About us
Monicord by Audrey Bakx
Joep Bakx, the father and a dedicated connoisseur of wines, took up the entrepreneurial spirit and started to produce his own wine in 2000. Turning a passion into a profession is a sure way to keep yourself motivated. Daughter Audrey joined a few years later and her creative expertise completed a daughter - father venture, that quickly developed a unique concept.
Clos Monicord wines are only available through our confirmed distributors or directly form the vineyard, guaranteeing a pristine governance of the wine.
Artist, winegirl and creative brain
Since a long time already, Audrey has been drawing and expresses herself through her drawings, objects, jewellery pieces and installations.
When she entered the wine world, she started drawing wine labels. Gradually, she learned all about wine by working in the vineyard and the cellar. She discovered the richness brought by the wine world, the tastings as well as the complexities of selling wine and its system.
Having set one foot in the wine field, she maintains motivated to move forward and thrive with her personal projects to attract the inquisitive minds and touch a broader and younger public.
All the products of Monicord are now created, selected, blended and packaged by Audrey in a creative manner, which gives every bottle and item a story.
The fun part in wine is sharing
Clos Monicord
Clos Monicord is a wine estate located on an elevated lime stone plateau on a 70 meter altitude north of Bordeaux, close to Pomerol, Saint Emilion and Fronsac. The Bakx family owns the estate since 2000.
When Family and Friends were confronted with illnesses as Parkinson, we realised the importance what we do for our health, team members and consumers. We were convinced at an early stage that we must take a small but important road to organic and biodynamic agriculture and production of wine.
Whilst we took the road many years back, we also understood that the certification became unavoidable. Clos Monicord is in the process of a full conversion to organic and biodynamic wines and will be visible on the labels of our future vintages.
The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, which can drop by almost 2-4 degrees temperature difference between our location and many of our neighbouring vineyard areas.
This means cooler nights. If a vineyard is located in a place with high daytime temperatures that are not compensated by cool nights, it is very difficult for the grapes to reach the right levels of all the characteristics needed for quality ripeness: sugar, aroma, tannins, etc. This coolness in the climate makes the wines fresher, more acidic, longer-living ultimately also influence the personality of wine.
A higher altitude and elevation also improves air circulation, which results in healthier vines because the air helps to reduce the humidity that can lead to diseases that affect the vine
The higher the temperature, the faster the fruit ripens, which results in a higher concentration of sugar that will later turn into alcohol, giving rise to warmer wines with lower acidity. On the other hand, in high altitude vineyards, the lower temperatures slow down the ripening of the grapes, which helps create a better balance between sugar and acidity and enhances the flavours, to develop more aromas and to give a lively colour.
Why does the location of Clos Monicord matter?
This is a complex topic and many vineyard owners pride themselves with its unique location. It is essential that a vineyard stays productive for decades as the nutrimental elements come through the the roots. Although grapevines can grow in many places, successful cultivation for quality wine production is limited to sites with specific conditions.
What our vineyard location makes special is a relative elevation and has a good slope, therefore the drainage is very good despite it is on a limestone rock based land. There is a clay-based soil topsoil domination.
Due to the surrounding of multiple trees, slope, elevation, and good drained soil we are seldom affected by springtime frost. Vintages as 2017 and 2021 frost had very little impact at Clos Monicord, whereas a huge loss all over the Bordeaux vineyards was experienced.
We also are proud that we have been able to preserve our vines dating back from 1960 – 1970, this means that many of our vines are not cloned. A very important issue as we are keen to produce wines before science and economics imposed modifications.
In summary an ideal soil condition with a thin topsoil and subsoil that has a good drainage. This combination of the soil and its ability to retain the heat and reflect it back up plus the cooler nights, it all affects the perfect ripening of the grapes.