Saintayme is 100% merlot made from a nine hectare parcel of 35-year old vines in Saint Etienne de Lisse, immediately to the east of the village of St Emilion. St Etienne is a slightly cooler part of the St. Emilion appellation but has the same limestone, clay and gravel soils that underlie many of the appellation's top chateaux. Indeed the area hosts famed chateaux including Valandraud and La Fleur Cardinale. Saintayme is vinified in small, temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and then undergoes malolactic fermentation in those same vats in order to allow for greater control of the yeast. The wine is subsequently aged in 30% new French oak for 14 months, with approximately 3000 cases made. One of St Emilion's greatest bargains, this vin de garde has the ability to age and improve for at least a decade.