Chateau Monbousquet

Château Monbousquet is a property in Saint-Émilion particularly known for its lush, ripe, modern-styled wines. Long regarded as an underachiever, quality has increased greatly in the past quarter century and the wines are now some of the best in the region. Since 2006, Monbousquet has been ranked as a Grand Cru Classé.

The estate comprises 32 hectares (79 acres) with all but a small parcel planted to red varieties in the proportion 60 percent Merlot, 30 percent Cabernet Franc, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. As with Cheval Blanc and Figeac, the soils are largely gravelly, which suits the high proportion of Cabernets. The vineyard was completely redrained in 1993 when Gérard Perse purchased the property.

The grand vin, and second wine Angélique de Monbousquet, are both fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The grand vin sees 18-24 months in new barriques, while the Angélique is made from younger vines and aged for 18 months in one-year-old barriques. Both are then bottled unfined and unfiltered. The varietal composition of the wines reflects the vineyard plantings.

Monbousquet also makes a citrusy, dry Bordeaux Blanc from a small parcel of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Semillon and Muscadelle. When this parcel was planted in 1994, these varieties were unheard of in Saint-Émilion and white wines produced within the appellation boundaries remain very rare.