WINEMAKER & PRODUCTION

Manager Damien Michel (33) is responsible for vinification and ageing. Damien is an enterprising oenologist, who has acquired a wealth of experience in both hemispheres in a range of vineyards and cellars. For example, he worked for the Château Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, and he has been active in Chile, Australia and South Africa.
For Damien, the basic rules of vinification are hygiene, healthy, fully ripened grapes and a long fermentation process ensuring maximum extraction.

WINE PRODUCTION
Damien, Montlobre's oenologist (winemaker) aims to produce a characteristic, high-quality Merlot wine. The emphasis in wine production is on pure, healthy, fully ripened fruit and a long, temperature-controlled, vinification process. Full extraction of the grape must and professional technical monitoring during fermentation allow for the preservation and accentuation of the subtlest taste nuances.

Cellar master Damien Michel: “Harvesting when the tannins are 100% ripe and a period of 4 to 5 weeks before maceration (steeping the skins and fruit in the must) are the basics behind our quality approach!”

MATURATION

After fermentation, which takes place in large stainless steel vats, the young wine is sent to the maturation cellar, which can be found in the chapel of the domain.
The barrels at Montlobre are varied and numerous, and 30 to 40% of the barrels are replaced every year. They include oak barrels from Hungary, America and France (the Limousin area), and wood harvested at both higher and lower altitudes. Experiments with the new oak take place every year and positive results from the past are put into practice.