Following lunch at Restaurant Le Saint Seurin in Saint-Estèphe, an unassuming, very traditional French village restaurant, we drove over to Château Montrose, Appellation Saint-Estèphe, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, for a tour and tasting.
Château Montrose, Appellation Saint-Estèphe, 2ième Grand Cru Classé
Château Montrose is the youngest of all classified growth. The property however existed before it became a wine producing estate in 1815.
The land of Château Montrose was originally part of the Calon-Ségur estate and owned by Alexandre de Ségur, who also owned other properties such as Chateau Mouton, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour. He gave the land to his son, Nicolas Alexandre, who sold it in 1778 to Etienne Theodore Dumoulin. Under the direction of her son, Theodore, the land was cleared and the first vineyards were planted. Eventually, the area was split from the greater Calon-Ségur estate and was renamed as Montrose-Ségur. By 1855 it had expanded to 50 hectares, was known simply as Montrose and classified as a Deuxième Cru.
The château can look back on three family owners, all of them were very ambitious, and worked hard to constantly improve quality. One of them - Mathieu Dollfus - was a visionary entrepreneur, and he managed to stop the devastating phylloxera by installing a windmill that bumped up water from an underground well to flood the vineyards, thus saving the vines. The windmill is now the hallmark of the Château.
The current owners - since 2006 - are the brothers Martin and Thomas Bouygues. They hired top people: Jean Bernard Delmas, previously at Haut-Brion, and Hervé Berland, who spent four decades at Mouton-Rothschild, to bring quality up even further. They undertook an extensive renovation project and converted the estate into one of the most environmentally conscious and energy efficient Château.
The Last Decade
Succeeding three generations of the Charmolüe family, Martin and Olivier Bouygues acquired Château Montrose in 2006. They loved its wines, to which they had been introduced by their father, Francis Bouygues. Aware of the potential of its unique terroir, they appreciated the advantages and riches of the estate and decided to invest in it. Under their impetus, Montrose entered the 21st century with a spectacular reconstruction.
The exceptional project took seven years, from 2007 to 2013, a timespan justified by the wish to respect the estate’s cycle of activity. The 10,000-m² renovation met four major challenges set by Martin and Olivier Bouygues: To give Château Montrose the finest vinegrowing and winemaking facilities, including a new 1,000-m², 11-metre-high main barrel hall where the premium wine can mature in ideal conditions; to identify and take advantage of every opportunity to save and produce energy, especially through a geothermal system and 3,000 m² of rooftop solar panels; to respect the environment and significantly reduce the estate’s carbon footprint; and to preserve the overall architecture of Château Montrose in the typical 18th century Bordeaux style.
Following on from their predecessors, Martin and Olivier Bouygues aim to further enhance this unique terroir, a single sweep in an ideal location on the banks of the Gironde estuary.
Under the direction of Mélissa Bouygues and managed by Hervé Berland, the estate benefits from a combination of youth and experience in a multi-generational team in which vinegrowers and winemakers rub shoulders with technical specialists and academic experts.
The vineyards cover 95 hectares, with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
Hervé Berland
Hervé Berland was 30 years with Château Mouton Rothschild, before retiring there and moving over to Château Montrose and Château Tronquoy Lalande in April 2012, just a few kilometers from Mouton in Saint-Estèphe. Since 2006, Hervé Berland had been Managing Director of Mouton Rothschild and with the Rothschild family since 1977.
Tasting
Following the tour, we tasted 3 wines.
The Wines we Tasted
2012 Château Montrose
wine-searcher US$100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92
Tasted at the château, the 2012 Montrose is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot picked between 24 September and 20 October. It underwent a particularly long maceration period between 26 and 28 days. It offers more fruit intensity than the 2011 Montrose with blackberry, raspberry and bilberry scents, quite backward and primal yet well defined. The aromatics almost mock you because returning after ten minutes, there are glimpses of underlying dried herb and mineral notes. The palate is medium-bodied, intense and very focused, clearly with more depth and sinew than the 2011, yet displaying impressive precision and energy on the finish, which bodes well for the long-term. Tasted September 2016.
Kevin Shin: Intense cassis driven nose, blueberry liqueur, cabernet floral dust, lead pencil, dark spices, caramel and earth. There is a very slight hint of over ripe fruit but not too bothersome. Excellent concentration, intense cassis driven palate impression, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral and a long sweet finish with cassis at the end. It is slightly coarse, certainly not the most polished wine. Nevertheless, excellent concentration and intense sweet cassis fruit make the wine quite promising. It is developing nicely. Will need minimum ten more years to reach the youthful peak. This is certainly not a sub 90 point wine in RP scale. If you can source at sub $70, this is a compelling value.
2012 La Dame de Montrose
wine-searcher: US$41
Château Tronquoy-Lalande
wine-searcher US$31
Château Montrose Vertical in Washington DC Earlier in the Year
The visit of Château Montrose was arranged by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, earlier in the year at a massive Château Montrose Vertical in Washington DC, organized by Panos Kakaviatos.
For the past years, Panos Kakaviatos - based in Strasbourg, France - has organized a Grand Bordeaux Tasting in Washington DC at the beginning of the year, when he spends a few weeks in his hometown. In 2017, Panos' Washington DC Grand Bordeaux Tasting featured a massive Château Montrose Vertical with Hervé Berland. Panos Kakaviatos is a highly respected Bordeaux expert, who regularly writes for the Decanter, Harpers Wine & Spirits – two excellent UK based wine magazines - and other wine publications.
I have reported about the sensational Château Montrose Vertical here: Massive Château Montrose Vertical with Hervé Berland, Managing Director, and Panos Kakaviatos at Restaurant Ripple in Washington DC. Below find comments of some participants.
Panos Kakaviatos on Facebook
Panos Kakaviatos on facebook: The 2010 was overall the greatest methinks (for the future) but we had very fine bottles of 1990 and the 1989 was just as good. I really enjoyed the 1995 with the savory terrine. Perhaps the best food wine combo was the second flight. The egg and truffle were amazing, matched well against the youthful 2010, 2009 and the more roasted, evolved 2003.
Bijan Jabbari on Facebook
Bijan Jabbari on facebook: Le millésime 1990 était la star du soir ! Mais 1989 était également exceptionnelle.
Howard Cooper on Facebook
Howard Cooper on facebook: Two or three years ago, I had the 1989 and 1990 together and thought that the 1989 was the much better wine. Last night, the 1989 that I had was not nearly as good as the one then. Note that, while the 1990s were sourced from the winery, the 1989s were sourced from people at the tasting, meaning inconsistent provenance. My sense for listening to people is that some bottles were better than others.
Kevin Shin on Wine-berserkers
Mr. Berland brought fifteen vintages of Chateau Montrose. Panos, Paul and Chris generously contributed the 89 each so we could compare to the 90. It was incredibly fascinating and educational to taste sixteen vintages of Chateau Montrose. It certainly was the first time where I tasted more than a few verticals of Chateau Montrose. My impression was that the wines of Chateau Montrose ages at a glacial pace. A hint of Cabernet green, lead pencil, strong mineral expression, very polished silky palate and youthfulness really reminded me Chateau Leoville Las Cases. Although I have experienced major inconsistency with the 86 and 90 Montrose in the past, these bottles were very clean and expressive. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the 76, 86, 98, 08 and 12 showed. As expected the 90, 00, 03, 05, 09 and 10 stole the show. The only minor disappointment was the 89 which was overshadowed by the 90.
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