The name Moueix has for the better part of this century been the most authoritative presence in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, appellations where the Merlot vine is dominant. Christian Moueix Merlot is the first varietal wine to bear the name of the dynamic man behind the recent brilliance of Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix.

In the early 1970s, the Moueix firm, through the foresight of Christian Moueix, began to diversify its holdings into the Fronsac area. Subsequent interest in the other "satellite" areas of the Gironde's right bank began to uncover several more microclimates of tremendous potential but hampered by the usual deterrents to quality of over production and lagging technology. In many of these areas, Christian Moueix has been a transforming force in bringing these fringe areas into the present.

Christian Moueix has created this uniquely personal cuvée through a selection of wines from numerous small growers in the Côtes de Castillon, Côtes de Francs and Côtes de Bourg appellations. The beautiful Côtes de Castillon, directly to the east of Saint-Emilion, covers 6,600 acres, principally of clay hillsides surrounding a chalky plateau which are the prolongation of Saint-Emilion, and thus very similar to it. The Côtes de Francs, a tiny, 1,375-acre area east of Pomerol, is on the Gironde's highest, and driest, elevation, and is characterized by clay and limestone soils with some marl and chalk. The Côtes de Bourg, across the river just opposite Margaux, is much larger, with 9,125 acres under vine; the soils are also extremely varied, but tend to consistently show a topsoil of chalk and clay, with subsoils ranging from marine fossils to sandy loam, and certain areas rich in iron pyrite as in Pomerol. The common factor in these three areas is the predominance of the Merlot variety. In the Côtes de Castillon, it acquires elegance, finesse and longevity; in the Côtes de Francs, structure and fruitiness; and in the Côtes de Bourg, is selected for aroma, body and richness. Blended to evoke each of these aspects of the Merlot's personality in a very Bordelaise style, the wine spends, depending on the vintage, approximately six months in old oak casks to enhance structure and harmony. Christian Moueix Merlot brings the complete expression of this grape a step nearer to perfection.