One of the six communes (alongside Listrac-Médoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien) within the French Haut-Médoc area in the Bordeaux region that are independent appellations and are authorised to bear the commune name on the bottle label. The name (also Moulis-en-Médoc) is derived from the many windmills and water mills that used to operate here to grind grain.

Vineyards

The vineyards cover around 600 hectares of vines. The area forms a twelve kilometre long and up to two kilometre wide strip running from south-west to north-east between Margaux and Saint-Julien. The predominant soil consists of deposited gravel on a sandy clay layer. The area lies somewhat further back from the Gironde and is therefore at risk of frost due to the weaker temperature equalisation caused by the river.

Wine estates

There are none of the 61 châteaux here that were included in the Grand Cru list in the famous Bordeaux classification in 1855. Around 30 wine estates are classified as Cru Bourgeois and a dozen as Cru Artisan. The red wines in the typical Bordeaux blend(rive gauche) of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are less tannic and ready to drink more quickly. Well-known wine estates are Château Chasse-Spleen, Château Dutruch-Grand-Poujeaux, Château Gressier Grand-Poujeaux, Château Maucaillou, Château Moulin-à-Vent and Château Poujeaux.

Château Chasse-Spleen: © Benjamin Zingg
Map: By Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Modifications from the original by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer 2017