Chateau Grand Mayne

Château Grand Mayne sits at the heart of the St Emilion appellation on Bordeaux’s Right Bank. The 17-hectare vineyard has remained unchanged for 300 years or so. Brothers Jean-Antoine and Damien Nony are the third generation of their family at the helm here. Their late father, Jean-Pierre, sadly passed away in 2001, aged just 55. The most prized part of the vineyard is a slope of limestone over clay. “My father used to call it his Romanée-Conti,” Jean-Antoine recalls. “It looks like a Burgundian Grand Cru.”

As recently as the 1960s, there was around 40% Cabernet Franc planted here. Over time, it dropped to 10-15% of the plantings. When Jean-Antoine took over in 2012, he initiated a replanting programme, now underway and due to be completed in 2035. The estate has been a Grand Cru Classé since 1955.