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Wine Description
The Story
The result of rigorous selection at each stage of production, in both the vineyard and the winery, this great, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon wine is typical of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. Structured and tannic but with all the elegance and refinement of a Grand Cru Classé, with time it develops a delicate and complex bouquet.
The wines have considerable ageing potential and are exceptionally long-lived. Certain vintages (1921, 1929, 1982, 1990, 2009, 2016) are considered legendary.
Matured for 18 months in 60% new oak barrels, the premium wine accounts on average for 55% of the estate’s total production.
The 95-hectare vineyard in one single block, extremely unusual in the Medoc, is located on a very well exposed gravelly land, by the Gironde. The vineyard hence overlooks the estuary. The proximity to this vast body of water locally called “river” has a very smoothing climatic impact on the vineyard. The river and its tide mitigate and moderate the climate’s rigor: by mollifying the frost and refreshing blazing summer heat.
60 % of new french oak barrels, supplied by several carefully- selected coopers are used in Montrose, and 40 % in one year old barrels. The average ageing period is 16 to 18 months.
For our second wine, DAME DE MONTROSE, the proportion of new french oak barrels reaches about 15 to 20 %. The average ageing is 12 months; so begins a long process of racking rhythm.
This is a very natural process of slow wine decanting, to isolate the fine particles still present in the wine. All the wines are finely racked every 3 months, a very traditional method.
The wine is moved from one barrel to the other by gravity. Once the barrel’s bottom is reached, the workers carefully view, with a candle, the lees coming off the clear part of the wine. The fining is made traditionally, in barrels, with fresh egg whites, in order to refine the wine and to soften the tannins.
Vintage 2022
Bordeaux 2022 vintage will stay in the memory of the world of wine as the exceptional vintage which kept a lot of surprises. The year started well with bud break at a normal date, so the frost in early April did not too much damage. The flowering started in mid-May and in optimal conditions. June brought stormy rains which were able to partially reconstitute de water reserves of the soil, however hail fell locally with sometimes very important damages. The fruit set took place a hydric limited context, which determines the small size of the berries. Veraison begun in mid-July in hot and dry conditions. August was hot however it kept a contrast of day and night temperatures, therefore the conditions for ripening the grapes were perfect. The white wines were harvested at a historically early date already in August. Also the reds were harvested very early at the beginning of September. Good news for the noble sweet wines: botrytis developed thanks to rain in early October and resulted in wines of great purity.