Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThe tannins in this juicy wine melt into the delicious black currant fruit. It has a crisp edge and a juicy aftertaste.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
This has a coal-smoke and dark-stone edge to the nose, which is classic, Moulis style with attractive cassis and brambleberries. The palate delivers a juicy and bold feel with redder fruit, as well as smoothly rendered tannins that hold in almost creamy mode.
From the team of Léoville Barton, the 2016 Mauvesin Barton is mostly Merlot yet includes 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. It’s a flowery, tobacco, leafy herbs, and spicy effort that has plenty of black cherry fruits, medium body, moderate tannins, and terrific balance. It’s a charming, elegant Moulis to drink over the coming decade or so.
The history of Chateau Mauvesin dates from the 15th Century. It was in 1457 that Jean de Foix Grailly became proprietor of the first Chateau de Mauvesin (for there will be two) in the district of “Moulis en Médoc”. At this time it was a true fortified castle with towers, battlements and arrowslites. Fifty years later it was acquired by the family de La Rivière and then through the marriage in 1582 of Marguerite de La Rivière with Jacques Le Blanc, who thus became “seigneur” of Mauvesin.
Soon after the Revolution in 1792 the old chateau was seized by the state and put up for sale in Lesparre, where it was attributed to “citizen” Clarcke acting for the account of … Pauline Le Blanc.
The old chateau remained the property of the family but due to its state of ruin, it was demolished in 1852.
Having built the chateau in 1853, the Marquis Lodoïs Le Blanc de Mauvesin died in 1884 leaving no direct heirs. He decided to leave his patrimony to his first cousin, Hyppolite de Baritault du Carpia, his closest relative.
The Baritaults, an eminent family originally from the Vendée area, kept Chateau Mauvesin for 4 generations up to its sale in 2011.
The Viscount and Viscountess Alain de Baritault du Carpia, heirs of the family Le Blanc de Mauvesin, sold the property on the 4th August 2011 to Lilian and Michel Barton Sartorius. The Barton family has for eight generations been owners of the Crus Classés Langoa and Leoville Barton, situated in the appellation Saint Julien.
The construction of the present chateau in 1853 on the site of the original chateau is thanks to Marquis Lodoïs Le Blanc de Mauvesin and his wife. On the advice of the architect Perrier and inspired by the style of Louis XIII, the chateau consists of “two pavilions and two turrets, combining elegance and solidity. The façade was upon a magnificent garden with a pond and a beautiful collection of conifers.
One of the six appellations of the Haut-Medoc, Moulis has a rolling landscape with considerable soil variations. With its mix of gravel, clay and limestone, Moulis offers some of the more enticingly perfumed Bordeaux Blends of the Left Bank.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.