france: bordeaux
Château Tour du Moulin, Fronsac
Tour du Moulin was the first of the artisan Right Bank additions to the Vintage '59 portfolio. Modest but ever sure-footed Vincent Dupuch makes this wine from 28 vineyard parcels, totaling 17 acres, in the limestone hills of Fronsac. His vineyard breakdown, reflected in the wine's blend, is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. His oldest vines are Cabernet Franc, growing in a parcel planted just after World War II.
Fronsac is geographically the most elevated appellation in Bordeaux, full of steep hills and twisting roads—this is not the typical Bordeaux landscape of extensive vineyards on relatively level ground. It's a unique and beautiful region that rises high above the confluence of the Dordogne and Isle rivers, just across from the far flatter appellation of Pomerol. In the old days, Fronsac wines were known as vins de médecins because of their power and color, and they were used to doctor weaker wines (the historic record long ranked them above the neighboring wines of Pomerol and St. Emilion). The potential today is enormous.
Modest domaines populate these hills, their small vineyards growing wherever a well-exposed site presents itself. Some of these domaines crop as much as they can for production; others go on as always and make standard juice (and at least one producer works with bizarre trellising like that found in Soave); and then there is a small cadre of growers that are committed to making a difference.
Vincent Dupuch is one of the leaders of this cadre. He is a soil expert and something of a specialist in terroir. He was brought over to Napa Valley in 2003 with a small group of Bordeaux experts by Christian Moueix to consult for Dominus, and he has been asked to return. He is firmly in the Moueix school, if you will, sharing a preference for tradition and for elegance, as opposed to the thick, very ripe "technological" wines currently in vogue. His own wine—and he has only one—has exquisite aromatics, moderate oak influence, supple, earthy fruit, and mineral-laden finesse.
Tour du Moulin is a very classy Fronsac. It is also one of the best priced.