Current owner Georges Taix’s father came from Béziers, in the Languedoc, to settle in Bordeaux. He started a machinery company, and bought Chateau Jouanin as his residence, using the vineyard and winemaking as his hobby. Today, Georges continues to run his father’s company, and with his wife and son Pierre, also manages the winery.
Côtes de Castillon is located due east of St. Emilion and south of Fronsac and is a large appellation with 2,832 hectares under vine. The appellation includes 9 communes with close to 350 growers inhabiting the appellation, but around 100 of them work with local cooperatives. The finest terroir is located on the plateau with large deposits of limestone and clay soils. Further down the slopes, you find more clay, gravel and sand. On the plateau, the soils are like that which you find in some of the best St. Emilion terroirs. Before it became an official AOC designated appellation in 1989, the region was known as Bordeaux Superieur Côtes de Castillon. In 2008, Côtes de Castillon became part of the new, Côtes de Bordeaux appellation.
This blend of 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc has everything you could ever ask of an entry level Bordeaux—deeply colored with lovely red & black cherry and plummy fruit; some savory wood spice & creamy vanilla; medium-to-full in body, silky smooth in texture with just enough tannin clinging to the lengthy finish. This is a great entry into Bordeaux & with a couple years of bottle age on it, is in a really great spot right now.
