Château Poujeaux

450 avenue de la Gironde

33480 Moulis-en-Médoc

Tél. +33 (0) 5 56 58 02 96

contact@chateau-poujeaux.com

www.chateaupoujeaux.com

Château Poujeaux, finest wine from Moulis.

Get to know Château Poujeaux, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel in the Moulis appellation.

From the 19th century onwards, this former seigneury from the Middle Ages, a dependency of the future Château Latour, became a fully-fledged winegrowing estate. First owned by the Theil family in 1920, it was finally in January 2008 that this “premier terroir” vineyard changed hands with the arrival of the Cuvelier family (Philippe), already owners of the Premier Grand Cru Classé, Château Clos Fourtet, in the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru appellation. With the Cuveliers, a new chapter opens up to transcend a 68-hectare gravelly terroir situated on a beautiful hilltop. Matthieu Cuvelier (son) and Christophe Labenne (grandson of the former owners) are at the helm, under the expert guidance of renowned oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt. The owners' aim is to elevate Poujeaux to the summit of Médoc wines, crafting wines that are powerful yet delicate in structure.

Poujeaux in the history.

Poujeaux's history dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time, its lands - part of a seigniory - depended on today's Château Latour in Pauillac, then known as Latour Saint-Mambert. But it wasn't until the 19th century, in 1806 to be precise, that Poujeaux, which began producing its own wines, became a totally independent estate like today's château. The Castaing family owned the property. From 1880 onwards, the estate was divided into three parts due to a succession. Philippe Castaing, one of the three heirs, sold his share in 1921 to a new family, the Theils. But the estate regained its former unity with Jean Theil, son of François Theil, who in 1957 combined the three shares to create a single estate of 100 hectares, including 70 hectares of vines. When he died, three of his children took over the estate from 1997 to 2007. The family took advantage of the opportunity to expand the vineyard and improve the working tools.

In 2008, the estate passed into the hands of a new family from the north of France: the Cuveliers. They had already left their native Nord-Pas-De-Calais to invest in Bordeaux, buying the prestigious Clos Fourtet, a Premier Grand Cru Classé B in Saint-Emilion, from the Lurton family in 2001. Philippe Cuvelier's son, Matthieu, took over management of Château Poujeaux, with the firm intention of breathing new life into this somewhat “sleepy” cru, despite the wines' already excellent reputation. With Christophe Labenne as co-manager (the latter is the grandson of the former owners, the Theils, and has worked at Poujeaux since 1999), Matthieu Cuvelier has teamed up with Stéphane Derenoncourt, the consulting oenologist renowned for his work on Right Bank estates as well as in the Médoc. The aim is clear: to take the estate to the top with quality production, and to give greater expression to the wines. It's worth noting that the Cuvelier family's arrival at Poujeaux's destiny is first and foremost based on respect for its past and history, while at the same time preserving the château's soul. Here, the takeover was not carried out in a spirit of upheaval or revolution, but in a spirit of delicate transition, more humane, while deciding to bring the cru to its highest level by producing powerful wines with a delicate structure.

A terroir of the first order.

Situated in the heart of the Moulis appellation, which totals 630 hectares and boasts a high concentration of estates for such a small wine-growing area, the château's vines are planted on a single plot of gravel terroir. This beautiful 60-hectare croup of Günzian gravel on the Grand Poujeaux plateau is planted with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec. It's a typical Médoc terroir, but one that has always enabled the estate to produce great wines worthy of its status: Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. There's no doubt that the estate, along with Château Chasse-Spleen, is one of the appellation's jewels in the crown. By rethinking the management of this vineyard - by respecting the living environment while controlling yields to 50 hectolitres per hectare - the Cuveliers quickly set out to erase certain character traits of the wines that they felt were unsuitable, notably the palate profile of wines initially judged to be too tannic and not caressing enough. The technical equipment has also been rethought, with investments that had to be made. Harvest reception is no longer an issue, with systematic manual sorting of grapes and berries arriving on the sorting tables. The future wine should thus gain in aromatic purity and complexity.

Poujeaux: modernity serving tradition. 

The Cuvelier family already has a wealth of experience in managing a grand cru with Clos Fourtet in Saint-Emilion, which it has owned since 2001. In this context, the ambitions they have set for Château Poujeaux follow a similar path to that of Clos Fourtet, while integrating the specific characteristics linked to the style of Moulis wines. In this way, an “innovative” approach is ensured in a team spirit, without ever forgetting the traditional aspects of viticulture and modern winemaking. In the vineyard, the vines are cultivated using sustainable methods. Leaf thinning, debudding and green harvesting are practiced to better control yields. And in the crucial phases of the grape ripening cycle, ripeness is assessed by eye, supplemented by a technological approach. Wines are vinified in such a way as to ensure that old vines express all their aromas. Grapes from younger vines are vinified together. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.  

A style of wine that surpasses many of today's Moulis wines.  

With the aim of remaining true to itself, Château Poujeaux makes wines, vintage after vintage, that are generous, elegant, pleasant yet structured. Since the arrival of the Cuveliers, the blends in the wines have changed somewhat. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are now in the majority, with the former providing energy, freshness, tension and complexity, and thus playing an active role in shaping the structure. As for the other, it provides roundness and friendliness. Petit Verdot is particularly appreciated by Médoc growers when they're lucky enough to have it - and although it's a very technical grape to pick, as its window for picking at maturity is very short - it lends balance and that inimitable touch of perfume and spicy flavors to the wines.

Château Poujeaux 2023

2023 more or less lives up to its predecessor's reputation, although success is less uniform in Bordeaux than in 2022. But the vintage remains excellent and will undoubtedly become a Bordeaux classic. If Château Poujeaux wines have become greedier, denser and more elegant in the space of fifteen years, this vintage tends to confirm the trend, as it is very fruity and pleasant on the palate. The nose of Château Poujeaux 2023 is intense with expressions of blackcurrant, intense violet, red rose petal, all evolving on notes of cigar box. The fruit is very fresh, with a certain purity that gives a sensation of aromatic freshness. The palate has a clean attack. The mid-palate is fine, coated on a supple, elegant tannic framework, giving the impression of a balanced whole. The touch of tannin is particularly delicate, giving great depth to this wine with perfectly sheathed tannins. The substance is there, the woodiness of the ageing easily digested by this high-quality raw material. The finish is persistent, reminiscent of the flintiness detected on the nose, with an overall sensation of absolute freshness. A delicious Poujeaux that will age well for the most patient, without denying the most impatient the opportunity to drink it earlier. The wine has the modern touch of today's great wines, which can be enjoyed more quickly, while still allowing the wine's ageing potential to be fully exploited; and thus, to reach deeper emotions in a wine that has evolved with the patina of time.

The great vintages of Château Poujeaux :

1928-1929-1945-1947-1949-1953-1955-1959-1961-1975-1978-1982-1983-1985-1986-1988-1989-1990-1996-2000-2003-2005-2009-2010-2015-2016-2018-2019-2020-2022-2023