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Château Montrose is in the commune of Saint Estèphe in northern Médoc and achieved a Second Growth ranking in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification.
The estate dates from the 19th Century when Etienne Théodore Dumoulin established the winery and expanded the vineyard to 95 hectares, the size it remains today. In 1866, it was purchased by Mathieu Dollfus, an industrialist from Alsace, who made further investments in both vineyard and winery. (Thanks to the installation of a wind-turbine that pumped water throughout the vineyard, the vines were saved from the ravages of phylloxera, an insect pest that feeds on vine roots.)
The Charmolüe family acquired the estate in 1896 and it remained in the same family until 2006 when brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues took ownership. Melissa Bouygues, wife of Martin, is Chairwoman while Hervé Berland, formerly of Château Mouton Rothschild, is CEO.
The vineyard is planted at a density of 9000 vines per hectare with Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Petit Verdot (2%). Due to their position close to the river and the breeze from the water, the vines here are less prone to disease and benefit from healthy growing conditions on deep gravel, well-drained soils. Since 2019, the entire vineyard is farmed organically.
The ‘grand vin’ represents 40% of production, 30% is destined for the second wine, La Dame de Montrose, and the remainder to the third wine Tertio de Montrose. La Dame de Montrose was created in 1983 as a tribute to Yvonne Charmolüe while the third wine was only launched in 2008 and originally labelled Le Saint Estèphe de Montrose. The proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend of the ‘grand vin’ is close to 70% in some vintages and the wines are aged for 18 months in oak barrels of which 60% are new each year.
Château Montrose is renowned for its tannins when young, its graceful ageing and complex bouquet.
The Bouygues family also owns Château Tronquoy-Lalande in Saint Estèphe, Burgundy estate Domaine Henri Rebourseau and Clos Rougeard in Saumur-Champigny.