cabernet Sauvignon for the structure of the wine, 48% Merlot for roundness, and 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot for aromatic complexity.