Caroline et LouLou Mitjavile 'Domaine de L'Aurage' 2018 Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

750ml bottle

15% abv

2018 is a rich, dark, mocha-spiced, opulent vintage with silky tannins and elevated yet integrated alcohol — classic Mitjavile style.

About 90% Merlot with a little Cab Franc, grown on clay-limestone soils in Castillon. Picked very ripe, fermented in concrete vats, and aged 18 months in new Radoux oak. 

This beautiful 20-hectare, contiguous estate on the Castillon coast is the geographical and geological extension of the Saint-Émilion estate.

Domaine de l’Aurage is Louis Mitjavile’s Côtes de Castillon estate, with the first vintage created in 2007. The son of Tertre Rotebeouf proprietor François Mitjavile, Louis has taken inspiration from his father. The vineyard location is close to Saint-Emilion and features similar terroir and soil. Louis has planted the plot almost entirely to Merlot, with only a small (and decreasing) amount of Cabernet Franc. This young property is already garnering attention from consumers and critics alike celebrating the promise of these wines.

Owned by Louis Mitjavile, son of Tertre Rotebeouf and Roc de Cambes owner, François Mitjavile, l’Aurage is a Côtes de Castillon estate that elevates its appellation. Louis (known as Loulou) grew up learning the trade from his father, then consulting for wineries in Bordeaux, the Languedoc, Spain, Argentina, and the United States. Wanting to craft his own wines, he decided to purchase a property in Bordeaux close to Saint-Emilion with similar terroir to Tertre Rotebeouf, including its clay-limestone soil.

With its first vintage in 2007, Domaine l‘Aurage is the most recent addition to the Mitjavile family’s impressive portfolio of vineyards. It is planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and the goal is to eventually have the plot planted entirely to Merlot.

Work in the vineyard is meticulous, with an emphasis on achieving balance in the winter and early spring that will enable the vines to reach their full potential by harvest time. Temperature control was recently introduced in the cellars. Vinification is mainly in new French oak barrels from the Radoux cooperage, though limited amounts of concrete may also be used.

The wine here is as singular as that of his father’s – intense, ripe, rich, and well-balanced.

"The Mitjaville family is not only a family of winegrowers, it is a family of enthusiasts who develop a style by playing on all the parameters: the vagaries of the climate, special pruning of the vine, manual and meticulous harvesting to obtain grapes at optimal ripeness, blending after careful pressing... To this, we can add a mature reflection on the different terroirs on which the family members have settled."