Château Moulin du Cadet

In 2015 Château Moulin du Cadet joined the vineyards of the Lefévère family, beside Château Sansonnet, a Grand Cru Classé, and Château Soutard-Cadet and Château Harmonie, both Grands Crus of Saint-Émilion. Marie Lefévère is named as owner on the estate's 2016 primeurs technical sheet and is listed as the property's contact.

• 2015: joins the vineyards of the Lefévère family
• Sister estates: Château Sansonnet (Grand Cru Classé), Château Soutard-Cadet and Château Harmonie (Grands Crus of Saint-Émilion)
• Owner named on the 2016 primeurs technical sheet: Marie Lefévère

The vineyard covers 2.85 hectares (7.04 acres) on the Cadet hill at the entrance to Saint-Émilion, on clayey limestone soils on the Saint-Émilion plateau; the site is the northern slope of the hill at Cadet. It is planted only to Merlot, and the average age of the vines is 35 years. Vineyard practices listed for the 2016 vintage were cultivated soils, all green-season tasks done by hand, and responsible use of phytosanitary products.

• 2.85 ha (7.04 acres), 100% Merlot
• Clayey limestone soils on the Saint-Émilion plateau
• Northern slope of the hill at Cadet
• Average vine age: 35 years

Harvesting is manual. For the 2016 vintage the grapes were picked 100% by hand on October 18 and 19 at yields of 35 hl/ha; the cellar used selection by gravity, pigeage, temperature-controlled concrete vats and malolactic fermentation in barrel, then 12 to 18 months in 60% new French oak barrels and 40% barrels of one previous wine. For the 2020 vintage the final yield was 38 hl/ha, with malolactic fermentation and ageing in barrel, 80% of it new. Average annual production is 12,000 bottles (40 hectolitres), sold in Belgium, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

• Manual harvest
• 2016: picked on October 18 and 19; 35 hl/ha; 60% new French oak for 12 to 18 months
• 2020: 38 hl/ha; malolactic fermentation and ageing in barrel, 80% new
• Average annual production: 12,000 bottles

Château Moulin du Cadet is one of the 71 grands crus classés in the Saint-Émilion classification approved by the INAO's national committee on September 8, 2022, which also named 14 premiers grands crus classés. The classification of AOC Saint-Émilion grand cru wines has existed since 1955 and is revisable every ten years.

• Grand Cru Classé in the 2022 Saint-Émilion classification
• 2022 classification: 14 premiers grands crus classés and 71 grands crus classés
• The classification has existed since 1955 and is revisable every ten years

Colin Hay of The Drinks Business rated the 2023 at 92-94, calling it 'very good indeed.' Of the 2020 he wrote: 'Tender and long on the juicy finish, the progression here in recent vintages is impressive.'

• 2023: 92-94 from Colin Hay, The Drinks Business

The estate describes its wines as displaying 'no heaviness' and as 'elegant with tannins that are always very silky.' In Colin Hay's notes, the 2023 shows black cherry and cedar, soft, opulent and rich, with a rose petal florality; the 2020 brings gingerbread, cinnamon patisserie, fresh and baked plums, garrigues and dried Italian herbs, with an open texture on the palate.

• Estate's own account: no heaviness, elegant, very silky tannins

Primary sources (the estate's pages on the Lefévère family site): https://chateau-sansonnet.com/en/chateau-moulin-du-cadet/ and the 2016 primeurs technical sheet (PDF): https://chateau-sansonnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/FT-MOULIN-DU-CADET_primeurs-2016_angl.pdf. Secondary sources: Conseil des Vins de Saint-Émilion, https://vins-saint-emilion.com/chateau/chateau-moulin-du-cadet/; INAO, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/lettres-odg/septembre-2022/saint-emilion-grand-cru-classement; The Drinks Business (Colin Hay, 16 June 2021 and 7 May 2024), https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2021/06/bordeaux-2020-en-primeur-by-appellation-st-emilion/ and https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/05/saint-emilion-2023-tasting-notes/. Last verified 2026-10-21. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.