Château Monlot

The lovely yellow stonehouse nestled in the heart of this Saint-Emilion vineyard is none other than the historic Château Monlot. With it’s 400 year- old history, the château traces back to the 17th century. It was built on a land that once belonged to Louis XIII, King of France. Thereafter, it is passed down to the Countess de Guerchy and his brother the Marquis de Beuvron. And thereafter, to the Taillade (1763) and Ichon (1803) families. When in the possession of Jeanne Delphine Ichon, she renamed the property “Mon lot”, which in French means “my lot” and “my inheritance”. Since 1990, the domain has been led by Mr and Mrs Rivals.

Zhao Wei is an internationally acclaimed and multi-award winning personality. As an actress, singer and movie director, she is an all-rounded artist and one of the most in influential celebrity in her generation. She lives her passion for wine with discretion, but intensely. She spent 2 years searching for the perfect place to realize one of her dreams. A place where she can dedicate herself to create the finest wines. She fell in love with Château Monlot instantly, having spotted the huge potential of its vineyard.

Ever since, Zhao Wei had been working earnestly to bring its wines to the international stage. And in 2012, the world of wine recognizes Zhao Wei’s involvement by welcoming her into the Jurade de Saint-Emilion.

Château Monlot is a pretty mansion house with limestone facades nestling in the middle of the Saint-Emilion vines. It’s history spans 400 years and began in the 17th century. It was built on land belonging to the French King Louis 13th and was left to the Countess of Guerchy and her brother the Marquis of Beuvron, connecting the property to the Capet Seigneury. It then belonged to the Taillade family in 1763, then the Ichons in 1803, who decided to call it “Mon lot” (my lot), whence its present name comes.

At the end of 2011, the Chinese actress Zhao Wei was fascinated by the vineyard and decided to acquire the estate and work to accomplish the renewal of Château Monlot. Since she took over, new energy has been poured into a number of ambitious projects, all designed to strive for excellence:

- The vineyard has been reorganised and is run to demanding standards worthy of the greatest names
- Buildings have been renovated or constructed
- New cellars and vathouses have been built
- The bottling and labelling area has been refurbished
- The listed grounds have been redrawn and landscaped
- Facilities have been prepared to welcome wine tourists

In Saint-Emilion, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site characterised as a Cultural Landscape, Château Monlot occupies a magnificent location between Château Pavie and Château de Lassègue. It also plays an important role in the history of Saint-Emilion winegrowing. Today, Château Monlot represents a link between Saint-Emilion and China, while symbolising a bond between the feminine creativity of its new owner Zhao Wei and the expertise of its oenologists Jean-Claude Berrouet and Claude Bourguignon, who share the vision of this outstanding estate’s success.

Together they aim to combine meticulous attention to detail and passion to promote Château Monlot to a level of excellence on a par with the greatest. Château Monlot wines continue to improve and are already amongst the frontrunners of their appellation.

IT ALL STARTS WITH SOIL ANALYSIS...

Soil testing and the analyses carried out in the Château Monlot vineyard have led to

a better understanding of the different types of soil and their characteristics, which in

turn has informed specific work protocols for each individual plot :

THE ABSOLUTE PRIORITY OF ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

-Meticulous preparation of each plot before planting, including a 3-year period without

production, the sowing of green manure selected to lend structure to the soil and make it more

friable, permeable and therefore more fertile

-Drainage of areas, where water could stagnate and slow down vine growth

-Planting new plots, while seeking the best match between the soil type and the plant material

used. These choices were based on an in-depth study of the different soil types on the estate and

their capacity to support plant growth.

-Pruning adapted to the potential of each single vine. The key has been to forget the average

production of a plot and focus on each vine’s individual production potential, so that every vine

can express the fruit it bears to the very best of its capacity.

-Meticulous attention paid throughout the year to all the vineyard operations required to

provide the vines with optimal growth conditions and to ensure control of grape production:

debudding, desuckering, tying up, thinning out to improve airflow around leaves and bunches.

-Tilling with extremely light equipment to reduce soil compaction and aerate the ground

thereby improving soil function and enriching its microbe population.

-Harvesting by hand, using crates to transport the fruit from the plots that are grouped depending

on the specific type of soil on each, while ensuring that the grapes are properly ripe

-Harvest handling systems that reduce direct manipulation of the fruit so as to preserve its

freshness

-Close control of temperature, when the fruit is placed into the tanks, so that fermentation can

be supported as gently as possible and extraction processes are precisely controlled

-The use of temperature-controlled tanks, whose volumes match the size of the individual plots.

This way batches of uniformly ripe fruit with similar quality potential can be vinified together.

-The wines are aged in barrels made of French oak for 15 to 18 months.

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