Chateau Monbousquet
Saint-Émilion has numerous little-known names, and Château Monbousquet is often mentioned in connection with other properties operated by the same owner. Gérard and Chantal Perse, the couple who run Château Pavie, own this property, and its label bears the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé designation.
Merlot makes up the majority of the red wines, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon accounting for the rest, though the proportions vary from year to year. Three wines are produced at this vineyard. A red wine, a second red wine named Angélique de Monbousquet, and a white wine. The white wine is particularly noteworthy. Since Saint-Emilion is an appellation reserved exclusively for red wines, this white wine falls outside the scope of the classification system, which assigns the name Monbousquet.
The history
Stories about ownership of Bordeaux are often family-related, and in 2013, Monbousquet's came into direct conflict with the French tax code. Gérard and Chantal Perse, who had elevated Château Pavie to the Premier Grand Cru Classé A ranking, confirmed that they had sold a portion of their Château Monbousquet shares to outside investors that year.
Inheritance tax was the primary reason. This was not an isolated case either. Around the same time, other Bordeaux estates also attracted outside capital for the same reason, as owners were seeking ways to pass their estates on to the next generation without having to sell them entirely.
What remained unchanged was the direction of the estate. Monbousquet remained within Perse's sphere of influence and retained its status as Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé.
Merlot, then the two Cabernets
Monbousquet is primarily a Merlot-based wine, which is a standard characteristic of Saint-Emilion; however, the proportion of the supporting varieties varies noticeably depending on the vintage. Comparing blends from the late 1990s to those from the early 2020s, while the proportion of Merlot remains constant, the proportion of Cabernets varies.
- Merlot, the primary component, accounts for approximately 70% in both cases.
- Cabernet Franc accounts for between 15% and 20%, depending on the vintage.
- Cabernet Sauvignon: The least common variety, accounting for roughly 10-15%.
This flexibility between the two Cabernet varieties is particularly noteworthy. It demonstrates that the blend is not determined by a fixed recipe, but rather by the harvest conditions of that particular year.
Two reds and a white
Château Monbousquet produces three types of wine. The flagship wine is the red Château Monbousquet, which is bottled under the name Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé; this wine is the core product that underpins the winery's reputation.
Angélique de Monbousquet is the second wine, which is also a red. In Bordeaux, the second wine exists to ensure the quality of the main label, and this wine fulfills that role.
There are also white wines. Since the Saint-Emilion appellation regulations only cover red wines, white wines produced here cannot use the name Saint-Emilion regardless of their quality. However, Monbousquet is an exception.
