Château Meric

Anecdotes from the Estate: For me, being a winemaker is about loving the land, the terroir, and sublimating the quintessence of what nature gives us. I don't make standard wine. In fact, I don't make the same blends for every vintage. My greatest pride is maintaining our Cru Bourgeois status year after year, and we have since 2008. The Cuvée du Plantier is one of my favorite wines. It's the name of a plot I searched for for three or four years, my hidden gem. As a winemaker, I engage in stylistic exercises, just like when I was a musician. One wine I'm particularly fond of is our rosé, which I call "juice of Meric" because it reflects our terroir. I have two gurus: Silver, a surfer and character from the Marvel comics, because he's cosmic and more powerful than Earth's superheroes. The second is Jimmy Hendrix, but there's no need to describe a legend, is there? My earliest memory related to wine is with my grandfather, who served me a "villagese," a cooking wine. But I quickly got back on track with my first truly good glass of wine at the age of 21, a Cheval Blanc that I simply paired with cheese and pepper. One word comes to mind: Excellence. The Northern Médoc is little known because it's far from everything, but it's wildly beautiful! A little history of the estate: Located in the northern Médoc, Château Méric sits on the tip of the Graves peninsula. The unique feature of this terroir was that the villages formed three islands before the marshes were drained. The result: a well-draining soil with a sunny, well-exposed terroir, even known as the "Bordeaux Camarague." The vines flourish here without water or heat stress, as they are well-rooted and can draw water from deep in the aquifers. Here, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grape varieties thrive, but not only them! This climate has fostered a whole ecosystem. Those we call "Méric's neighbors" are all the wildlife that inhabits the estate: frogs, deer, roe deer, foxes... They keep us company, especially during our late harvest, which results in a rounder, more rounded wine. The estate's history dates back to 1100 when the Knight Méric buried his armor under an oak tree on the family estate for having kept his promise to return alive from the Crusades. His family cultivated what was once the largest estate in the Médoc for several generations. The château was even listed as a Cru Bourgeois in 1868. After a musical career, I took over the estate in 1999. I reclassified, planted, and harvested 15 hectares. As the son of farmers from the Monts du Lyonnais, this career change felt like a natural progression. There has always been a connection between me and the world of wine. Making wine is a continuation of my creativity. Just like music, you have to know how to assemble the pieces—in this case, the grape varieties—in search of perfect harmony. The pride of the estate: If you want to liven up your table, choose Marius Chala's wines, which go "Boom Boom Boom" when you open them! No wonder, since the winemaker is a former techno star! In 1999, Marius put away the turntables and took over the family estate in the Médoc with the same enthusiasm, where he benefits from a well-exposed terroir and a favorable microclimate between the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. He cultivates exclusively noble grape varieties on gravelly soils which favor the production of wines full of finesse and with good aging potential.