Château Monbousquet

With modest origins, Gérard Perse was not born into the world of wine. However, his dedication and enthusiasm have taken him a long way. A former painter, his life changed in 1977, when he bought a fruit and vegetable store. Eight years later and he was the owner of the Champion supermarket chain. This is where he got involved in buying wine for supermarkets and, he learned so much from the winegrowers he was buying from that in 1993 he acquired Château Monbousquet in Saint-Emilion, with the intention of creating his own wines. And this has gone quite well for him because he currently has five vineyards in Bordeaux, including the excellent Premier Cru Classé B Château Pavie. And although some have labeled him as nouveau riche, for buying Jaguars, properties and other ostentatious luxury items, the truth is that going from selling vegetables to ending up with a wine empire is worth celebrating.

Château Monbousquet marks the beginning of Perse’s adventure in Saint-Emilion. A property dating from 1540 that, after belonging to different people, Gerard Perse began renovating. On the one hand, the entire 32-hectare vineyard is being drained and, on the other, the winemaking facilities and cellars are being rebuilt. The Monbousquet terroir is truly exceptional, with warm gravelly soils and sandy-clay soils, where the Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon vines ripen to perfection. The grapes are harvested by hand and, once they reach the winery, master winemaker Jean Philipppe Lavautour and consultant winemaker Michel Rolland produce Château Monbousquet, a wine with a modern style but with all the character of Saint-Emilion. The grapes are selected and destemmed and then macerated and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in French oak barrels for 20 to 24 months before bottling.

Meaty, delicate and deep, Château Monbousquet reveals the purity that is typical of Saint-Emilion wines but with a more modern style. The freedom of starting from scratch and not having to explain to potential winemaking ancestors has allowed Perse to create probably one of the most exotic and sensual wines in Bordeaux. Divine Saint-Emilion!