Château Moulin Saint-Georges

The estate

Moulin-Saint-Georges lies at the southern end of Saint-Émilion, a short walk from the entrance to the village, and looks straight across at Château Ausone, which has the same owners. The name comes from a mill of the fief of Saint-Georges that stood where the cellar stands now. The Vauthier family has held the estate since 1921, and the present generation is the 5th; it is 1 of the family’s 6 estates, with Ausone, La Clotte, Haut-Simard, Simard and Fonbel.

The tie to Ausone is older than the Vauthiers. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, placed the crus of Palat and Moulin-Saint-Georges, under L.-P. Ouy, among the first growths of Saint-Émilion from 1893; they made 15 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1897. By 1908, in Féret’s Saint-Émilion et ses vins, the 2 had been joined as Château Palat-Saint-Georges, of Charles Ouy-Vernazobres, at 20 tonneaux, with Pavie on 1 side and, on the other, only a road between its vines and Ausone, “le titan des crus bordelais”. In 1922 Moulin Saint-Georges stood again as a first growth of its own, and its owner was Ed. Dubois-Challon, the owner of Ausone.

The vineyard is 8 hectares of clay and limestone, mostly Merlot with a few plots of Cabernet Franc, planted at 5,500 to 12,600 vines a hectare. The grapes are picked by hand and sorted plot by plot, fermented in stainless steel and raised entirely in new barrels; the blend comes out at about 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, facing Château Ausone

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Vauthier family, since 1921

Vineyard

8 hectares; 5,500 to 12,600 vines a hectare

Ground

Clay and limestone

Grapes

Merlot about 85%, Cabernet Franc about 15%

Cellar

Picked by hand; sorted plot by plot; stainless steel vats; new barrels, 100%

The house

Vignobles Vauthier: also Château Ausone, Château La Clotte, Château Haut-Simard, Château Simard and Château de Fonbel

In history

The crus of Palat and Moulin-Saint-Georges among the first growths of Saint-Émilion from 1893

Sources: Vignobles Vauthier, Château Moulin-Saint-Georges · Vignobles Vauthier, Château Moulin-Saint-Georges (French) · Vignobles Vauthier, the family