Chateau Maillet Pomerol Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Maillet Pomerol with wine tasting notes and wine with and food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on winemaking and vineyards. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

The history of Chateau Maillet in the Right Bank dates all the way back to 1820 when the Moze Berthon Family was first established in the Bordeaux region. The first member of the Moze Berthon family to be involved with the estate was Georges Moze, in 1820. The estate takes its name from its previous owner, the Comte de Maillet.

Chateau Maillet is a new wine from the Pomerol appellation. As Pomerol is the smallest of the major Bordeaux regions with just 800 hectares of vines, it is quite hard for a new wine to become established, but that is what took place with the 2015 vintage. However, while the wine is new, the name is not exactly new.

The Moze Berthon family were already producing wine under the name of Chateau Gouperie and they were using the name of Maillet for the estate’s second wine. It’s possible to give credit to the genesis for Chateau Maillet for another wine the estate produced in 2004, L’Excellence du Chateau Grouperie, that was made from 100% Merlot.

In 2009, the estate began making L’Elegance de Chateau Gouperie, which was also produced using 100% Merlot and was aged in 100%, new, French oak barrels. Those experiments and the hiring of Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus as their consultant led to the creation of Chateau Maillet.

Chateau Maillet Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 4.5 hectare Pomerol vineyard is planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard can be divided into 3 parcels. Their best parcel of land is the 2 hectares of vines located close to Chateau Bon Pasteur, not far from the St. Emilion Border. The terroir is gravel, clay, and sand soil. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 5,500 vines per hectare.

To produce the wine of Chateau Maillet, the wine is made using micro vinification techniques, meaning that the wine is vinified completely in the barrel. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels and the wine is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels. Yields are kept quite low here, so the production is small with only 550 cases made in the first vintage of Chateau Maillet.

The best vintages of Chateau Maillet are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

This is a wine to watch from Pomerol as prices should be under their true level of quality for at least the first few vintages produced at Chateau Maillet.

When to Drink Chateau Maillet, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Maillet can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1 -2 hours or so.

This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Maillet is usually better with at least 4-7 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Maillet offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 6-20 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Maillet with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Maillet is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Maillet is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Maillet is also good when matched with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

Aside from the two wines in Pomerol, the Moze Berthon family also owns other estates in the Right Bank including Vieux Chantecaille in Saint Emilion and Chateau Rocher Gadat in the nearby satellite appellation of Montagne St. Emilion.

www.vignobles-moze-berthon.com