Château Moulin du Cadet: Vineyards
As I have already noted in my introduction, the estate sits on the gentle slope that runs down from the St Emilion plateau, north of the town of St Emilion, all the way to the Barbanne. It is actually quite close to the top of the slope (which naturally has an impact on the terroir), sitting directly between the grand edifice of Château Soutard, which is located to the east (and which is easily visible from the road leading out of the top of the town) and Château Fonroque, so long associated with Alain Moueix, which is just to the west.
Today the estate accounts for just 2.85 hectares of the St Emilion appellation, although when in Bordeaux in early 2018 I noted that just 1.95 hectares were currently planted to vines. The soils are a sandy clay which, as hinted above, lie over a deeper limestone bedrock. The vines are 100% Merlot; I believe there was Cabernet Franc planted here once, but I suspect this variety was among those parcels sold to the Florisoone family. The vines are 35 years old on average, and are pruned using the double Guyot system which is typical of the region.
