Château Croix Mouton

The history of the Château Croix Mouton dates back to the Gallo-Roman era, as evidenced by the remains of a very old viticultural past. Château Croix-Mouton is located along the many meanders of the Dordogne, in the city of Lugon. The architecture of the current premises and the presence of a very large fireplace dating from Louis XIV prove the importance of succession in the seventeenth century. Château Croix-Mouton is listed in the Guide Féret in 1881, like all major Bordeaux estates. At the beginning of the century, the estate changes owners and falls asleep little by little. At this time, his survival is solely due to his name. It is then bought in 1997 by Jean Philippe Janoueix. A particularity of Château Croix Mouton is that its “M” changes every year, a way for the property to mark any vintage that flows in color and form, because each year has its own personality.

The 55-hectare terroir consists of 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 37 years old. Jean-Philippe Janoueix works every day with passion to build his wines at the level of the best wines of Bordeaux. After harvest, the grapes are put in tanks without being crushed and are then pumped more than 3 times a day. During the alcoholic fermentation, treading is performed every 6 hours. The malo-lactic fermentation is done in French oak barrels. The work in the vineyard is done in a traditional way: De-leafing and sustainable viticulture against diseases. Harvesting is at optimum maturity, even if it means accepting 10% rotting instead of 10% grapes. Virtually all botrytis and green waste are eliminated through the acquisition of a Mistral ® 100 NG, with a rejection rate of 6%. The wine is then aged on lees for 3 to 4 months.

At the tasting, Château Croix-Mouton offers a succulent expression of acidulous red fruits on the palate.

Their Wine

• Owner : Jean-Philippe JANOUEIX
• Consulting oenologist : Laboratoire Michel ROLLAND