Château Clos Manou was started in 1998 as a true garagiste endeavor. That was the year that Francoise and Stéphanie Dief produced their first vintage in the garage of their home in Saint Christoly de Médoc. From small beginnings they have grown to a 45-acre estate and have moved their cellar out of their garage and into a new facility. Clos Manou grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with very small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 40 years, though one Merlot parcel dates to the mid-19th century, having miraculously survived the Phylloxera devastation of the late 19th century. Clos Manou is the flagship wine and Petit Manou is the second wine. Clos Manou’s charming label shows an elephant pushing a stack of wine crates, and the label notes that the image is called “les grands moyens,” or the “great work.” Reviewers have agreed that the couple has done great work with their wines, calling the wines “super intense, ripe…. powerful and fleshy.”