Château Montlabert

Château Montlabert is a beautiful 18th-century stone mansion surrounded by parkland with trees over a hundred years old. It also has a former hunting lodge that has been converted into a guest house. This Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is located on the road to Libourne, right next to the Plateau de Figeac and the place known as “Grâce Dieu”, and no more than 600 metres from the illustrious names of the Grands Crus classés, such as Cheval Blanc, Figeac and Clos des Jacobins. The origins of this estate go back to the first vineyards of Saint-Emilion. Its current name was given to it in the 18th century by Jean Michel Descazes-Montlabert, who built a large residence surrounded by parkland where the trees he had planted still stand. The Château Montlabert vineyard, in a single block, is situated on deep, sandy-gravelly ancient sands, with clay subsoils.
The techniques that have been used for several years will be continued and refined: grassing, working the soil under the rows, parcel selection, leaf thinning, green harvesting… and, more generally, managing the vines according to integrated farming practices in order to produce high-quality grapes for vinification. The harvest is carried out parcel by parcel. The grapes are sorted on arrival at the winery on a sorting table. Fermentation and maceration take place in temperature-controlled concrete or stainless steel vats. The wines are then matured in French oak barrels. The 38,000 bottles of Château Montlabert grace the finest tables in France and, above all, Navarre… 80% of which are currently exported! The malolactic fermentation is carried out in new French barrels so that the barrels can be stirred. Ludovic Hérault, Cellar Master and Vineyard Manager, ensures that the vines and wine flourish, characterised by the breed and finesse of the great wines of Bordeaux’s right bank. Château Montlabert will be TerraVitis-certified for sustainable viticulture in 2011, and since 2009 the Castel family has called on Hubert de Bouärd de Laforest to assist the vineyard manager throughout the year.