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Press Kit September 2015

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Credit / from top to bottom and from left to right: Château Montrose ©Alain Benoit - Château Montrose ©H. Fabre - The main barrel hall ©Alain Benoit

The vineyard ©F. Poincet - The vineyard ©H. Fabre

Lorraine WATRIN, Responsable Commercial, RH, et Qualité

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Photo credit: Hervé Berland, Mélissa Bouygues, Martin Bouygues ©Alain Benoit The harvest at Château Montrose ©Aline Dautresme - The main barrel hall's gallery ©Alain Benoit Château Montrose ©Aline Dautresme - Château Montrose - La Dame de Montrose ©Saison d'or

The main barrel hall ©Alain Benoit

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Contents

The name of Montrose

The history of a timeless wine

Two centuries and three families A unique project for an exceptional terroir

The advantages and riches of Montrose

An exceptional terroir

A gently sloping vineyard overlooking the Gironde estuary

A vineyard in a single continuous sweep

A complex geology destined to produce great wines

Exceptional exposure

A select mix of grape varieties

A terroir served by high-quality human resources

An experienced and multi-faceted management team

Experienced vineyard and winery staff

A terroir served by cutting-edge technology

A shared philosophy and shared values

The three wines of Montrose

The new face of Montrose

The challenges of a historic renovation for Montrose

Cross-disciplinary expertise

A unique environmental dimension in the Bordeaux area

Your contacts at Montrose

Annex: press releases

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5

The name of Montrose

The legend

The rolling landscape of

Montrose used to be heathland,

covered in a scrub of gorse and

heather, known as the “Lande

d’Escargeon”. The pink of the heather was easily visible from afar,

especially from the river, much travelled by merchant ships. It gave

sailors the idea of calling the place “Mont Rose”, or pink hill, a

name which Etienne Théodore Dumoulin adopted for his estate.

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The history of a timeless wine The history of Montrose, written by three families of owners over two centuries, is a reflection of

their spirit, marked by their quest for excellence and by legendary vintages. They laid the

foundations to which Montrose now owes its image and its unique place in the universe of great

wines.

Théodore Dumoulin, the pioneer

On his father’s death, Etienne Théodore Dumoulin discovered the patch of

heathland that everyone had forgotten about, sold to his family by Nicolas

Alexandre de Ségur. His immediate intuition was that vines could be grown

there and produce great wines. So began the history of Montrose, written by

the man who would clear the scrub, plant the vineyard and build the necessary

facilities to operate the estate and make the wine.

1855 marked the birth of a Grand Cru with the inclusion of Château Montrose in

the official classification, a spectacular achievement for a vineyard barely 40

years old, so much younger than the other 60 classified growths in the Médoc.

Etienne Théodore Dumoulin continued to expand his vineyard. On his death in

1861 he left his heirs an estate spanning 95 hectares (234 acres), its current

size.

Mathieu Dollfus, the builder

Mathieu Dollfus, an industrialist from Alsace, acquired Montrose in 1866 and

began to reorganise the estate. He redeveloped the existing buildings and built

new ones, modernised the facilities and introduced new vinegrowing and

winemaking methods. From the vineyard to the winery, he endowed Montrose

with the best technology available at the time.

He was also a pioneer in human resources, creating ideal, unique and generous

working and living conditions for his staff, including housing on the estate, free

healthcare and profit sharing.

Designer of the “Montrose village” with its squares and streets, he had a huge

influence on the life of Montrose. A visionary entrepreneur, he managed to

halt the scourge of phylloxera by installing a windmill which pumped water

from an underground well and flooded the land, saving the Montrose vineyard.

The windmill, preserved by successive generations of owners, is now one of

the symbols of Montrose.

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Jean-Louis Charmolüe, the manager

Following on from the builder Mathieu Dollfus, who died in 1886, the Charmolüe

family guided the estate along the path of stability and excellence for 110 years,

from 1896 to 2006.

For over a century, with these managers at the helm, Montrose steadily enhanced

its reputation. The estate regularly produced legendary vintages, maintaining

consistently high quality, even during difficult times.

Château Montrose remained in the Charmolüe family despite a severe economic

crisis and two world wars. In 1960, Jean-Louis Charmolüe started to replant the

vineyard and modernise the facilities, consolidating Montrose’s position as one of

the finest Médoc wines.

Martin and Olivier Bouygues, a unique project for an exceptional terroir

Succeeding three generations of the Charmolüe family, Martin and Olivier

Bouygues acquired Château Montrose in 2006. They loved its wines, to which they

had been introduced by their father, Francis Bouygues. Aware of the potential of its

unique terroir, they appreciated the advantages and riches of the estate and

decided to invest in it. Under their impetus, Montrose entered the 21st century with

a spectacular reconstruction project.

After seven years of renovation, carried out with respect for the environment and

designed to enhance and improve the vineyard and buildings, Montrose is now a

jewel, endowed with cutting-edge technology while respecting the pure 18th

century architectural style typical of the Bordeaux region.

In 2014, Montrose reveals its new face and its ambitions for the future.

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The advantages and riches of Montrose Blessed with undisputed natural assets combined with advantages nurtured over the centuries,

Château Montrose has one of the region’s most privileged winegrowing terroirs.

An exceptional terroir

Five kilometres north of Pauillac in Saint-Estèphe, the northernmost appellation in

the Médoc, Montrose is situated on a very well-drained and ideally exposed gravelly

outcrop which runs for over a kilometre along the Gironde estuary.

A gently sloping vineyard overlooking the Gironde estuary

Vineyards close to the river are a common feature of several very fine

Médoc wines. Montrose is one of the few estates to enjoy such a highly

privileged situation. The proximity of this vast mass of water acts as a

natural regulator, while the slope of the land down towards the river

gives the vineyard natural drainage.

A vineyard in a single continuous sweep

Montrose’s 95 hectares (234 acres) vineyard surrounds the château, the

winery and the outbuildings in a single continuous sweep, an excep-

tional and historically very rare feature. As well as making the vineyard

easier to work, this unity means that it can be treated as a single entity,

providing ideal conditions for monitoring the state of each parcel and

for efficient organisation.

A complex geology destined to produce great wines

Pierre Becheler, a geologist who specialises in the Médoc region, places

the Montrose terroir in Terrace 4 of his classification, one of the areas

most conducive to the production of fine wines. The soil geology is very

similar to that of Château Latour, with which Montrose is often

compared. It consists mainly of gravel from the Pyrenees and the Massif

Central, mixed with sand on the surface, and clay-rich subsoil favouring

the constitution of deep natural reserves from which the vines can draw

the water they need.

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Exceptional exposure

Montrose’s situation, on an outcrop overlooking the estuary, is

precious to the vineyard because of its exposure to wind and sun. The

rows of vines are planted north-south, enabling the grapes to take full

advantage of the sun throughout the day. The dominant north-west

winds get rid of excessive humidity when it rains, while the nearby

estuary has a moderating effect on extreme temperatures. For

example, the Montrose vineyard escaped the frost in 1991 and the

development of botrytis during the 2013 harvest.

A select mix of grape varieties

The mix of grape varieties at Montrose is typical of the finest Médoc

estates, with Cabernet Sauvignon predominant (60%). Parcels of

Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Petit Verdot (2%) are also

planted where the soil suits them best, enabling the grapes to reach

full maturity and express the complexity typical of the terroir.

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A terroir served by high-quality human resources One of the many riches of Montrose is its people, comprising professionals who

bring strong personalities and complementary expertise to serve the terroir.

An experienced and multi-faceted management team

Combining local knowledge and academic expertise, Montrose’s multi-

generational management team headed by Hervé Berland draws on a wealth of

experience in many different fields.

Hervé Berland - CEO

With 35 years’ experience in the wine business, notably as a senior

manager of a "1st Grand Cru Classé", Hervé Berland brings the same

high-level skills as his predecessor Jean-Bernard Delmas, who

managed the estate from 2006 to 2011. Hervé joined Château

Montrose in April 2012, having agreed to take up a new challenge at

the request of Martin and Olivier Bouygues.

Patricia Teynac - Vineyard Manager

A self-taught vinegrower, Patricia Teynac was appointed vineyard

manager in 2008. With 25 years’ experience, she has exhaustive

knowledge of vineyard practices and the terroir and brings very

precious expertise to the estate.

Vincent Decup - Cellarmaster

Trained oenologist with a background in biochemistry, he has worked

in the wine industry in both France and the US at J.P Moueix’s

Estates. He left his position as Technical Director at Château Le Cône

(Blaye) in June 2014 to become the Cellarmaster of Château

Montrose.

Lorraine Watrin - Quality, Sales and HR manager

A graduate of ENITA, the leading agricultural college in Bordeaux,

and the daughter of a winegrower, Lorraine Watrin joined the team

at Château Montrose in 2007. Her academic qualifications combined

with vineyard experience both in Bordeaux and around the world

have brought valuable skills to serve the estate’s new ambitions.

Hélène Brochet - Communication and Events Manager

With a background in communication and events management,

Hélène Brochet joined Montrose in 2013, bringing a wealth of

experience in major groups, including several years as director of

communication of a "1st Grand Cru Classé".

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Experienced vineyard and winery staff

Montrose has its own vineyard and winery staff, keeping the use of

outside service providers to a minimum. Trained in Montrose methods,

the staff know the estate inside out. They are loyal, as is the team of 60

professional harvesters who every year come from the same village,

Pruna, in southern Spain.

Housed at the estate for the four to six weeks of the harvest, they

complement the Château staff’s work with the precision and efficiency of

their picking.

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A terroir served by cutting-edge technology

Sustainable development was a key element of the renovation project from

the outset, with the aim of substantially reducing the estate’s carbon

footprint while continuing to produce fine wines to even more exacting

quality standards.

All the buildings have been renovated so that staff can work in the best

possible conditions, using cutting-edge technology, in order to offer

Montrose wines a setting worthy of them in a pure XVIIIth century

architectural style typical of Bordeaux.

Today, on completion of this ambitious programme, Château Montrose has:

standard-setting facilities in terms of sustainable development,

buildings redesigned in order to ensure optimum conditions for

making and maturing wine,

a harmonious combination of cutting-edge environmental and

winemaking technology and architectural beauty.

(for more detail, see p. 15, “The new face of Montrose”)

A shared philosophy and shared values

Terroir is central to everything at Montrose. It needs to be treated with

respect, day after day, in order to express all its diversity. Each individual

contribution, in-house or from outside, aims for uncompromising excellence.

Every day, in the vineyard as in the winery, the estate’s traditional working

methods and cutting-edge technology come together in rigorous and highly

precise manual skills.

Replanting the vineyard

Continuing Montrose’s traditional philosophy, a plan to replant the

entire vineyard over a 40-year period was drawn up in 2006.

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Introducing competition between vinestocks

Vinestocks have to compete with their neighbours in order to produce

good grapes. The planting density is very high: around 9,000 vines per

hectare, for a controlled target yield of 45 hectolitres per hectare.

Harvesting at maximum maturity

Judicious leaf and crop thinning has been carried out across the entire

vineyard since 2006 in order to forestall grey rot and enable the grapes to

reach full maturity.

Harvesting by hand

Starting with Merlot and ending with Cabernet Sauvignon on the main

plateau, the grapes are picked at phenolic maturity. In order to protect

the fruit and preserve all the aroma and flavour, bunches are hand-picked

and laid in small open baskets by an experienced team of pickers who

have been coming to Montrose for several generations.

A vat-house suited to very precise parcel selection

The highly functional vat-house, built in 2000, has two intake areas and 60

temperature-controlled stainless steel vats of different sizes, allowing for

very precise parcel selection and bespoke vinification. A pneumatic

horizontal press favours meticulous pressing.

Blending

Starting in November, blending tastings are carried out in order to strike

the best possible balance between powerful tannins and expressive fruit,

both characteristics of Montrose wines. This phase completes the

selection already carried out in the vineyard.

Maturing

From January, each vintage is barrel-matured in a special barrel hall, for 16

to 18 months for the premium wine and for 12 months on average for the

second label, La Dame de Montrose.

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The three wines of Montrose Three wines with a distinctive style and complementary personalities are produced from the Montrose

terroir.

Château Montrose

The result of rigorous selection at each stage of production, in both the

vineyard and the winery, this great, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon

wine is typical of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. Structured and tannic but

with all the elegance and refinement of a Grand Cru Classé, with time it

develops a delicate and complex bouquet. The wines have considerable

ageing potential and are exceptionally long-lived. Certain vintages (1921,

1929, 1982, 1990, 2009) are considered legendary. Matured for 16 to 18

months in 60% new oak barrels, the premium wine accounts on average for

55% of the total production of Château Montrose.

La Dame de Montrose

Made to the same rigorous standards as the first wine, from grapes grown

in the same vineyard, La Dame de Montrose is the estate’s second label.

Supple and silky Merlot generally predominates in the varietal mix. Its very

pronounced red fruit aromas and flavours reflect another expression of the

terroir in a distinctive style which is less elaborately complex than that of

the first wine. Consistently reliable and reaching maturity sooner, La Dame

de Montrose pays tribute to Yvonne Charmolüe, who ran Château

Montrose single-handedly from 1944 to 1960. Production varies from one

year to another but accounts on average for 30% of the total production of

the Montrose vineyard.

Le Saint-Estèphe de Montrose

The estate’s third wine, Saint-Estèphe de Montrose is a typical Bordeaux

blend which can be enjoyed in its youth.

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The new face of Montrose

After seven years of works, from 2007 to 2013, a comprehensive programme of renovation has given

Montrose a new face.

In line with the traditional values of Montrose and those of Martin and Olivier Bouygues, the

renovation combines a quest for performance with respect for people and the environment. It enables

everyone to work in ideal conditions in an exceptionally beautiful setting.

The challenges of a historical renovation for Montrose

The 10,000-m² renovation meets four major challenges set by Martin

and Olivier Bouygues:

to give Montrose the best vinegrowing and winemaking facilities,

including a new main barrel hall where the first wine can mature in

ideal conditions;

to identify and take advantage of every opportunity to save and

produce energy;

to respect the environment and significantly reduce the estate’s

carbon footprint;

to preserve the overall architecture of Château Montrose in the

typical XVIIIth century Bordeaux style.

The project was carried out in phases in order to minimise disruption

and allow the estate to keep working.

Cross-disciplinary expertise

The project was led by Bouygues Rénovation Privée, experts in very

high-end renovation projects, such as the Ritz and Shangri-La hotels in

Paris, and Yves Grémont, an official French heritage architect. It was

carried out by Atelier Bernard Mazières, a Bordeaux firm specialising in

winery renovation.

The interior decoration, inspired by the colour of the local stone and

with pure lines and mineral floors, was overseen by Mélissa Bouygues,

Chairwoman of Château Montrose, and interior decorator Corine

Servonnat-Baudron.

In accordance with Martin Bouygues’ wish to support the local

economy, local firms carried out most of the works.

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A unique environmental dimension in the Bordeaux area The Château Montrose renovation is a High Environmental Quality project.

Low-energy buildings

In a quest for overall performance, the renovated buildings feature

dual insulation which enables them to consume 50% less energy

than the average.

Geothermal energy

Water from an Eocene aquifer is pumped at a constant temperature

of 15° C from a well 100 metres deep. The heat is recovered in an

energy production plant with a heat plate exchanger. Heated or

chilled water is circulated in the ceilings or via air-conditioning

plants, depending on the building. The system is also used to control

the temperature of the barrel halls and stainless steel vats.

3,000 m² of photovoltaic panels

In order to achieve an energy balance, 1,700 rooftop photovoltaic

panels, invisible from the ground, have been installed.

Taking advantage of the Médoc’s generous sunshine, this

exceptional feature for a château winery generates enough

electricity to meet the day-to-day needs of all the buildings.

On-site effluent treatment

Montrose has a natural waste treatment plant which treats all the

winery effluent and recovers wastewater from all the buildings.

The main barrel hall, centrepiece of the renovation project

The renovation and extension programme at Château Montrose

spans over 10,000 m² of working buildings, offices and reception

rooms.

The main barrel hall, where Montrose’s first wine is matured, is the

centrepiece of the project, combining cutting-edge technology with

traditional XVIIIth century architecture.

Under an 11-metre-high ceiling, with very precisely controlled

humidity and temperature and in an atmosphere of almost monastic

silence, the 1,000-m² main barrel hall welcomed its first vintage in

2014: Château Montrose 2013.

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Your contacts at Montrose

Martin Bouygues Owner

Olivier Bouygues Owner

Mélissa Bouygues Chairwoman

Hervé Berland CEO

Press contacts: At Château Montrose Hélène Brochet Communication Manager +33 (0)5 56 59 30 12 hbrochet@chateau-montrose.com Press office Canal Com / Noëlle Arnault +33 (0)5 56 79 70 53 agence@canal-com.eu Montrose visuals and press kit can be downloaded from www.canal-com.eu

www.chateau-montrose.com

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A High Environmental Quality site Giving Château Montrose a unique environmental dimension in the Bordeaux region, the seven-

year renovation project on 10,000-m² was guided by a quest for performance, based on putting

forth every opportunity to save and produce energy, and on a policy of environmental respect,

designed to reduce significantly traces of carbon on the estate.

See page 16 for information about:

the geothermal system

the 3,000 m² of photovoltaic panels

effluent treatment

Credit ©Château Montrose

Annex

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Press release / March 2014

After an exceptional renovation project begun in 2007 and guided by a concern for sustainability, Château Montrose reveals its new face, unique in the Bordeaux region The main barrel hall welcomes its first vintage: Montrose 2013

Over two centuries, three families gave Montrose its foundations and its strength, raising its wine to the pinnacle of excellence and renown. As pioneers in the Médoc, visionary builders and astute managers, they cared for its unique terroir and got the best out of the terroir: a vineyard in a single continuous sweep on a well-drained, gravelly plateau. The Grand Cru estate closest to the Gironde, benefiting from a particularly temperate microclimate, its magnificent terroir has earned Montrose the name “Latour of Saint-Estèphe”. Martin and Olivier Bouygues, lovers of Château Montrose wines and confident in the estate’s infinite development potential, acquired this Médoc Grand Cru in 2006 and immediately invested substantial resources in enhancing and embellishing it.

An ambitious seven-year renovation programme without any interruption of activity

The project was led by Bouygues Rénovation Privée, experts in very high-end renovation projects, and Yves Grémont, an official French heritage architect. It was carried out by Atelier Bernard Mazières, a Bordeaux firm specialising in winery renovation.

The exceptional project took seven years, from 2007 to 2013, a timespan justified by the wish to respect the estate’s cycle of activity. The 10,000-m² renovation met four major challenges set by Martin and Olivier Bouygues:

to give Château Montrose the finest winemaking facilities, including a new 1,000-m², 11-metre-high main barrel hall where the premium wine can mature in ideal conditions,

to identify and take advantage of every opportunity to save and produce energy, especially through a geothermal system and 3,000 m² of rooftop solar panels,

to respect the environment and significantly reduce the estate’s carbon footprint,

to preserve the overall architecture of Château Montrose in the typical 18th

century Bordeaux style.

Under the supervision of Mélissa Bouygues and with the managerial skills of Hervé Berland, who has brought Montrose 35 years of experience, notably as a senior manager of a "1st Grand Cru Classé", the estate’s assets also include a team in which vinegrowers and winemakers rub shoulders with technical specialists and academic experts.

From a 95-hectare (235-acre) vineyard planted with a select mix of grape varieties dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), alongside Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Petit Verdot (2%), Château Montrose produces three wines, each with a distinctive style but with complementary personalities: Château Montrose, La Dame de Montrose and Saint-Estèphe de Montrose.

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Press release / September 2014

Robert Parker gives Château Montrose 2010 a score of 100/100 "One of the best vintages the estate has ever produced"

In June, Robert Parker again tasted the 2010 vintage of Château Montrose, a superb wine which he had given a score of 99 in March 2013. He considers the wine to have “always possessed First Growth potential”. Joining its 1990 and 2009 vintages at the pinnacle of Parker’s rating system, Château Montrose was given 100/100, a score awarded exceptionally to “extraordinary wine of profound and complex character”.

Robert Parker’s commentary

"This is considered to be among the greatest vintages ever made in Montrose right up with the 1929, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990, et 2009. Harvest was September 27 to October 15. The wine has really come on since I last tasted and it needs at least another 10 years of cellaring. The blend was 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. The wine is opaque black/blue, with an incredible nose of blueberry and blackberry liqueur, with hints of incense, licorice, and acacia flowers. Tannins are incredibly sweet and very present. The wine is full-bodied, even massive, with great purity, depth and a finish that goes on close to a minute. This is a 50- to 75-year-old wine that will repay handsomely those with good aging genes." (Note: The Château Montrose website gives an aging potential of 2020-2100.)

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Press release / December 2014

On 18 June 2015 Château Montrose will host the Fête de la Fleur,

celebrating the 200th anniversary of its exceptional vineyard

In 1815, Étienne Théodore Dumoulin planted the Château Montrose vineyard.

In 2006, Martin and Olivier Bouygues acquired the estate.

A barrel hall like a cathedral for a thousand international guests

Having completely renovated the estate, the owners of Château Montrose have

chosen to host the Fête de la Fleur in 2015.

It is in their entirely renovated property, with the 18th century jewel of the premium

wine barrel hall as its centrepiece, that, on 18 June, they will welcome over a

thousand guests for the prestigious and very traditional reception that brings

Vinexpo Bordeaux to a close.

An international occasion to celebrate the 200-year history of an exceptional vineyard

Organised since 1949 by the Commanderie du Bontemps and presided over by its

Grand Master Emmanuel Cruse, the Fête de la Fleur celebrates the flowering of the

vine. It will also coincide with the commemoration of the 200-year history of the

exceptional Château Montrose vineyard. It will be an opportunity for Mélissa

Bouygues, president of Château Montrose, and Hervé Berland, CEO of the estate, to

present it to the distinguished guests, whether wine professionals or fine wine

lovers, at this legendary and unmissable international event.

(©The main barrel hall Château Montrose ©Alain Benoit)

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Press release / June 2015

First Fête de la Fleur at Château Montrose

1600 guests for an international celebration of the 200th anniversary of the vineyard and the end of Vinexpo

At 6.30pm on Thursday, 18 June, Mélissa Bouygues, President of Château

Montrose, Martin and Olivier Bouygues, owners since 2006, and Emmanuel Cruse,

Grand Master of the Commanderie du Bontemps, started to welcome the 1,600

guests invited to the 64th Fête de la Fleur, the first to take place in the grounds of

this exceptional estate.

Chosen by the owners of top wine estates in the Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and

Barsac to organise this exceptional gala evening, one of the most glittering events

in the French wine industry calendar, Château Montrose was also celebrating two

milestones in its own history:

the 200th anniversary of the planting of its vineyard in an exceptional location

overlooking the Gironde estuary;

the completion of a spectacular renovation over a 7-year period so that the

estate can continue to enhance its international reputation, backed up by

facilities that are remarkable in every respect, whether technical or

architectural.

1,600 guests to ring down the curtain on Vinexpo

The Fête de la Fleur traditionally marks the end of Vinexpo Bordeaux. This year,

the Bouygues family wanted the event to combine beauty and simplicity, fine

dining and poetry, expressing the values of an estate which cultivates the art of

discretion.

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From top to bottom and left to right: François Lafon, Jane Hartley (US Ambassador to France and Monaco), Mélissa Bouygues, Alain Boucheron - Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Martin Bouygues - Alain Juppé, Virginie Cruse - Comte Louis-James de Viel Castel, Carole Bouquet - Mélissa Bouygues, Alain Juppé - ©M.ANGLADA-SAISON D'OR

Distinguished guests from the worlds of fine Bordeaux wines, finance,

international luxury goods, politics and the arts included Alain Juppé, François

Pinault (also owner of the famous Château Latour), Carole Bouquet (a French

actress who makes wine on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria), Hubert Guerrand

Hermès, Jane Hartley (US Ambassador to France and Monaco), the jeweller Alain

Boucheron and Jean-Pierre Raffarin (senator and former prime minister).

Investiture by the Commanderie du Bontemps and its Grand Master Emmanuel Cruse of 40 guests,

including Jean-Pierre Raffarin ©M.ANGLADA-SAISON D'OR

Investiture by the Commanderie of 40 new international ambassadors

Each Fête de la Fleur is also an occasion for the Commanderie du Bontemps to

welcome new Honorary Commanders into its ranks. Some of them are household

names, some not, but they all share a love of the wines to which they swear an

oath of loyalty. On completion of the investiture ceremony, celebrated in front of

the château, 40 guests sponsored by one or more established Commanders thus

became true ambassadors of Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac wines.

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Christian Le Squer, executive chef of the Four Seasons George V, created a five-course dinner accompanied by six wines

3-star Michelin chef Christian Le Squer has taken his signature style of generous

gourmet cooking into the Four Seasons Hôtel George V, bringing a lightness

unencumbered by the opulence traditionally associated with palaces.

Invited by Martin Bouygues to create the menu for the gala dinner at the Fête de

la Fleur, Le Squer drew his inspiration from the juxtaposition of terroir and river,

starting with Caviar de Montrose. As at his restaurant in Paris, his creations

combined beauty, purity and simplicity, values which are inherent in the genetic

make-up of Château Montrose and Château Tronquoy-Lalande, Martin and Olivier

Bouygues’ second property in Saint-Estèphe, which also featured at the event.

Matching six wines (Château Tronquoy-Lalande white 2012 - Château Tronquoy-

Lalande red 2010 - Château Malartic-Lagravière 2005 - Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

2000 - Château Montrose 1986 in magnums - Château Rieussec 2007), five courses

were served in the estate’s four barrel halls, all pressed into service and

sumptuously decorated to accommodate the 150 tables. A ceremonial

announcement heralded each entry of the 110 sommeliers to serve the wines,

several thousand bottles of which had been opened for the exceptional gala

dinner

The imaginary garden of Montrose: a glittering finale, an ode to the land

It was nearly 11.00pm when the guests reached the natural theatre where the

show to culminate the event took place: the Château Montrose vineyard.

Poetic projections onto huge balloons, a sound and light show evoking all the

elements which make up the Château Montrose terroir and the history of a

vineyard celebrating its 200th anniversary that night all combined in a truly

spectacular climax to the evening. Once the last starbursts of the firework display

had faded away, a DJ was waiting to continue the party in the superb Eiffel-style

orangerie erected in the gardens of the château, where guests carried on dancing

into the small hours of a night set ablaze by the Fête de la Fleur with sparkling

cascades of glittering light. ©M.ANGLADA-SAISON D'OR

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Press release / September 2015

2015 grape harvest at Château Montrose Reaping the fruits of experiment in the vineyard and winery The care lavished on the vines throughout the year helps to produce the best grapes to make the best wines. What might seem to be a truism is in fact just a starting point. Because notwithstanding high-tech facilities and meticulous preparation of the vines, every day all the members of the multidisciplinary team at Château Montrose seek to increase their understanding of the terroir in order to get the very best out of it.

The Montrose way

In order to obtain high-quality, perfectly ripe grapes and hence to produce powerful and elegant wines true to the Montrose style, the entire team at the estate, especially the technical duo consisting of vineyard manager Patricia Teynac* and cellarmaster Vincent Decup*, work hand in hand all year round in a spirit of research and experiment fostered by estate manager Hervé Berland. The 2015 harvest1 will reflect the outcome of a full-scale trial in part of the vineyard of the conclusions of two studies devoted to a detailed analysis of the vineyard's potential at parcel and vinestock level.

Drones help ultra-precise parcel selection

Although one of the features of the

Montrose vineyard is its unity, it also contains

a rich variety of soils, each of which naturally

nourishes plant life in a particular way. An

infrared drone survey of the vineyard helped

to build up a picture of each parcel and

classify different zones according to their

potential. Combined with berry-tasting

before picking, this ultra-precise mapping of

the vineyard, accurate to within a single

vinestock, will enable the teams at the estate

to go even further in identifying the ideal

time to harvest the crop.

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A study of first- and second-cluster potential at individual vinestock level

Picture: from left to right, in the vines at Château Montrose:

*Patricia Teynac, vineyard manager. 25 years of experience in the vineyard have given her comprehensive knowledge of the terroir and of vineyard practices as well as a store of precious expertise for the estate.

Hervé Berland, manager of Château Montrose since 2012.

*Vincent Decup, cellarmaster, has a degree in oenology and experience both in France and abroad. 2015 will be his fourteenth vintage and his second at Château Montrose.

The heterogeneity of a

parcel is matched by that of

the individual vinestock. The

clusters situated at the base

of the shoot (first clusters)

generally ripen earlier than

those further up (second

clusters).

De gauche à droite, dans les vignes de Château Montrose : *Patricia Teynac, Chef de culture, à laquelle 25 années d’expérience du vignoble

Studies and experiments carried out in the vineyard since last year have

confirmed and demonstrated these differences in maturity. Using the

information gained from such observations, pickers can go through a parcel in

successive sweeps according to the ripeness of each cluster.

pes.

De gauche à droite, dans les vignes de Château Montrose : *Patricia Teynac, Chef de culture, à laquelle 25 années d’expérience du vignoble confèrent une parfaite connaissance du Terroir, des différents métiers de la vigne et une expertise très précieuse pour la propriété Hervé Berland, Gérant de Château Montrose depuis 2012 *Vincent Decup, Maître de Chai, diplômé d’œnologie, et fort d’une expérience en France et à l’international, s’engage cette année sur son 14ème millésime et sa 2ème vendange à Château Montrose.

Hervé Berland et Patricia Teynac dans le vignoble de Montrose ©Hélène Brochet (2) ce mode de vendanges induit un accroissement de 25% de la troupe espagnole fidèle à Château Montrose