Fleur de Pédesclaux 2014

Château Pédesclaux is a Fifth Growth estate and one of the hidden gems of Pauillac.  The wines from this property have more than their fair share of charm, and the philosophy here is that a great Pauillac does not need to be austere in its youth.  The Second Wine, Fleur de Pédesclaux, is an ethereal, fresh, and appealing wine.  There is a lightness that is unusual for a lot of Pauillacs, yet it shares the similar approachable styling of its brother, the grand vin.  There has been an influx of critical acclaim for this estate, with many scores in the 95 or higher range for the grand vin.  Without a doubt, Château Pédesclaux is a rising star in the left bank, and their second wine is a quality-driven everyday drinking wine that overdelivers on value.

The history of this estate dates all the way back to 1810 when Pierre Urban Pédesclaux purchased the Pauillac property, Grand Puy.  He changed the name to Château Pédesclaux after the family.  The Pédesclaux family were already well established négociants in Bordeaux,  and Edmond Pédesclaux was one of the brokers who determined the ranking system of the original 1855 Médoc Classification.  In 1883, the property was enlarged, and more vines were purchased from the Cruse family, who owned Château Pontet-Canet back then. The property changed hands multiple times at the turn of the century and in 1950 had fallen into a serious state of neglect and disrepair.  In fact, the estate was no longer making wine.  Fortunately, Lucien Jugla, a gentleman who worked tirelessly at the estate for 20 years, managed to save up enough money to purchase it.  He carefully restored the vineyards and planted them with a heavy percentage of Merlot – a very unique occurrence for Pauillac.

The real excitement for Château Pédesclaux began when the Lorenzetti family purchased it in 2009. Jacky Lorenzetti, a former real estate tycoon and French/Swiss businessmen, was very keen on snapping up properties he referred to as the “sleeping beauties,” of the Médoc.  The Lorenzetti family already owned the widely-popular Château Lillian Ladouys in Saint-Estèphe and would go on to purchase Château d’Issan in Margaux in the future.  Day to day operations are still very much within the family, and Jacky, Francoise and Manon work cohesively to ensure they produce incredible wines on a yearly basis. 

The Lorenzettis enlarged the vineyards to the 48 hectares they are today.  They switched over vineyard management, so everything was done by hand and implemented laser optical sorting after the grapes are picked.  As of 2018, half of the vineyards were farmed biodynamically and in 2019 the property converted to 100% organic viticulture. Fleur de Pédesclaux has a softness and suppleness with beautifully integrated tannins, thanks to the higher concentrations of Merlot in the wine.  For those who love richly elegant floral aromas, Fleur de Pédesclaux has a stunning bouquet of violet and white florals.  There is a restraint and subtlety to this wine, yet it is not short on intensity. 

If you are interested in trying some vintages of Pédesclaux Fleur de Pédesclaux, may we suggest the following noteworthy years: 2018, 2019, 2020