2018 Chateau Montlabert Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Libournais, Bordeaux, France (750ml)   

From Producer: Chateau Montlabert, located outside the village of St. Emilion, not that far from Chateau Figeac, takes its name from the founder of the estate, Michel Descazes Montlabert. The 12.5 hectare Right Bank vineyard of Chateau Montlabert is planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 5,600 vines per hectare. On average, the vines are 25 years of age. The terroir of Chateau Montlabert is sand with clay, gravel, and limestone soils. The vineyard is farmed using sustainable farming techniques. To produce the wine of Chateau Montlabert, the wine is vinified in small, temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels. Chateau Montlabert, which is owned in part by the Castel group today, who also counts Chateau Beychevelle in the St. Julien appellation as part of their holdings, announced they were going to make the best wine possible starting with the 2010 vintage. The first move they made was to bring in Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus as their consultant. While Hubert de Bouard started with the property in 2009, his first vintage where he called the shots was 2010. By 2015, you could really start to see the progress in the wines.