Roald Dahl and Château Méaume

In December 1986, Château Méaume received an unexpected letter from Roald Dahl.

Writing from Gipsy House in Great Missenden, the author thanked Alan and Mrs Johnson-Hill for their wine. He explained that he had a large cellar beneath his house, containing around 600 cases of claret, and that Château Méaume had earned a regular place within it.

“I have kept a good stock of Méaume,” he wrote. “It is always delicious.”

Dahl said our wine was served every Sunday to “a large party of appreciative snooker players”, as well as on other occasions. It was a lovely and generous note, sent simply to show his appreciation.

He ended the letter by saying that, when he and his wife next came to Bordeaux, they might drop in to visit. Sadly, that visit never happened. But the letter remains a valued piece of Château Méaume history, and a wonderful reminder that the wines have been enjoyed in some very good company.

“I have kept a good stock of Méaume… It is always delicious.”