Chateau Pedesclaux, Pauillac, Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Pedesclaux, Pauillac, Fifth Growth, with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Pedesclaux History, Overview

Chateau Pedesclaux was created by its namesake, Pierre Urbain Pedesclaux in 1810 when he purchased vineyard land from another Pauillac estate, Grand Puy. The Pedesclaux family were already established in Bordeaux as Negociants when they added winemakers to their resume.

In fact, Edmond Pedesclaux was one of the brokers that helped determine the original 1855 Classification of the Medoc. In 1883, the property was enlarged when the owner purchased vines from the Cruse family, who owned the neighboring estate of Chateau Pontet Canet at the time.

The Pedesclaux family eventually sold their Left Bank estate in 1891 to Count Gastebois. Chateau Pedesclaux passed through numerous owners’ hands until 1950 when Lucien Jugla bought Chateau Pedesclaux. At the time of the purchase, Chateau Pedesclaux was in such bad shape from years of neglect, they were not even producing wine when Lucien Jugla took over Chateau Pedesclaux!

Jugla was not a wealthy landowner. He worked at the estate for 20 years before he was able to purchase the vineyard. It was under the care of Lucien Jugla that the property and vineyards were slowly but surely restored. It was during the ownership of the Jugla family that the vineyards were planted with such a large proportion of Merlot vines.

In 1965, Chateau Pedesclaux was passed to his five children. Chateau Pedesclaux was modernized over a three-year period, finishing in 2007.

Chateau Pedesclaux The Modern Age

In 2009, the family sold Pedesclaux to Jacky Lorenzetti who already owned Château Lilian Ladouys in St. Estephe. The transaction was completed with the financial engineering assistance of Vincent Mulliez to whom Lorenzetti has given responsibility for managing the new acquisition, as he did earlier for Lilian Ladouys.

In February 2013, Jacky Lorenzetti added to his list of Bordeaux estates when he purchased 50% of Chateau dIssan in Margaux, a well-known Third Growth chateau. This was followed by obtaining Chateau Lafon Rochet in 2022.

Jacky Lorenzetti enlarged the vineyards of Chateau Pedesclaux with the purchase of 15 hectares situated on the Milon plateau that belonged to Chateau Haut Milon. These Medoc vines are located next to parcels owned by Chateau Lafite Rothschild, and Chateau Mouton Rothschild. This was followed by obtaining 5 hectares owned by Chateau Behere, situated next to Pontet Canet. Emmanuelle Cruse is the director of Pedesclaux today.

Chateau Pedesclaux Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 452 hectare, Left Bank vineyard of Chateau Pedesclaux is planted to 63% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and.3% Petit Verdot. This represents a massive change in the vineyard and continuing increase in Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cabernet Franc in the vineyards. Over time, it is the goal of the estate to continue increasing the portion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyards and remove more of their Merlot vines, so the estate would be at least 70% Cabernet Sauvignon. Keep in mind that previously, before the Lorenzetti family bought Chateau Pedesclaux, they were close to 50% Merlot!

The terroir of Chateau Pedesclaux is gravel over a clay subsoil. You can look at the vineyards of Chateau Pedesclaux easily if you divide the vineyard into 3 main parts. Some of their best parcels are on the slopes close to the chateau. They also have vines due south and west, both of which are next to Chateau dArmailhac, and another parcel placed not far from Chateau Lynch Bages.

Plus, as we said earlier, they have parcels that are well placed next to Chateau Lafite Rothschild, in the far west of the appellation. The dizzying patchwork of parcels, with 19 different soil types and varying degrees of quality terroir require a lot of work in the vines, the selection process and during the blending. But, as the vines age, and their replanting program continues, all you need to do is taste their wine to see that Pedesclaux keeps getting better, and better.

The overall average vine density is close to 8,333 vines per hectare. On average, the vines are 35 years of age, although some vines are much older. The oldest vines date as far as 1950.

Since Jacky Lorenzetti purchased the estate, a new style of modern, labor-intensive vineyard management started to take place which includes debudding, desuckering, deleafing, crop thinning, and hand-harvesting into small plastic lugs. Laser optical sorting was conducted for the first time in 2009 at Pedesclaux.

By 2018, 50% of the vineyards were being farmed using organic and biodynamic methods. Starting in 2019, 100% of their vineyards were farmed organically. In 2022, Chateau Pedesclaux was certified as being 100% organic.

In 2011, Pedesclaux introduced a new label to accompany the surge in the level of quality produced at the estate. In 2015, Chateau Pedesclaux finished a complete renovation and modernization of the chateau and their entire wine-making facilities using the same architect that designed the new cellars at Chateau Cos dEstournel, Jean-Michel Wilmotte. 2015 was also the first vintage to include Petit Verdot in the blend.

The new Pedesclaux chateau was uniquely redesigned to maintain its original look by building massive glass walls surrounding the entire, original, classically designed building. The vat room is also interesting. Depending on the angle you are looking at, the cellars can resemble a blend of modern design with a giant, T-Rex dinosaur with its large gaping jaws.

The wines of Chateau Pedesclaux are produced in the following manner; after a 10-day cold soak at 8 degrees Celsius, the juice is fermented in 58 stainless steel tanks that range in size from 50 hectoliters to 150 hectoliters.

The extraction is achieved through délestages and pigeages. Two important changed starting in 2016, vinifying crushed berries and reducing the laceration time has clearly added more definition to the wines.

Malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of vat and French oak barrels with 30% of the wine going through malolactic fermentation in the barrel.

The wine of Pedesclaux is aged in 60% new, French oak barrels for an average of 12 months. For the first two months of barrel aging, the wine is aged on its lees. On average, Chateau Pedesclaux produces close to 9,000 cases of Bordeaux wine per year.

There is a second wine, previously named Lucien de Pedesclaux. The name was a tribute to the previous owner, Lucien Jugla. The second wine is now called Fleur de Pedesclaux. On average, Fleur de Pedesclaux is produced from 90% Merlot. In the 2012 vintage, this was the only wine in Pauillac, and probably the entire Left Bank produced from 100% Merlot.

There is a third wine made from 2 hectares of vines located in the Haut Medoc appellation, La Rose de Pedesclaux.

The best vintages of Chateau Pedesclaux are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010 and 2009.

When to Drink Chateau Pedesclaux, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Pedesclaux can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-3 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Pedesclaux is usually better with at least 8-10 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Pedesclaux offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 10-25 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Pedesclaux with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Pedesclaux is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Pedesclaux is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Pedesclaux is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

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