Château Moulin Saint-Georges Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (1995)

About this wine

This bottle of Chateau Moulin Saint Georges from Saint Emilion Grand Cru shows how well the 1995 vintage has aged, with aromas of red berries, plum, milk chocolate and gentle vanilla from barrel aging. On the palate it is full bodied yet supple, with very velvety texture and soft ripe tannins that have melted into the wine over time, giving a long sweet fruited finish noted by leading critics for this vintage. Flavors of black raspberry, currant and subtle spice sit over a core of clay and limestone minerality that reflects its right bank terroir and vineyards next door to Chateau Ausone. The blend is based on Merlot with Cabernet Franc and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, all fermented in stainless steel then aged in French oak, often with a high proportion of new barrels, which adds polish and gentle toasted notes. The estate covers only about eight hectares and has been in the Vauthier family, owners of Ausone, since the early twentieth century, which helps explain the consistent precision and elegance that many tasters see as a more approachable echo of its famous neighbor.

About the grape

Merlot has long been the main grape at Château Moulin Saint Georges, planted on the estates clay and limestone slopes where its early ripening suits the cooler right bank climate and gives the core structure to this Saint Emilion Grand Cru. Cabernet Franc, locally known as Bouchet and present here in smaller parcels, has deep roots in Saint Emilion and is prized by the Vauthier family for its ability to handle chalky soils and bring lift and backbone to the blend. In the mid nineteen nineties a small proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon was sometimes included, a variety historically introduced from the left bank that needs the warmest, best drained spots and contributes firmness and longevity when used in modest amounts. Together in the 1995 Moulin Saint Georges these Bordeaux grapes reflect classic right bank vineyard practice, with densely planted old vines, careful hand work in the rows, and a Merlot led blend fine tuned by Cabernet Franc and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon to suit the vintage and site.

Quick facts

• 🍷 In 1995 this Grand Cru was made by the same Vauthier family team that crafts the legendary Château Ausone just across the road so some fans nickname it the little Ausone of Saint Émilion
• 🏰 The cellars where your 1995 rested stand on the exact spot of an old water mill from the medieval fief of Saint Georges so the name Moulin Saint Georges is quite literally a nod to turning millstones
• 🌱 The vineyard is tiny and densely planted with up to twelve thousand six hundred vines per hectare so each bottle of the 1995 comes from grapes grown on a patch of earth smaller than a doormat
• 🏊 In many vintages the estate produces only about twenty five barrels in total which means the entire 1995 production could just about fill a modest backyard swimming pool
• ⏳ The 1995 vintage comes from a classic Bordeaux year so today the wine is old enough to have attended a silver wedding anniversary and in good bottles it can show nostalgic aromas of dried flowers truffle and old library books

Palate profile

Producer

Chateau Moulin Saint Georges is a Saint Emilion Grand Cru estate that has been owned by the Vauthier family since 1921, the same family behind the famous Chateau Ausone. The property lies just outside the village of Saint Emilion, facing Ausone and next to Chateau La Clotte, with vines planted on clay and limestone slopes. Its cellars occupy the historic site of a former mill that belonged to the lordship of Saint Georges, which gave the estate its name. Today the fifth generation of the Vauthier family farms a small vineyard of around eight hectares and produces an elegant Merlot led wine that is often described as one of the best kept secrets of Saint Emilion.