Chateau Monbousquet 1996

Chateau Monbousquet 1996

Saint Emilion Grand Cru

90/100 Parker

Cellaring : This wine has reached maturity, you can enjoy it now.

Tasting Opinion by Robert M. Parker, Jr. in 1999 : "The 1996 Monbousquet is an outstanding effort. The wine is slightly tannic, but it has an exotic nose of kirsch liqueur, cassis, roasted herbs, espresso, and mocha. It has excellent texture, impressive depth and richness, and sweet toasty oak. The saturated dark ruby/purple color suggests a dense wine. The finish is both long and well-defined, with moderate tannins. This beautifully stripped Monbousquet will take several years to reveal itself."

- The 32-hectare Monbousquet vineyard in Saint Emilion is planted with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This shows a change in the vineyard since its acquisition by Gerard Perse, with more Cabernet Franc and less Merlot in the vineyard.

- The vines are planted at a density of 5,500 vines per hectare. The average age of the vines is 40 years. The terroir, composed of sand, clay and gravel, is not the best in Saint Emilion.

- For the red wines, there is more sand and clay in the north and more gravel with sand in the south. To produce Château Monbousquet wine, vinification takes place in a combination of small, temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and French oak vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels.

- The Château Monbousquet wine is aged in 50% new French oak barrels for an average of 20 months. Around 6,000 cases of Monbousquet are produced each year. 

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