2001 Ch Moulin du Cadet
An Aristoctic Ace in St. Emilion

Everyone loves a scandal. Last Tuesday’s 2001 Ch. Le Boscq sold out in two hours. The bigger scandal, though was when the importer delivered much less wine than promised.
For those whose orders we had to refuse and those later orders we accepted but now can not fill, I have an ace up my sleeve, which I had meant to save for later.
The 2001 Ch. Moulin du Cadet, is like Ch. Le Boscq in some ways, only more so. It is Merlot, and Merlot with a rich creamy texture, It is drinking very nicely now. As the Le Boscq, the importer had too much and found too hard to sell, with no Parker review. Although the Spectator said nice things about it, it narrowly missed that necessary score that starts with 9.
Last week I tasted what Parker did not and the Spectator missed and also how the wine was different from Le Boscq . The 2001 Ch. Moulin du Cadet is a real St. Emilion and although it is all Merlot, it has a subtler and more refined, a more aristocratic style. Its small 12 acres lie in the Cadet, the plateau north of the town of St. Emilion. and shares the plateau’s limestone subsoil with other classed St. Emilion grands crus like Cadet-Piola, Chauvin, and Larmande.
This gives it a strong inner core sheathed in a resilient fruit that suggests nobility rather than opulence. You can enjoy it now - I did after decanting. It will get better, too. With a few more years, it could become elegant.
The wine comes from a family of Merlot aristocrats. We got it through the firm of J P Mouiex, owners of Petrus, Trotanoy, and Magdelaine. Moulin de Cadet is owned by Isabelle Blois-Mouiex and her husband Pierre. The wine is made by her brother Alain Mouiex.
incidentally the Moulin du Cadet was certified organic in 2002,Although not labeled a such, the 2001 had to have been made organically for the vineyard to qualify the next year.

Then there are our special reduced prices, unbeatable for a Grand Cru Classe’ St. Emilion from a good vintage like 2001 just entering its plateau of maturity.
We will have some in the store at $26.99. I guess that that won’t be for long.

2001 Ch. Moulin du Cadet (St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe); Color: black red; Aroma: smooth heady sweet, pretty, ripe heady, lightly spicy; Mouth: Very smooth, very clean, a dark chocolate note, lightly ripe acidity, silky texture balancing a lightly structured core, smooth long dark mocha finish; Very Good Plus 26.99/bottle

Special case $269 (22.41 per bottle), Special half case $142 (23.66)