A name not unknown in the French wine industry, Louis Mitjavile crafts impeccable red wine blends in the heart of Castillon-Côtes-de-Bordeaux. His second wine of the Chateau, Cote de Bordeaux "Le Versant", has been fully restocked and is now available to purchase. The Mitjavile's are an exciting family to watch, with Bordeaux wine running through their veins, they are always finding new ways to express their wines.
Louis "Loulou" Mitjavile and his wife, Caroline, acquired the domaine in Saint-Genès-de-Castillon in Castillon-Côtes-de-Bordeaux in 2007. The son of François Mitjavile, owner of Château Tertre Roteboeuf and Roc de Cambes, Louis grew up among these prestigious vines. The purchase of Château Cadet, now renamed to Château de l'Aurage, has given Louis the opportunity as both owner and winemaker to showcase and refine his precise winemaking style.
Currently the vineyard of 20 hectares is planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 25 years. Set just across the border from Saint Emilion, the terroir is a perfect combination of limestone and clay soils. Yet, Louis Mitjavile's current focus is to slowly remove all the Cabernet Franc vines and replace them with Merlot to have a resultant 100% Merlot vineyard. Very few wines in Bordeaux are single varietal bottles and Louis has a vision for the future to bring out Merlot as a bold yet smooth wine to explore the grape completely.
Performing late manual harvests the team at l'Aurage are able to achieve optimal concentration and inspect each grape as it is picked before reaching the sorting room. Once vinified, Versant is aged in French oak barrels (around 40% new) for 18 months. This well organised process from vine to bottle has allowed Louis to further his wine skills as well as opportunities to assist Domaine des Creisses down in Languedoc for their winemaking processes, bringing a Bordeaux touch to the d'Oc.
This multi-talented winemaker is truly unique and has all the skills of his ancestors. Louis Mitjavile's Le Versant 2019 is a "must have" Bordeaux.