Joep Bakx
Dutch man who moved to Bordeaux for love... and has fulfilled his dream of making award wine!
- Though you may not be able to pronounce his name, you won't be worrying about that once you have tasted his award-winning wine. His ravishing red will have you forgetting your own name with glee!
- He moved from Holland to France for love, love of his wife Mireille and of course the wines of Bordeaux! In 2000 their dream of owning a vineyard came true, and with their daughter Audrey they all work together to make the Clos Monicord Bordeaux Superieur the very best it can be.
- Audrey is an artist so along with working in the winery she designs the labels too. Every year she creates up to six different designs for the same wine so who knows which one you'll get...
Vineyard Location
Joep Bakx's Story
Joep Bakx's Story
"Six upon a time…..at Clos Monicord – Il était six fois…..au Clos Monicord
In 2000, the my family acquired a special domain with over 300 years of wine-making history, Clos Monicord. The ‘’Bordeaux Supérieur’’ vineyard of 16 hectares with 9.5 hectares of premium vines planted, is situated on the sides of a valley beside Fronsac, north-west of St-Emilion.
We have continued the tradition of family wine-makers that has seen the vineyard passed down through generations, while adding their love of art to create an exceptional wine that can delight from the minute you see the bottle. They believe that to be able to enjoy a wine fully, it is important to please the eye, as well as the palate, and so take care in every stage of the process; from before the first buds of spring through to when the wine is ready to be bottled and passed on to the Customer.
I think this is reflected in the Clos Monicord wines. From the distinct design of the hand-drawn series of 6 labels for each vintage, to the wine that has attained a character beholden to and rejoicing of its beautiful ’’terroir’’. Gently hand harvested Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec grapes are cared for to provide a quality in wine that can surprise and best of all be enjoyed with family and friends.
I was born in Holland but married the lovely Mireille who was born and raised in the Bordeaux area. I have an extensive career in 5 different countries and 9 different cities. My original background was in the Hospitality sector, running 5 star Hotels and Companies until becoming a full time vintner. Mireille has behind her a long career in International banking (so someone has a head for the money!). My daughter Audrey, is a visual artist, but is also involved in the wine making process.
At an early age my parents made me taste wine and gradually the passion was growing. Add to that 25 years yearly visits to the Bordeaux area the dream of buying a vineyard it just had to be! Eventually after 5 years of searching Clos Monicord was acquired in 2000. The original estate was 1,5 hectares and has grown over time to 16 hectares, making a full time life as winemaker unavoidable. A dream came through and the Bakx family decided to abandon successful careers for their passion and began a life as full time winemakers in 2010.
The soil Clos Monicord is comparable to the Grand Cru’s in St. Emilion, a limestone plateau with a unique clay surface of 30-60 centimetres making it a wine comparable to a Grand Cru for an affordable price.
We think our labels are pretty special too! The 2007 series express the flavours and taste at Clos Monicord, from the molecule to the end fruit.
Clos Monicord wines are wines made for drinking not tasting. It is fresh on the palate and goes with great food. It doesn’t overshadow what is on the plate. Drink it on 18 -19 degrees and you may find it fits with a large variety of food. Also just enjoy it as an after dinner glass wine or as a lunch wine.
We are still very proud when we were chosen by Jancis Robinson as wine of the week in 2006 and received a mention as “mighty promising”. It gave the push to continue as starting a winery is a very long process and you need determination, patience and energy. After 12 years and a career change to a fulltime winegrower, is particular in today’s difficult environment, an achievement and we feel proud about it.
Selling wines is the hard part and finding customers you would like to sell to and the right partners is tough. The United Kingdom was a market we wanted to be in and many attempts failed due to its complexity. But we didn’t give up as we knew from our website hits that the biggest interest in Europe for our wines was from the UK. Eventually customers from Naked Wines recommended us to try Naked wines and we are happy about that we kept trying.
Hope you enjoy the wines… looking forward to the reviews!"
