Cadillac · Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux, Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers
Nearly 200 years of family winemaking, and the eighth generation already at work
At Château Fayau, nearly two centuries of family winemaking are not simply part of its history. Instead, two generations of the Médeville family work side by side.
Jean and Marc Médeville are the seventh generation, with Jean overseeing vinification and ageing and Marc taking responsibility for the vineyards. The next generation has also taken on substantial responsibilities within the family business. There’s Anne, who works across communications, customer relationships and the people side of the business, while her brother is responsible for making a significant proportion of the wines. Their cousin Clémence is also a winemaker.
From Château Fayau, the family manages around 200 hectares across several estates within a 20-kilometre radius, spanning both sides of the Garonne and appellations including Cadillac, Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux, Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers.
The Médeville story at Fayau began with Jérôme Médeville, a cooper who acquired the chartreuse and its 12 hectares of vines in 1826. The property was particularly suited to the production of AOC Cadillac, whose luscious golden late-harvest wines formed an important part of its early identity.
Successive generations expanded beyond the original property, gradually assembling vineyards on both sides of the Garonne. Château Fayau remained the family base as the business grew to include Château Gabelot, Château Barbier, Château Peyreblanque and Château du Mouret.
The Garonne separates two markedly different groups of vineyards. On the Left Bank, the Graves soils contain pebbles and sand carried down through the gradual erosion of the Pyrenees. These free-draining soils regulate the supply of water to the vines, while the stones absorb heat during the day and release it through cooler autumn nights.
On the Right Bank, the Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux vineyards follow a narrow band of slopes along the river. Their south and south-west exposures receive generous sunlight, while the predominantly clay soils retain moisture through warm, dry periods.
Working on both sides of the river gives the family access to different terroirs and a broad range of wines. Sémillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle are used for dry and golden white wines; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc form the basis of the reds. The family also produces rosé, clairet and Crémant de Bordeaux within the ranges.
The 19th-century cellar has been adapted by successive generations as the family business has grown. Many of the changes are small and practical, designed to make moving wine around the cellar easier and safer during harvest.
A permanent network of pipes runs through the building, passing through walls and between floors. Small openings – known within the family as ‘cat flaps’ – allow connections to pass between working areas without hoses trailing across the floor. The press is upstairs, allowing juice to move downwards under gravity and reducing unnecessary pumping.
Part of the cellar was quarried directly into the limestone beneath the château. The rock provides natural insulation and stable temperatures, and underground tanks excavated by Jean and Marc’s grandfather are still used alongside modern temperature-controlled vats.
Oak is used selectively rather than routinely within much of the range, and wines are being shaped through blending, berry selection, temperature control and tangential filtration (providing precision), without having to rely on barrel ageing.
All the family properties have held HVE Level 3 certification since 2017, while Château Gabelot has been certified organic since 2020. Cover crops, sheep in the vineyards, tree planting, beehives, weather stations and recycling are among the measures implemented across the properties, alongside work to eliminate herbicide use entirely.
Around 70% of the group’s suppliers are based within 12 kilometres. With around 200 hectares spread across several properties, changes are made property by property: organic farming at Gabelot, biodiversity measures across the vineyards and the gradual reduction of herbicides all form part of the family’s longer-term work.
Nearly 200 years after Jérôme Médeville acquired Château Fayau, Jean and Marc remain central to the vineyards and winemaking, while Anne, her brother and their cousin Clémence already have substantial roles of their own.
The way the cellar has developed reflects that continuity. Its permanent pipework, gravity-fed equipment and limestone tanks were introduced at different times as successive generations found practical ways to improve the way they worked.
Anne puts it simply:
“The little things, plus little things, plus little things, make it quite easy now.”
After nearly two centuries, the Médevilles are still doing much the same thing: making good wine, improving the way they work and passing that knowledge from one generation to the next.
