Château Dame de Montrose 2011
Château Dame de Montrose 2011 is a red Saint-Estèphe wine from Bordeaux, produced by Château Montrose. This La Dame de Montrose cuvée, the estate's second wine, blends Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The Wine Advocate awards it 86/100 and recommends drinking it between 2014 and 2022; James Suckling gives it 90/100, to be enjoyed from 2015. Critics describe a medium-bodied wine with dark fruit and spice notes, supported by silky tannins and a fresh finish.
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bordeaux
- Appellation
- Saint Estèphe
- Producteur / Domaine
- Château Montrose
- Cuvée
- La Dame de Montrose
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Château Montrose
Château Montrose is a Saint-Estèphe estate, classified as a Second Grand Cru in the 1855 classification. Its 95-hectare vineyard, comprising a single block, overlooks the Gironde estuary on deep gravel soils with a clay subsoil. The estate has been owned by Martin and Olivier Bouygues since 2006.
- Owner
- Martin et Olivier Bouygues
- Maître de chais
- Vincent Decup
- Surface (ha)
- 95.00 ha
Histoire du domaine
The origins of Château Montrose date back to the land acquired in 1778 by Étienne Dumoulin from Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur. His son, Étienne Théodore Dumoulin, cleared the moorland at Escargeon, planted the first vines and had the estate’s buildings constructed in 1815. The name Montrose refers to the pink-flowered heather that once covered these lands. In 1855, the château was classified as a Second Grand Cru, even though its vineyard was only around forty years old at the time. On the death of Théodore Dumoulin in 1861, the vineyard covered 95 hectares. The Alsatian industrialist Mathieu Dollfus acquired the estate in 1866, reorganised its operations, modernised its facilities and developed a complex of accommodation and amenities for the estate’s employees. He also contributed to the fight against phylloxera by flooding the plots using a wind-powered pump drawing water from a well. The Charmolüe family took over in 1896 and retained ownership of Montrose for three generations; Jean-Louis Charmolüe, in particular, undertook a replanting of the vineyard and a modernisation of the equipment from 1960 onwards. Martin and Olivier Bouygues bought the château in 2006, and between 2007 and 2013 carried out a major renovation of the buildings and winemaking facilities. Pierre Graffeuille has been managing director since October 2022 and Vincent Decup serves as technical director.
La Dame de Montrose
La Dame de Montrose is the second wine of Château Montrose, crafted from the same vineyard as the Grand Vin and resulting from a second selection. Generally dominated by Merlot, it offers a suppler and more quickly approachable expression of the terroir. It is aged for an average of 12 months, with 30% new oak barrels.
- Origin of the cuvée name
- Created in tribute to Yvonne Charmolüe, who single-handedly managed Château Montrose from 1944 to 1960.
- Cuvée creation year
- 1983
- Style of the cuvée
- A wine generally dominated by Merlot, supple and silky, marked by red fruits and designed to reach maturity more quickly than the Grand Vin.
- Position within the range
- Second wine of Château Montrose, positioned between the Grand Vin Château Montrose and the third wine Tertio de Montrose.
Histoire de la cuvée
The cuvée was created in 1983 as a tribute to Yvonne Charmolüe. She directed Château Montrose entirely on her own between 1944 and 1960. La Dame de Montrose has since held the position of the estate's second wine.
