Chateau Montrose

In 1778, Etienne Théodore Dumoulin acquired a ridge of 80 Ha, that was covered with heather. It was sold to his family by Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur. The pink flowers on the land, inspired him to name his property “Mont -Rose”. 

History

The history of Montrose wine began in 1815, when Étienne's son Théodore discovered that this land in Saint-Estèphe, just next to the left bank of the Gironde, was a perfect place for vineyards. He cleared the land, planted vines and built a fully operational winery from scratch. By the time of his death in 1861, he had expanded the estate to 95 hectares, its current size. The real breakthrough came in 1855, when Montrose was classified as a Second Growth in the famous Bordeaux classification. This was remarkable, given that the vineyard was barely 40 years old at the time.Ownership passed to two further families.

In 1866, Mathieu Dolfus, an industrialist from Alsace, bought the estate and thoroughly modernised it: building accommodation for staff, introducing free medical care and profit-sharing for workers, and installing a windmill to pump water and flood the vineyards during the crisis caused by phylloxera, which effectively saved the vineyard. The Charmolus family then managed Montrose from 1896 to 2006, steering it confidently through two world wars and the Great Depression. In 2006, the estate was acquired by the Bouig brothers, Martin and Olivier, from a French family of builders. Between 2007 and 2013, they carried out a complete renovation of the winery, adding geothermal heating and 3,000 square metres of solar panels, whilst preserving the architecture in its original form. Today, the estate is headed by Melissa Buig and managed by Hervé Berland.

Vineyards and terroir

One of Montrose’s most practical advantages is that the entire 95-hectare vineyard forms a single, continuous block around the château and its buildings, there are no plots scattered across the appellation. This simplifies logistics and allows the team to closely monitor every plot.

The soils here are what geologists call ‘elite cores’: outcrops formed by millions of years of geological stratification, which provide natural drainage towards the mouth of the Gironde. The surface consists of gravel mixed with sand, resting on a clay-rich subsoil that retains water reserves at depth, ensuring the vineyards have access to moisture during dry years. Each plot, the largest covering just two hectares, the smallest a few hundred square metres, has its own soil profile and microclimate.

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Montrosa blend, accounting for 60% of the plantings. Merlot accounts for 32%, Cabernet Franc for 6%, and Petit Verdot for the remaining 2%. Each variety is planted in the plot best suited to it. Cabernet Sauvignon thrives on the warm, gravelly, well-drained soils of the plateau located closest to the river mouth. Merlot imparts softness and silky tannins. Cabernet Franc brings freshness and aromatic complexity. Petit Verdot adds colour and spicy notes.

Winemaking

The grapes arrive at the vat room, where the bunches are sorted by hand before destemming. The individual berries are then optically sorted and sorted by hand again before being placed in vats. The winery has 92 temperature-controlled stainless steel vats of various sizes, allowing each plot to be vinified separately. Fermentation in the vats lasts no more than 25 days. The free-run wine is stored in barrels, and the best of these are selected for inclusion in the grand vin. Blending tastings begin in December, during which around 60 individual batches are assessed. The finished wine matures for 18 months in new French oak barrels (60%).

Wines

Montrose produces three wines. The grand vin, Château Montrose, accounts for 35 to 40% of total production and is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, a structured wine designed for ageing.

La Dame de Montrose is the second wine, possessing a similar character but at an earlier stage of maturity.

The third wine, Tertio de Montrose, is made from grapes grown on younger vines and wines with lees, and is intended for earlier consumption, it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grown on the same terroir as the first two wines.

Vintages to watch

Top vintages for the “Grand Vin” are: 1893 (still a monumental wine!), 1921, 1928, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2020.