When it comes to fine wine, it’s a dog eat dog world where Bordeaux reigns supreme. Standards (along with prices) are high, competition is fierce and resting on laurels is not an option. Thus underperforming estates are often sold or passed on, with owners not wanting to be associated with poor scores and spiralling costs of disappointing results. This is not necessarily a bad thing. New proprietors often mean a large injection of cash, a change in winemaking team and state of the art equipment. Thus what might once have been an ugly duckling can easily become a swan in a matter of a few years.

Such was the case with Château Pédesclaux. For a long time, this was not a wine that shone brightly on the fine wine market. The owners, the Jugla family had found their niche – producing heavy, uninteresting, old fashioned wine, made (and bought) by creatures of habit who knew what they liked and liked what they knew. Despite being a fifth growth, Pédesclaux’s performance was poor.

A glimmer of hope came in 1997 when a change in generation led to a more modern management style and some investments and improvements. This was short-lived; after the stellar success of the 2000, quality went back to where it had come from, not to be seen again for a very long time.

That was until French property millionaire Jacky Lorenzetti (of Foncia fame) stepped in in 2009. Lorenzetti, (who already owned Château Lilian Ladouys in St-Estèphe) hired Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen as chief winemaker and Emmanuel Cruse as estate manager. With Lorenzetti’s money came a no expense spared, cutting edge winery. He also doubled the area under vine, buying parcels next to Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. Lorenzetti, it seemed, was on a fine wine mission. To say the results have been impressive would be an understatement. Vintages prior to Lorenzetti’s intervention score in the mid-80s while post-Lorenzetti quality has risen to low-90s and looks set to continue.