2019 Château Anthonic, Moulis-En-Médoc, Bordeaux

Château Anthonic

Château Anthonic is a property in the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, owned and run by Jean-Baptiste and Nathalie Cordonnier. The couple took over from Jean-Baptiste’s father, Pierre, in 1993.

The vineyard is planted to 62% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Three-quarters of the soils are composed of clay-limestone, explaining the dominance of Merlot.

The Cordonniers work with consultant oenologist Eric Boissenot, who consults for many top estates including the Médoc’s four First Growths.

The wine here has been certified organic since 2019. Biodiversity is important here: the Cordonniers practice agroforestry, planting trees among the vines. Of the estate’s 37 hectares, the vineyard itself covers 28 hectares. The rest is a mixture of woodland and meadow. They use bats instead of chemical insecticides.

Jean-Baptiste and Nathalie founded the Vignerons du Vivant movement in 2018; their aim is to provide training and work opportunities to underprivileged young people in the local area. The emphasis of the movement is on organic farming.

Moulis

This is the smallest of the six Médoc communes but boasts a wide variety of soils and terroirs. Moulis is one of the two communal appellations located on the Atlantic side of the Médoc. It is positioned directly south of Listrac and even though it adjoins Margaux - the Médoc appellation with the highest number of Cru Classé châteaux - there are none here.

In the context of the Médoc, Moulis is hilly country, studded with a diversity of gravels, limestone and clay. These are sturdy wines, but the best are capable of considerable longevity and are often seductively perfumed. Generally they have more power than Margaux wines, albeit with less finesse and elegance.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Chasse-Spleen, Ch. Poujeaux, Ch. Maucaillou.

Merlot

The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.

In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.

Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.