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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 1981
Bordeaux 1981 /Le petit mais de grande qualité millésime de 1981 a été éclipsé par le superbe 1982. Le temps chaud et sec a commencé à partir de la floraison et s’est maintenu jusqu’en septembre, lorsque des pluies occasionnelles ont eu lieu jusqu’à ce que la récolte soit terminée dans de bonnes conditions début octobre. D’une manière générale, les rouges produits étaient des vins élégants, moyennement légers et délicats dans toutes les appellations. Les blancs secs étaient de qualité moyenne et Sauternes en fait meilleur que l’année suivante 1982. Bien que cette année soit souvent considérée comme modeste, quelques bons vins ont vu le jour. Il s’agit notamment de Margaux et de Cheval Blanc.
