2012 Château Montrose, St Estèphe in gift box

Ch. Montrose is at the leading edge of low-impact winemaking in Bordeaux. For more than 15 years, the property has been improving biodiversity, vineyard health energy use – plus all the CO2 from fermentation is captured and turned into bicarbonate of soda. “Ch. Montrose is in the middle of nature,” says spokesperson Lorraine Watrin. “Our vision here is to reveal the beautiful riches of the terroir.”

In 2010, Ch. Montrose purchased 22ha of prime land from their neighbours, Ch. Phélan-Ségur. The vineyard exactly borders Montrose on its western side and is planted with 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon. According to who you speak with, this may be Phélan’s best parcel and the Merlot is especially prized. This has given the Montrose team a short-term puzzle, resulting in a higher than usual proportion of Merlot in the blend for the Grand Vin. This will be adjusted over the coming years as existing Montrose Merlot on excellent Cabernet land near the river is replanted to the latter, but in the meantime there is an embarrassment of fine Merlot on the estate. Not that this is a problem: in 2012 the Merlot excelled. This wine, with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, is dense and spicy, with the very low-yielding Cabernet fully ripe and giving an earnest backbone to some high quality Merlot. This is perhaps not a traditional Montrose, but it is certainly a beguiling one.

Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director, Berry Bros. & Rudd