Chateau Dutruch Grand Poujeaux

Chateau Dutruch Grand Poujeaux takes its name from the proprietor who established the vineyard in about 1850. It was from his descendants that François Cordonnier, my uncle, bought the property in 1967.
With the help of the experience and knowledge acquired in the numerous French vineyards which he had managed, one of them the famous Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire, he imposed a personal style on the management of the vineyard and the vinification of its wines, looking for power and elegance.

Since 1993 my wife and I enthusiastically continue the work of my uncle and aunt.

As the chateau’s name indicates, our vineyard is situated in Grand Poujeaux, a hamlet of Moulis-en-Médoc well-known for the exceptional qualities of its terroirs.

The parcels of land which make up the vineyard are on the best terroirs, with Garonne gravel, on the Grand Poujeaux hillock. They are planted in Merlots, Cabernets Sauvignons and Petits Verdots according to the suitability of each parcel.

Recognized as a cru bourgeois right from the initial 1932 classification, our wine estate has a reputation for quality which comes from the excellence of its terroir and the remarkable ageing potential of its wines.

We attach great importance to the enthusiasm of our workers for their job. Many of them came to work in the vines or the chais from other activities.

The dedication and quality decision making or our team working both in the vineyard and in the cellar have elevated Château Dutruch Grand Poujeaux to the level of « a reference wine estate of the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation ».

Terroir : our vineyard is composed of 30 hectares, most of them situated on the Garonne gravel’s hill, which makes the reputation of the wines of Grand Poujeaux.

The gravel is very beneficial for the grapevines for the following reasons:

It ensures an excellent natural drainage and acts as a natural heat reflector from the sun on the grapes. It allows roots to penetrate deep in the earth, revealing the varying characteristics of the layers of the terroir. Furthermore as a meager soil, gravel causes the vines to produce fewer but more concentrated berries, which is good for the quality of the future wines.

Grape varieties : our plots are planted in Médoc’s traditional grape varieties:
- the Merlot, for the roundness and the charm;
- the Cabernet-Sauvignon for the strength and the ageing potential;
- the Petit Verdot for the firmness, characteristic of a good Médoc wine.
The average age of the vines is about 30 years, which contributes to the tight structure of our wines.

Work in the vineyard. All of our choices in the conception and the continuing maintenance of the vineyard are focused on decreasing the yields and increasing the quality of the production.

The high plantation density (from 8,500 to 10000 vines pro hectare) ensures fewer but higher quality fruit on each stock. The pruning is short and we’ve chosen the rootstocks for their small production and their natural ability to ripen early.

The “green labour” (ploughing of the soils, leaf thinning, green harvest...) that we carry out all year also contributes to our focus on excellence.

Moderate yields indeed guarantee an early and good ripening of the grapes and gives the harvest a better resistance to humidity.

We approach vinification, with modern equipment, with respect for the tradition of the great Médoc wines.

Our aim is to extract the potential in the grapes with finesse, without insisting on extraction, to bring out the complexity of our terroir.

It also seems important to us to respect the character of each vintage rather than to try to make the same wine each year.

Our wines are aged in oak barrels for 12 months.

We have found that the ideal balance between fruit and wood is obtained by renewing a third of the barrels every year. In this way the “wood” elements (coffee, tobacco, spice, vanilla...) sublimate, without crushing it, the freshness of the fruit and the mineral quality of our terroir.

Our philosophy : CLASSIC wines with CHARM and PERSONNALITY
CLASSIC: the finesse and elegance of a great terroir;
CHARM: the combination of roundness and fruit which the balancing of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon gives;
PERSONNALITY: complex wines with distinct evidence of their origins which reserve delightful surprises after ageing.

See other places in the Bordeaux region.