Montrose

Château Montrose

 

The first recorded proprietor of what was a heath-strewn estate that was to become Chateau Montrose was one Alexandre de Ségur, Marquis de Ségur, President of the Bordeaux parliament and an important 18^th century Medoc landowner, being the proprietor of Chateau Lafite, Chateau Mouton and Chateau Latour. In 1778, after a short tenure, he sold the property, known as Lande d’Escargeon, to Etienne Théodore Dumoulin. 

Théodore Dumoulin’s son, Etienne, saw that the heather on the surrounding hillsides would turn the heath into a rash of pink, ‘rose’ in French called by the sailors who regularly used the river as a highway ‘Mont Rose’. He believed that there was value beneath this land and cleared it, to plant vines within which was built a chateau, which had acquired a modest size by 1815. Even then, the Medoc aristocracy considered Montrose a part of the nobility and, in 1855, Montrose was, after such a short time in existence, much foresight and effort, given due recognition, as a 2eme Cru Classe.

Following the death of Théodore Dumoulin the chateau was sold to the remarkable Mathieu Dolfus, a businessman. Dolfus took to the wholesale renovation and reorganisation the estate, moreover, he contructed farm buildings and outhouses for animals and on accommodation for the coachmen and estate workers, and, remarkable for the time, devised a social security scheme for his workers engaging them with a stake in the estate profits. Montrose-Dolfus was, by 1880, an authentic village.

In 1896 Château Montrose was to enter into the Charmolüe family who owned extensive holdings in Bordeaux, including Cos d’Estournel and a range of petit chateaux and the Fumadelle Island in the Gironde. It was to stay with the Charmolües for three generations and was sold to Martin and Olivier Bouygues in 2006.

 

 

Vineyard and winemaking

Chateau Montrose has a number of individual features that single it out in quality and stylistic terms. Its vineyards, while surrounding the chateau building as is the Bordelaise tradition, is a single 70Ha./173a acre block exceptional for Bordeaux. Moreover, its soils are comprised of very deep gravel originally from the Central Massif and Pyrenees, of some dimension mixed with sand and clay, quite rare type for the Medoc, with proximity to the Gironde estuary playing a favourable moderating effect on weather patterns.

Montrose practices minimal intervention in the vineyard, using a plow to help push vine roots down to the water table, runs a carefully managed re-planting scheme to ensure a high average vine age of 40-60 years.

Style

Montrose wine is powerful, classically constructed Bordeaux that belies an elegant purity of fruit and intensity of aroma that is rarely found in Bordeaux.

 

Top-rated vintages

Vintage	RP	JR	Market price £	£ / Parker points
1990	100	18	4,500	45.00
2003	97+	19	1,800	18.55
2009	96-100	16.5	1,450	14.80
2010	96-99	17	1,500	15.35
1989	96	19	2,700	28.13
2008	95	16	900	9.47
2005	95	15	1,100	11.58
2000	95	18	1,600	16.84
As per June 2011

 

Market

Chateaux Montrose is a 2eme Cru Classe and so-named super second, one of a handful of estates consistently measured against their first growths neighbours rather than second growth peers.  Were Montrose to be re-classified today by price, the measure used in 1855, whereas still a second growth it would nonetheless be ahead of its then positioning. Montrose has a strong secondary following and is with quality higher than ever is well-positioned for the current stage of development in the market.

 

Liv-ex Power 100 ranking

2010	total score	2009	move
23	200	52	+29

As per June 2011

The Liv-ex Power 100 is a list of the top performers over the previous year and their position starting the current year.  The indice traces the movement of chateau and other wines using a sophisticated weighting system based on average prices, production, notional availability and Parker Points.

 

Release price evolution

Vintage	ex Negociant € / btl	London release price £ / cs
2010	132	1,500
2009	108	1,225
2008	42	495
2007	44	435
2006	51	465
2005	66	635

 

Montrose at a glance

Commune: St Estephe

Soils: deep, large gravel mixed with sand and clay

Climate: maritime, moderated by the Gironde estuary

District: Medoc

Classification: 2eme Cru Classe 1855

Owner: Martin and Olivier Bouygues

Winemaker: Jean Bernard Delmas

Vineyard: 70ha/173 acres planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon vines, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Vinification and ageing: fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel vats then sees 18 months in oak barrels, 60% new.

Production: 33,000 cases

Other wines: Dame de Montrose (2nd wine of Grand Vin).