Clos Monicord, Vérac, Gironde, a short drive from Saint-Émilion, and a love story with a vineyard attached. Joep Bakx is a Dutchman who moved to Bordeaux for his wife Mireille, a local, and after five years of searching they bought this place in 2000. It already had more than 300 years of winemaking behind it, with a renovated domaine dating to 1780, and a previous owner couple who’d farmed it gently for three decades with barely any fertiliser or pesticide.
Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, farmed organically, bottled in small quantities and sold direct from the property, outside the usual Bordeaux distribution game. Joep reckons the soils are comparable to the grand crus of Saint-Émilion, which is a bold claim, but the prices tell a different story, honest and friendly in a region where that’s rare.
My favourite bit is the labels. Their daughter Audrey is an artist and works in the winery too, and every year she designs up to six different labels for the same wine, so you never quite know which one you’ll get. Family business in the best sense, three people, one vineyard, one slightly chaotic art project on every bottle.
Joep’s own line sums up the philosophy neatly, wines made for drinking, not tasting. No pretension, no cult pricing, no lecture about terroir. Just good Bordeaux made by people who obviously love it. There’s even a small guesthouse on site, so you can stay, sip and wander the vines.
Proof that Bordeaux isn’t all grand châteaux and sky-high prices. Sometimes it’s a Dutchman, a Bordelaise and an artist daughter, doing it their way.
Clos Monicord, Vérac, Gironde, a short drive from Saint-Émilion, and a love story with a vineyard attached. Joep Bakx is a Dutchman who moved to Bordeaux for his wife Mireille, a local, and after five years of searching they bought this place in 2000. It already had more than 300 years of winemaking behind it, with a renovated domaine dating to 1780, and a previous owner couple who’d farmed it gently for three decades with barely any fertiliser or pesticide.
Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, farmed organically, bottled in small quantities and sold direct from the property, outside the usual Bordeaux distribution game. Joep reckons the soils are comparable to the grand crus of Saint-Émilion, which is a bold claim, but the prices tell a different story, honest and friendly in a region where that’s rare.
My favourite bit is the labels. Their daughter Audrey is an artist and works in the winery too, and every year she designs up to six different labels for the same wine, so you never quite know which one you’ll get. Family business in the best sense, three people, one vineyard, one slightly chaotic art project on every bottle.
Joep’s own line sums up the philosophy neatly, wines made for drinking, not tasting. No pretension, no cult pricing, no lecture about terroir. Just good Bordeaux made by people who obviously love it. There’s even a small guesthouse on site, so you can stay, sip and wander the vines.
Proof that Bordeaux isn’t all grand châteaux and sky-high prices. Sometimes it’s a Dutchman, a Bordelaise and an artist daughter, doing it their way.
