Why it matters
The producer
Vignobles Thomas is a family operation in Listrac-Médoc built around two red-wine labels: Château Reverdi and Château l’Ermitage. Georges Thomas acquired Reverdi in 1953 with three hectares of vines; the estate now works 30 hectares. Mathieu and Audrey Thomas run the present operation, so the bottles carry a long family history but arrive through two clearly different blends.
Château Reverdi is the more unusual half of the pair because Petit Verdot accounts for 30–35% of its blend. In Médoc, where a blend can be shaped by several Bordeaux grapes, that is a substantial share: it brings darker fruit, spice and a firmer tannin line alongside the wine’s documented red-fruit character.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Listrac-Médoc places both labels within the Médoc’s red-wine tradition of blends, tannin and barrel ageing. The appellation name on a bottle signals a structured Bordeaux red rather than a single-variety wine; here, the Thomas family uses that frame in two directions, with Petit Verdot marking Reverdi and Merlot leading l’Ermitage.
The consequence is a useful choice within one operation. Reverdi’s grape mix points toward red fruit, spice and integrated tannin, while l’Ermitage has a Merlot-led palate and a more evident barrel-and-tannin presence in the documented 2016 vintage.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
At l’Ermitage, mechanical harvesting is followed by manual sorting of the berries at the winery. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, with a 21-day maceration. Keeping the skins with the fermenting juice for that period draws colour and tannin into the Merlot-led wine; sorting first helps keep the fruit entering the vats selective.
The wine then spends 12 months in barrel, with 20% new oak. In the 2016, wood and tannins were prominent at the recorded tasting stage, while the wine had enough substance for ageing. Barrel work therefore sits in the wine as a structural part of the profile, not merely a scent of oak over soft fruit.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built around two estate labels, not a ladder of anonymous cuvées. Château Reverdi is the Petit Verdot-rich side: its 30–35% share brings darker colour, spice and grip to the blend. The documented 2016 showed a ruby colour, ripe red fruit on the nose, subtle oak, fresh acidity, a round texture and tannins that had settled into the palate.
Château l’Ermitage is Merlot-dominant and comes from the older vines of the nine-hectare site. Its barrel ageing and 21-day maceration make for a fuller frame: the documented 2016 had wood and tannin at the fore, enough body for ageing, and a listed drinking window of 2022–2026. It is the bottle for a more substantial, oak-shaped Médoc red.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Château Reverdi. It is the clearest view of the estate’s distinctive blend decision: Petit Verdot is 30–35% of the wine, a large enough proportion to bring spice, darker fruit and dry tannic grip into a Médoc red. The documented 2016 combines ripe red fruit, subtle oak, fresh acidity and a round palate, so the bottle shows both the family’s Listrac-Médoc setting and the particular grape balance that separates Reverdi from l’Ermitage.