Family Vineyards
The Moueix family owns and produces a number of highly-acclaimed wines in Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and the Napa Valley, a family legacy born from a passion for expressing the finest fruit from the world's great terroirs.
Our philosophy is simple: to produce exceptional wines, one must start with great fruit, possible only by cultivating impeccable vineyards and exercising the utmost respect towards nature.
In the vineyards, the Director of Properties and his large team of permanent vineyard workers tend each vine with care, monitoring each by hand throughout the year. There is a considerable focus on soil health and maintenance using precise plowing methods. During growing season, the desire to achieve the highest quality can entail reducing the size of the crop through de-budding, canopy management, green harvests (practiced by Christian Moueix for the first time in 1973), and other meticulous selection processes.
At harvest time, two troops of seasoned harvesters provide the manpower and flexibility to handpick the grapes at optimal ripeness.
At this critical time of the year, a family spirit reigns. Nearly half of the harvesters have picked grapes in Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix vineyards for many years, some for over twenty vintages. They are chosen for the quality of their work and are embraced as members of the Moueix family as they pick, eat, sing, dance and celebrate each day of the harvest. More than a handful of parents have brought along their younger generation, making the harvest a family affair in more ways than one.
In the winery, the Technical Director and his team of experienced cellar workers follow a time-honored approach. As the quality of the grapes is established in the vineyard and during the harvest, the objective in the cellars is to produce wines that express a sense of place, that are pure, honest, balanced, complex and, above all, pleasurable to drink.
Vinification and aging are deftly tailored to the specific characteristics of each parcel in order to best preserve the character of the fruit and the nuances of each block. The cellar master manages the aging to harmoniously integrate the characteristics of each barrel with every individual lot.
In 1997, Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron designed the winery for Dominus Estate. Lying low amongst the vines, it seems to dissolve into its surroundings, an intentional effect, underscoring the importance of the vineyard in the production of a great wine.
In 2002, Herzog & de Meuron created a modern refectory in the heart of the plateau of Pomerol at La Fleur-Pétrus. Seamlessly fused with an existing classical building, the concrete and glass structure serves as a central locus of all of the Jean-Pierre Moueix vineyard activities during harvest, and affords the Director of Properties and his team close supervision of vineyard work throughout the year. The center of strategic operations in more ways than one, the refectory welcomes all harvest meals and celebrations, as well as special events year round.
Click here to view a map of the Jean-Pierre Moueix family vineyards in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion.