Château Montrose

Founded in 1778, second growth Montrose was for many years associated with impeccably true but rather austere and tannic claret that needed very long ageing to become enjoyable. The Charmolüe family, who owned the property for most of the last century, did soften the style in the late seventies and eighties, but the wine returned to its true style - only with more ripeness and grace - for the 1986 vintage. We believe that it has made the finest wine in Saint-Estèphe ever since, and is usually one of the best in the Médoc. In 2006 the Charmolüe family sold the property to the multi-millionaire industrialists Olivier and Martin Bouygues , who have expanded the cellar, and in 2010 they also bought from neighbouring Phélan-Ségur an extra 22 hectares of vines adjacent to the property. The original vineyard is superbly positioned: 95 hectares in one block (unusual for the Médoc) located on a deep gravel bank overlooking the Gironde. The original vines have an average age of 40 years old.