In the world of wine, being born a Moueix is the equivalent of royalty.

After all, the Moueix family (that runs Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix) has been, for decades, known as the producers of some of the world’s top wines, including Chateau Petrus – often recognised as the creme de la creme of Bordeaux wines.

So when the third-generation Edouard Moueix (his grandfather was Jean-Pierre Moueix) decided to join his family business – all eyes were naturally focused on him.

“The good thing was that it was easy to make a name for myself because given the quality of the vineyards that we owned, I was lucky to be involved in the making of amazing wines,” recalls Moueix who is today not only the sales director for Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix but also manages Bel-Air Monange, one of the family’s properties in St Emilion and Providence and Hosanna, two properties in Pomerol.

All three are distributed in Singapore by local distributor Grand Vin.

“However, being born in an environment where wine was everywhere – I always say wine was the second beverage I drank after milk – the challenge was teaching myself how to appreciate wines, to understand what actually makes a fantastic wine.”

Respecting nature

The 33-year-old singles out Belair-Monange as one to look out for.

“Belair-Monange is one of the best vineyards in St Emilion.

“The terroir there is simply unbelievable and when we bought over the vineyard in 2008, we have made enormous changes – we believe we can make great wines in this terroir.”

Moueix adds that his family has managed to maintain the high standards today because of their firm belief in respecting nature, a policy that he, as the next generation, firmly adheres to.

“We are farmers, nothing else.

“We are lucky to be in the wine business, but we must not forget that our roots are in the earth and how much we depend on nature because let’s face it, a basic terroir (earth) can never produce amazing wine just like how a chef can never produce the best food without the best ingredients,” he reveals.

“Look at 2009 for example. In May, hail had destroyed about one third of the vineyards at St Emilion so there were properties in the region that could not produce any wines.

“The irony of it all, is that the grapes that did survive, turned out to produce some of the most fantastic vintages. It just goes to show how important nature is and how much we should respect it.”

As a result, Moueix makes it a point to be “200 per cent involved in the farming process”.

“There are winemakers who have no contact with nature at all, their wines are not wine to me. To me, that is just a common beverage that follows a recipe.

“For wine to be wine, it has to tell a story and how can you tell a story when you are not involved in farming process?” he questions.

When asked how he intends to take the business to the next level, he laughs and replies: “What level?”

But he quickly adds in seriousness: “The Petrus story is the story of 40 years of hard work on my father’s part. 40 years of going further than we needed in order to strive for a bit more greatness. It is always much easier to get to the top than to stay on top.

“My job is to maintain that level of quality for the family by being out there, listening and evolving. Not just for Petrus but all our other vineyards as well.”

This article was first published in The Business Times.