L'Aurage | Côtes de Castillon

Domaine de l'Aurage is a property in the Côtes de Castillon appellation owned and run by Louis Mitjavile. Louis, a hugely talented winemaker, cut his teeth working for his father François Mitjavile, the iconic trailblazer at Tertre Roteboeuf in St-Emilion and Roc de Cambes in the Côtes de Bourg. 

Having forged a remarkable reputation in his own right as a consultant for many successful properties, it was clearly only a matter of time – and access to the right site – before Louis and his wife Caroline would set up on their own. Their patience was rewarded when the fabulous estate of Château Cadet came up for sale in the Côtes de Castillon, an appellation which is rising in status and popularity.

The first vintage in which Louis had complete control over his wine, from vine to glass, warranted a change in name, in recognition of a new regime, hence in 2007 Château Cadet made way for Domaine de l’Aurage.

The Domaine covers twenty hectares, with 18ha of vines in one block, making the estate very easy to work. The vine density is 6,000 vines per hectare, with an average age of twenty years and is principally Merlot (80%) with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. This property is within the highest area of St Genès de Castillon, adjoining St-Emilion, which has enjoyed a high reputation for many years. It is, in many ways, a dream property, a wonderful site which includes a very traditional villa.

Louis’ aim is to harvest super-ripe grapes which offer intense black fruit, slightly candied, allied to equally ripe tannins, making for a seductive, richly-textured palate. His challenge in the cellar is extracting the full potential in a gentle, regular way and then stabilising the result through long maturation in new oak barriques. Louis wants to see opulence in his wines rather than concentration with balance being the overall objective.