For our tasting today David Allen MW, our Wine Director, tastes a wine from a Cheateau on Bordeaux’s Medoc that has received quite a bit of new investment, The property in Moulis en Medoc, Chateau Mauvesin Barton, had been under the ownership of the Barto family for just 5 years at this stage. David reviews the 2016 vintage, looking to see if the investments made have noticeably changed the wine.
Château Mauvesin Barton is a wine estate based in the commune (and appellation) of Moulis-en-Médoc, roughly 30km (18 miles) north of Bordeaux town center in the Haut-Médoc wine region. As indicated by the name, the property is owned and run by the same Barton family behind châteaux Léoville-Barton and Langoa-Barton.
The soils on the estate are broadly divided into clay-gravel (where the Merlot is generally found) and a combination of gravel and sand (ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon). Vineyard plots are picked and fermented individually.
Grapes are fermented in one of 24 stainless steel, temperature-regulated tanks before aging in barrel, of which one third are new, one third have been used for one harvest and one third are used barrels from Château Léoville Barton.
The wines are aged in oak for between 12 and 15 months. Wines are bottled on the estate.
Three wines are produced: the grand vin, Château Mauvesin Barton – a roughly 50-50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; a second wine, L’Impression de Mauvesin Barton which is predominantly Merlot; and an occasional third wine (bottled under the Haut-Médoc appellation title), Sequoia de Mauvesin Barton.
The estate dates back to the 15th Century (and possibly beyond) as the site of a fort in the Médoc. It saw numerous owners prior to the French Revolution, the principal of which was the Rivière family. Like so many private estates, it was seized by the nascent republic during the French Revolution and auctioned off. It was at this stage that it was acquired by the eponymous Le Blanc de Mauvesin family, remaining a family property until 1884.
The current château building was constructed during this time on behalf of the last of the Mauvesin family to reside there: Lodoïs Le Blanc de Mauvesin. The château and its grounds then passed to the latter’s cousin, Hippolyte de Baritault du Carpia, in whose family the property remained until the estate was purchased and renamed by Lilian Barton Sartorius (of Léoville and Langoa-Barton) in 2011.
To find out more about this wine, its price and where to buy it follow this link to the Wine-Searcher
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