Moulis ou Moulis-en-Médoc

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The appellation extends as a narrow ribbon roughly twelve kilometres long, running perpendicular to the Gironde estuary, and constitutes the westernmost communal appellation of the Médoc, with no frontage on the estuary.
• The predominantly Atlantic climate benefits from a relative evening-out of seasonal fluctuations and moderate rainfall, thanks to the thermally regulating effect of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde.
• During the Quaternary, fluvial deposits of moraines, gravels, sands, and silts formed, after relief inversion, witness hillocks of gravel — or glacial gravel — arranged in successive terraces.
• In the north-eastern part of the commune, the Günzian gravel ridges are linked to one another by sandy-gravelly soils resting on a clay-limestone bedrock, while to the south of the commune the soils become predominantly clay-limestone in character.
• The viticultural landscapes of Moulis-en-Médoc are gently undulating, situated between 20 and 30 metres in altitude, and are structured around the departmental road number 5 linking the village to the hamlets where the estate headquarters are located.
• The vineyard is established on gravelly ridges derived from Quaternary sedimentary deposits overlying a parent rock of sands and silts from the Landes de Gascogne, these gravels originating from the erosion of the Pyrenees and the Massif Central. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The planting of the Vitis Biturica variety, ancestor of the cabernets, dates back to Gallo-Roman antiquity in this territory of large estates (latifundia).
• The name Moulis derives from the word for mill, reflecting the role played by the Médoc as the breadbasket of Bordeaux during the Middle Ages, a period when the vineyard began to develop from the thirteenth century onwards.
• In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, vine-growers preferred to plant vines inland rather than along the estuary, in order to avoid the rot associated with the humidity and river mists.
• Recognition of the appellation d'origine contrôlée by the decree of 14 May 1938 followed the establishment of the Moulis syndicate in 1936.

• The wines of Moulis are described as refined and round from their earliest years, often derived from Merlot associated principally with Cabernet Sauvignon.
• These wines reach their full potential after seven to ten years of ageing, thanks to a sound tannic structure, with a deep colour and sustained length on the palate.
• The wines produced on the gravels combine elegance, power, and complexity, while those from the clay-limestone soils are somewhat fuller-bodied, combining spirit and vitality.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 22 mars 2021 publié au JORF du 30 mars 2021, JORF 30 mars 2021
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB