Moueix Family Portfolio: A Morning with Édouard at Belair-Monange
Saint-Émilion, France
Tasted Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by HeavyPourWine with 81 views
Introduction
On our third day exploring Pomerol, my wife Dio and I had the privilege of touring La Fleur-Pétrus and Belair-Monange with Natalie before sitting down for an intimate tasting and lunch with Édouard Moueix, fourth-generation member of the legendary Moueix family. The morning began with Natalie's comprehensive tour of La Fleur-Pétrus's three distinct parcels on Pomerol's famous clay and gravel plateau, followed by an exploration of Belair-Monange's remarkable limestone terroir in Saint-Émilion. Édouard then led us through a tasting of four 2022 vintages from the Moueix portfolio, followed by a champagne reception and wine pairing lunch featuring older vintages.
Stay tuned for a detailed blog post with photos and videos at heavypourwine.com.
Flight 1 - Exploring the 2022 Vintage Across the Moueix Portfolio (4 Notes)
Édouard Moueix presented four wines from the exceptional 2022 vintage, which he described as "the new '61" and "the new '47." The vintage was defined by extraordinary sunshine - 62 consecutive days from July 1st through August 31st with 11 hours of direct sunlight daily, creating Greek weather conditions rarely seen in Bordeaux. All wines were double decanted at 9:00 AM and showcased the remarkable freshness that surprised producers across the region despite the intense heat. The Moueix family's winemaking philosophy emphasizes minimal intervention, gentle extraction (19-23 days of maceration for the 2022s), and never more than 50-55% new oak, always seeking elegance and balance over power.
Flight 2 - Champagne Reception and Lunch with Library Wines (3 Notes)
Following the tasting of 2022 vintages, we enjoyed a champagne reception before sitting down to a wine-paired lunch featuring older vintages from the Moueix portfolio. The lunch began with a selection of cheeses (substituted for tuna due to my allergy), followed by filet mignon de veau with seasonal vegetables in a marinière emulsion, and concluded with a chocolate dessert with praline, salted butter caramel, and vanilla ice cream.
Closing
The morning with Édouard Moueix and Natalie provided extraordinary insight into the Moueix family's terroir-focused philosophy and their commitment to expressing each property's unique character rather than imposing a house style. Highlights included Édouard's description of the harrowing 2025 vintage when vines were dying from drought stress before the saving rain on August 20th, his passionate explanation of why consensus decision-making among multiple people elevates their wines, and his thoughtful perspective on wine's future in a changing world. The combination of Natalie's detailed vineyard tours and Édouard's intimate tasting demonstrated why the Moueix family remains one of Bordeaux's most respected producers across four generations.
2022 Château Latour à Pomerol 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Tour and tasting at Château Belair-Monange with Édouard Moueix. Latour à Pomerol was acquired by the Moueix family in 1962 after being managed for them since Madame Loubat's death in 1961, though the family only purchased the vineyard itself in 2024 after 62 years of management - a testament to their long-term vision. The estate's finest parcels sit on Pomerol's plateau near the village, directly behind La Fleur-Pétrus. Édouard explained that the legendary 1961 vintage was actually vinified by Madame Loubat's gardener as she was bedridden, with Jean-Pierre Moueix's team handling the aging and bottling. The wine is 100% Merlot from the plateau parcels, while other less interesting parcels down the slope near the main road are not used for the grand vin. Édouard described the Moueix team's annual debate about whether to add "a little fault, a little grain of tannin" to attract attention, but they always conclude the seamless, gentle approach is better. Decanted 3.75 hours. Fruity and fresh with blackberry on the nose and black cherry on the palate. Medium tannins were surprisingly well-integrated for such a young wine. Very elegant with remarkable balance. At 14.5% alcohol, there's no burning sensation thanks to the right amount of acidity creating length on the palate. This is what Édouard calls "a beverage that makes people thirsty" - not the loudest wine in a lineup, but the first glass you empty and the first bottle you finish at the table.
Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2022 Château La Fleur-Pétrus 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Tour and tasting at Château Belair-Monange with Édouard Moueix. La Fleur-Pétrus was the first château purchased by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1950 and remains one of Pomerol's legendary estates. The property consists of three distinct parcels totaling 18 acres: the original six-hectare plot directly in front of Pétrus, a parcel purchased from Château Le Gay in 1995, and the four-hectare Château Guillot parcel between Trotanoy and Le Pin acquired in 2012. While unusual for the terroir-focused Moueix approach to have non-contiguous blocks, each parcel contributes complexity - the Guillot parcel offers deep gravel, another has thin gravel, creating a unity that makes the wine more complex and elegant than the original vineyard alone. The vineyard is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc on clay and gravel soils. Since 2012, when Christian Moueix stepped away from managing Pétrus to focus on the family's other properties, the quality of La Fleur-Pétrus has notably increased. The 2022 includes a tiny amount of Petit Verdot (0.3%, listed as 1% on technical sheets) that creates what Édouard calls a "peacock tail effect" - extending the finish rather than letting it gently fade. Any more would add unwanted exotic notes of overripe banana. Decanted 3.75 hours. Two bottles were poured for our group with noticeable bottle variation. Rock, soil, and graphite dominated the nose with dark plum and dark fruit on the tongue. Medium tannins with noticeably more complexity than the Latour. The wine shows layers like a mille-feuille - you get the sensation of gravel, almost like warm pebbles, and the wine takes you deeper with beautiful bright tannins that hold everything together. There's an element of food in this wine, a texture that's not drying but creates more depth. The first bottle scored 93 points with slightly more ripeness sensations on the nose and palate. The second bottle was fresher on the nose with more integrated tannins and a longer finish at 94 points. Everyone in our group agreed the two bottles showed clear differences.
Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2022 Château Trotanoy 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Tour and tasting at Château Belair-Monange with Édouard Moueix. Trotanoy takes its name from "trop annoyant" (too annoying) because the soil - a blend of large pebbles and extremely dense clay - is difficult to work. In winter it's "loving soil" that holds your shoes, while in summer it becomes rock-hard, causing the vines to suffer. Acquired by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953, Trotanoy sits at Pomerol's highest point on the western edge of the appellation, planted to 100% Merlot. The vineyard features iron-rich clay that creates a monolithic, deeply concentrated wine. Édouard compared it to Léoville Las Cases 2010, noting both properties naturally possess extraordinary depth and anchorage. The Moueix team works extremely hard to soften Trotanoy's tannins, but the wine remains completely tight in youth. Édouard likened it to Soulages finding light in black - the wine is really dark, with charcoal rather than the licorice found in La Fleur-Pétrus, yet freshness emerges from that darkness. Even the small parcel of Cabernet Franc they experimented with couldn't be included in the 2018 blend, so they replanted with Merlot and are trying a new Cabernet Franc selection. Decanted 3.75 hours. Brighter fruit alongside very dark fruit with a fresh nose. Medium expressive with medium-high tannins. Big wine, very tight, with darker fruit on the palate. The tannins are very different from the mille-feuille effect of La Fleur-Pétrus - not layers but rather a concentrated block, almost like a pit, surrounded by juicy texture. This will be amazing in many years.
Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2022 Château Belair-Monange 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Tour and tasting at Château Belair-Monange with Édouard Moueix. Belair-Monange represents a multi-generational purchase for the Moueix family. Jean-Pierre Moueix bought Château Magdelaine in 1952 and took exclusive distribution of Château Belair hoping it would eventually come to market, though he died in 2003 before that happened. The family acquired Belair in 2008 and merged it with Magdelaine, later adding Clos La Madeleine in 2017 for a total of 26 hectares. The property was renamed Belair-Monange as a tribute to Jean-Pierre's grandmother, Adèle Monange, the first woman in the family to arrive in Saint-Émilion in the early 20th century. The estate sits on Saint-Émilion's prestigious limestone plateau at 88 meters elevation, including a parcel from 1934 and formerly had parcels from 1897 and 1904 used for massal selection. The plateau has almost no soil in places - just 15 centimeters of dirt - and vines feed off what the limestone provides rather than penetrating the rock (vines actually develop chlorosis from limestone and don't like it). The slopes, particularly on the Belair side, are exceptional - the same blue clay as Pomerol for about 1.5 meters over limestone bedrock on slopes up to 23% grade with all-day sun exposure. The blend combines the aromatic charm of the high plateau (reminiscent of old Magdelaine) with the weight and flesh from the slopes, plus a mysterious quality possibly from the older parcels. Decanted 3.75 hours. A bit of green with muted red fruit on the nose. Medium tannins with cranberry in the mouth. Great balance with the hint of minerality and the texture of limestone dust that Édouard calls "gâblé" providing that characteristic vibration or liveliness on the palate.
Brad - heavypourwine.com
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