Montrose 2014: “One of the very best vintages”

According to Hervé Berland, the general manager of Château Montrose, the 2014 vintage would be one of the best that the property has produced in the last twenty years.

“This is one of the very best vintages of the last twenty years,” he said today during the vintage tastings organized at the property. This declaration testifies to his confidence in the quality of this harvest that Nicolas Glumineau, the general manager of the Bordeaux properties of Roederer, had described as a “miraculous vintage”.

However, while most producers say 2014 is the best vintage since 2010, Berland suggests that last year's harvest would have produced an even better wine than the 2010 Montrose.

According to him, the 2014 harvest would have produced a more generous and accessible wine than the very impressive and tannic 2010 Montrose.

"2014 is very close to 2010 in terms of style, but this new vintage is also fruitier, and I like the purity and smoothness of the tannins," he said.

Berland explained to The Drinks Business that thanks to the sunny and dry weather which persisted in Bordeaux from September to the end of October, his team of pickers had been able to operate up to six successive passages on the same plot in order to harvest the grapes at their best level of sugar maturity and phenolic maturity, which is assessed by tasting the grapes.

He notably affirmed that "the great vintages of Montrose have a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon" before noting that the 2014 vintage was made up of 63 % of Cabernet Sauvignon, i.e. a higher proportion than that of the quality harvests that were 2010. , 2009, 2005 and 2003.

He also revealed to The Drinks Business that the château was going to test a new plot of 1.5 hectares in biodynamic viticulture this year.

“We chose new vines in order to test biodynamic viticulture on vines that had never been treated. »

Last year, Montrose began testing this type of farming on a 6-hectare plot.

He affirms on this subject that their "first experiments confirm that this is indeed the way to take" and explains that the situation of Montrose in Saint-Estèphe, exposed to the sun and the wind, could well be favorable to agriculture without substances. chemicals because it protects the vines from mildew and rot.

Montrose belongs to the Bouygues brothers. The French billionaires bought the Second Grand Cru in 2006 and have already invested more than 55 million euros in the renovation of its cellar and its chai.

 March 31, 2015

patrick schmitt

The Drinks Business