Château Dutruch Grand Poujeaux, Moulis-en-Médoc 2017

This cru bourgeois property’s history can be divided into two distinct parts: following its foundation in 1850 it was owned by just one family – the family that gave the château its name – until 1967, after which it was purchased by François Cordonnier, and has remained in his family ever since.

The estate is located on the Grand Poujeaux plateau, next to Chasse-Spleen, in the commune of Moulis-en-Médoc. The 30 hectares of vines have an average age of 30 years, and are planted on the left bank’s famous Garonne gravel, which has all the qualities necessary for growing Bordeaux’s key grape varieties: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and cabernet franc.

In 1993, François was succeeded by his nephew, Jean-Baptiste, who until 2016 ran the vineyard with his wife Nathalie. Jean-Baptiste refined the élevage, building a new chai in 1999, and added finesse to a generous, full-flavoured claret. He has now sold it to his brother François, who has installed Sebastien Olivar as director with everyday oversight.

Dutruch Grand Poujeaux is an insider’s tip and under Jean-Baptiste and Natalie’s direction it gained an increasingly large following among Society members. Half of the blend is fine, old-vine merlot, and the remainder is 46% cabernet sauvignon and 4% petit verdot. The wine spends 12 months in oak, a third of it new, and can age gracefully for five to 15 years depending on the vintage.