Producer: DESPAGNE
Appellation of Origin: AC BORDEAUX ROUGE
Grape variety: 100% Merlot
Vinification: Maceration and fermentation in new French barriques. During fermentation, the barrels are rotated using Oxoline racks for punch down. Aging in the same vessels for 18 months.
Even in normal Mont Perat, there is a very strict yield limit of around six bunches per vine, but Girollat limits it to half that, two to three bunches. After carefully cultivating the grapes, they are destemmed and placed directly into barriques, where fermentation takes place. This method is an application of the research results of Professor Denis Dubourdieu, an authority on white wine brewing, who found that "in order to prevent white wines from having too strong oak aromas, it is desirable for the grape juice before fermentation to come into contact with the barrels as soon as possible" to red wine brewing.
Fermentation in barriques allows extraction at a low temperature, suppressing the temperature rise, and allows for both rich fruitiness and fresh acidity. In addition, the barriques during fermentation are placed on a rack with rollers called an oxorack, and by rotating the barrels, the same effect as punchage can be achieved.
JAN code: 4582672766119
2018 Vintage Review
Wine Advocate: 91+ points
James Suckling...91 points
Vinos: 92 points
Jeb Dunnuck...90 points
Reference evaluation
Wine Advocate: 88 points (2012, 2014)
Vinos...88 points (2014)
James Suckling...87-88 points (2014)
The aroma of gorgeous fruits such as black cherry and cassis is woven in layers. There are also smoky nuances such as mocha, chocolate, and espresso, and the aroma of herbs. The tannins are very ripe and have a smooth texture. The aftertaste is very long and has a luxurious taste. The Despagne family, which owns Ch. Montpela, has been involved in Bordeaux wine in the Entre-Deux-Mers region for over 200 years. In 1998, the current owner Thibaut and his father Jean-Louis Despagne purchased this vineyard, and Thibaut, who intuitively sensed the potential of the vineyard, invested all his fortune to organize the vineyard and improve the winery, and the history of Ch. Montpela began anew. The team of five people, led by the genius winemaker Michel Rolland, including three wine scientists and one agricultural engineer, aims to make the best wine, and in recent years, it has been highly rated more than Lafite and Chateau Margaux, winning numerous awards at domestic and international wine competitions. Furthermore, it has become a wine that has been praised by many famous critics. Robert Parker called it "the best Bordeaux wine yet to be discovered!", and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson praised it, saying, "Compared to Cabernets from California and other regions, this wine is absolutely outstanding, its quality and delicacy surpassing all other wines. It's one of those wines you definitely want to own!" It also appears in the popular wine manga "Kami no Shizuku" currently being serialized in Morning Weekly in Japan. It is also the first wine the main character drinks in the story. In the story, in a comparative tasting with Opus One, Chateau Montpellat's 2001 is portrayed as being superior to Opus One, which led to the wine becoming temporarily difficult to obtain in the Japanese market.
Monpela Fields
The vineyards are located on four hills facing south or southwest. After purchasing the vineyards, Thibaut will carry out a large-scale soil survey with a target period of 20 years. First, he will dig holes about 80cm deep throughout the vineyard to survey the soil. There are 1,000 of them. From those, he will dig 50 holes that showed the highest potential and survey the deeper layers by digging them 3m deeper. The Montpela vineyards are also very undulating, ranging from 110m to 72m above sea level, and when it rains, the water accumulates in the vineyards below. Therefore, by installing drainage outlets in the vineyards, the amount of water can be controlled and the grapes will not be diluted, allowing grapes to be grown with a consistent quality every year. As for cultivation, two people are basically in charge of each plot. They work all day from 5:45am to 3pm, and continue to work until the harvest. This will make the workers feel attached to the vineyards and increase their motivation, which will result in good grapes being grown. The Montpellat vineyards are roughly divided into sandy, gravel-limestone, and clay soils, in order of altitude. The Sauvignon Blanc used for Les Amants de Montpellat Blanc comes from clay-limestone fields located at exceptionally high altitudes. In addition to the clay-limestone soil that Sauvignon Blanc prefers, the relatively high altitude keeps the temperature from rising too much, which allows aromatic grapes to be produced. In addition, there is a plot of land in the Montpellat vineyard called "Chapelle," which has long been treated as a sacred place for offering prayers to the god of nature, and this vineyard is said to have the highest potential. Located on the slope of a hill, the collapsed slope allows you to see the "blue clay" that Thibaut describes as the characteristic of this vineyard. The grapes for Les Amants de Montpellat Rouge "Côtes de Bordeaux" come from blue clay soils scattered throughout the Montpellat vineyards, mainly in the Chapelle plot. Special care is also given to the cultivation. To maintain the moisture balance in the fields, they allow weeds to grow, which acts as a cushion during field work, and they hand-select the leaves and pick the bunches before and after they color. They limit the harvest to around six bunches per vine, and they hand-harvest them when they are fully ripe. Thibaut's strong desire to make good wine every year is evident. In addition, in the Montpela vineyard, they have created two artificial lakes and are actively planting trees. This is to make the ecosystem of the vineyard closer to nature, and it is said that recently it has become more common to see various creatures in the vineyard. Despagne's environmental efforts do not stop there, as wastewater from the vineyards and winery is filtered and cleaned before being discharged.
Special notes on brewing
When transporting grapes to the tanks at Montpela, a top-like container with casters specially designed for this winery is used. The grapes in this container are transported to the top of the tank without being shaken by vibration, and the bottom part opens up so that they can be placed into the fermentation tank almost intact. This method, which is not yet widely known, helps to achieve a stable flavor and supple tannins. In addition, racks from Oxoline are used during the aging of red wine. These racks are equipped with rollers, and barrels are set on them and rotated periodically, allowing for hygienic and efficient batonnage without the use of tools. By using such state-of-the-art equipment and working efficiently, we can continue to produce wines of stable quality while reducing costs such as labor costs. These reforms have built the foundation of Montpela today. Currently, the winery has grown into a large winery with a total vineyard area of 120 hectares and 45 employees.
By the way... the chateau was purchased about 15 years ago, but the renovations have not progressed much, and even now there are traces of walls being removed inside the chateau. This is because investments in the fields and cellars have been prioritized over the residence, and this is one example of the passion that Despagne has for winemaking.