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1978er

Chateau Montrose

Saint Estephe

Bordeaux, France

Trinkreife: jetzt

the winecellar insider schreibt:

Chateau Montrose is known today for it’s powerful, full bodied Bordeaux wine. But that is not what the property was originally known for. In fact, before Bordeaux wine was produced at the estate, it earned fame for being a hunting area.

That all changed when Alexandre de Segur, who also owned numerous, other illustrious Bordeaux wine properties such as Chateau Mouton, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour , gave the property to his son, Nicolas Alexandre. Alexandre did not keep the property long. In 1778, he sold it to Etienne Theodore Dumoulin. During the early 1800’s what we know of today as Montrose was actually part of the large Calon Segur estate. It was Etienne Dumoulin who created Chateau Montrose, due to its unique, gravel terroir. What Etienne Dumoulin noticed in those days is thought of as one of the best terroirs in all of Bordeaux. At that point in time, the true birth Chateau Montrose takes place. The Dumoulin family eventually sold Chateau Calon Segur and retained Chateau Montrose.

Next, under the direction of Etienne ’s son Theodore Dumoulin, the vineyards for Chateau Montrose were fully planted. The Dumoulin family built the chateau, added modern wine making facilities and by 1815, Chateau Montrose was already on its way to being well-known for their unique St. Estephe wines.

How did Chateau Montrose get its name?  According to local legend, when the heather was in flower, the hillsides turned pink. Keep in mind, pink is rose in French. In time, sailors on the river referred to the area as Mont Rose. Due to that local strain of dialect, the owner, the Dumoulin family eventually followed along with the sailors and began calling their Left Bank estate, Chateau Montrose.

In 1861, Chateau Montrose was sold to Mathieu Dollfus. Dollfus rebuilt Chateau Montrose from top to bottom. He constructed apartments for the estate workers and erected new farm buildings too. By 1880, a small village was created on the grounds of Chateau Montrose.

In 1896, the next major chapter in the history of Chateau Montrose took place when the estate became property of the Charmolue family. The new owner, Louis Victor Charmoule had a long history in the Bordeaux wine trade as he was born at Chateau Figeac in St. Emilion . By marriage, he acquired Chateau Cos d’Estournel and Chateau Pomys, also located in the St. Estephe appellation. Chateau Montrose remained in the Charmolüe family for three generations. During the ownership period of the Charmoule family for Chateau Montrose, the estate became one of the first Bordeaux estates to bottle their own wine. An old sales catalog from the early 20th century show offerings stating the 1904 Montrose was bottled by the chateau.

Montrose has producing one of the best wines in all of Bordeaux for centuries. In fact, the inspiration to purchase the estate by the the Bouygues brothers came after tasting the exalted 1989 Chateau Montrose. Thomas Bouygues was heard to state that the wine was so good, if he ever had the chance to purchase the famous estate, he would buy it. In 2006, that is exactly what took place.

In May 2006, Jean Louis Charmolue sold the estate in 2006 to the Bouygues brothers. For the Bouygues family, it was the perfect addition to their massive business portfolio. In fact, they added a neighboring Bordeaux property to their holdings a short time later, Chateau Tronquoy Lalande . one of the first moves made by the Bouygues brothers was hiring key personal. They brought in Jean Bernard Delmas , the previous director of Chateau Haut Brion . Their next important hiring took place a few years later when they brought in Herve Berland. Herve Berland was well-known as he had spent the previous 4 decades at Chateau Mouton Rothschild .

Aside from bringing in new management, the new owners of Chateau Montrose, the Bouygues brothers quickly began an intensive renovation project that was completed in time for the 2013 harvest at a cost of close to 55 million Euros! The renovations were designed by the respected architects, Yves Gremont and Bernard Mazieres. One of the key mandates for the renovations was to ensure Chateau Montrose was as green and environmentally conscious as possible. Similar to what was accomplished at Chateau Tronquoy Lalande, Chateau Montrose will obtain as much of its energy though the use of solar, wind and water with the use of a sophisticated geothermal energy systems. To aid in this effort, custom insulation hat is up to three feet thick and windows that are as deep as 1 inch are in place.

Along with the massive improvements and renovations at Chateau Montrose, after purchasing the estate, the new owners brought one of the more popular and revered figures in Bordeaux out of retirement to manage both, Chateau Montrose and Chateau Tronquoy Lalande. Jean Bernard Delmas. Delmas was director of Chateau Haut Brion for decades until he retired and was replaced by his son. The elder, Jean Bernard Delmas was placed in charge of both Chateau Tronquoy Lalande and Chateau Montrose. Aside from modernizing the wine making facilities at Chateau Montrose during the renovation, the Bouygues brothers added numerous changes that were environmentally sound at their Medoc estate.

They installed a geothermal pumping technology that is used for cooling as well as heating. Striving to be as green and energy efficient as possible, they added solar power as well to Chateau Montrose. This was quite a change for the traditional estate.

The 95 hectare Bordeaux vineyard of Chateau Montrose has a terroir of gravel, typical of the St. Estephe appellation with sand and some clay. The large vineyard is actually one single block of vines. Of those hectares, 88 to 90 hectares are always in production. The vineyard is planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon , 32% Merlot , 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot with vines that are on average close to 40 years of age. However, the goal of the estate is to increase the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon to as much as 65% of the vineyard plantings. However, Montrose has old vines, some of which were planted back in 1932 that are located in the front of the estate, close to the water. The vine density is 10,000 vines per hectare. In 2010, Chateau Montrose purchased 22 hectares of Bordeaux wine vineyards from Phelan Segur .

Interestingly, all 22 hectares those vines were originally part of the vineyards of Montrose. The purchased vines consisted of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This purchase increased the vineyard of Chateau Montrose up to its current size of 95 hectares. Vines are replaced slowly at Chateau Montrose. On average, the vines reach between 40 and 60 years of age before they are replaced and replanted. At 95 hectares in a single parcel, it’s relatively unique in Bordeaux.

To produce the wine of Chateau Montrose, vinification takes place in 59 temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks of various size. The vats range in size 200 hectoliters to 50 hectoliters. There are 40, 200 hectoliter tanks, 4, 130 hectoliter tanks, 9, 100 liter hectoliter tanks, 4, 80 hectoliter tanks and 2 smaller, 50 hectoliter tanks. These 59 tanks allow for more precision during the vinification of Chateau Montrose. Malolactic fermentation takes place in tank. Frequent pump overs are part of the wine making practices at the estate. The wine of Chateau Montrose is aged in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for about 18 months. There is a second wine, Le Dame de Montrose. The estate also produces a third wine, which is sold mostly in restaurants, Le Saint Estephe de Montrose.

The wines are usually divided as follows, 50% of the harvest is placed in the Grand Vin, which gives you on average, 15,000 cases per vintage. To give you an idea how things are different today at Chateau Montrose, close to 30,000 cases were produced in 1982 of the Grand Vin. That means today, the production is half of what it was. 30% of the crop is used for the second wine and the remaining 20% is either placed in the third wine, or sold of in bulk.

The best vintages of Chateau Montrose are: 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1961 and 1959. I am positive older vintages are equally stunning, but with rare exceptions, I seldom get to taste them.

Chateau Montrose is a powerful Bordeaux wine. It’s big, dense and masculine. At times, in older vintages, the wine can display a barnyard, or horse smell. The 1990 Chateau Montrose, which scored 100 Pts from Robert Parker is known to have that animal quality. The wines are firm and tannic and often require decades, before maturing. Chateau Montrose has been one of the top produces in Bordeaux for decades. However, under the direction of Herve Berland, it looks like the best is yet to come.

The wine of Chateau Montrose can age and evolve for decades. It’s a very long, lived wine. The 1921 Montrose tasted recently was still in top form! If you’ve ever wondered why Chateau Montrose is prized by Bordeaux lovers all over the world, 1989 Chateau Montrose is the wine to buy. That being said, for a Montrose to age, the 2009 Chateau Montrose is off the charts, deserving its 100 Pt score and a place in your cellar, if you can afford it!