Giannikos Winery - Château Grand Mayne

A vineyard overlooking a country house built at the end of the 16th century, Mayne can trace its 200-year history back to the Laveau family who acquired it in 1685. Jean Laveau's attentive and loving care took the vineyard to the highest level, as evidenced by the wine awards and praise in the Féret, the acclaimed 1846 Bordeaux wine guide.
Together with Figeac and Soutard, Mayne was one of the most important estates in St. Émilion at the time. With no direct heirs, the Laveau empire was eventually dispersed among family heirs. Several owners succeeded until the early 1900s when the Nony family became the owners of what had become 'Grand Mayne'.

In fact, it was in 1934 that Jean Nony, a successful wine merchant based in the Chartrons commercial district of Bordeaux, acquired the property from Noël Berbudeau. When Jean Nony died in 1975, his son Jean-Pierre and his wife Marie-Françoise took over the estate about. They undertook extensive renovations and invested in new winemaking technologies and innovations, making Grand Mayne one of the elite Bordeaux wines.
After the death of Jean-Pierre Nony in 2001, Marie-Françoise, a perfectionist at heart, continued the course until her two sons followed in their father's footsteps in 2020. Today, Jean-Antoine, who has been working with his mother as a real estate manager since 2011, and his brother Damien represent the third generation to perpetuate the heritage of the Nony family, resolutely focused on the future and excellence.

At 55 meters above sea level, ideally oriented to the south and west, the vines are planted on a clay-limestone hill and, at the foot, on clay soil in the south and clayey-sandy soil in the west. The location and typology of these soils offer the vineyard great potential. The castle is located exactly in the geographical center of the commune of St. Émilion, 1.5 km west of the village at the foot of a limestone plateau.
The rigorous work of the vineyard is paramount at Grand Mayne. Each parcel of vines is considered to be a self-contained viticultural unit. For example, the vines on the slopes are covered with grass to prevent erosion, while those on clay soil and clay-sandy soil are plowed up. Bordelaise pruning, fluffing and suction, green harvesting, double manual leaf thinning, field management are all technical choices that give the grapes the best quality prospects.

When harvest time arrives, the bunches of grapes are picked by hand and collected in small bins. Sorted twice in the vineyard and in the barrel house, the grapes are destemmed. Each plot is vinified separately in wooden and stainless steel barrels to better control the vinification process. This is followed by the aging process in French oak in the heart of our brand new winery.
After 15 to 20 months of aging, the crucial moment of careful selection of the cuvées comes to obtain the most harmonious blend representative of the cru and vintage characteristics.
Finally, the vintage is bottled and each bottle is prepared individually - the culmination of two years of work and passion.