Château du Haut Plateau Montagne Saint-Émilion 2020

The estate vineyard sits on a hillside next to Château Montaiguillon in the Montagne Saint-Émilion satellite of the Saint-Émilion appellation, located on the right bank of Bordeaux. The Château’s vines are planted on a superb south-facing clay slope which optimises the available sunlight during the day while offering good drainage for the vines. The clay rich soil offers good water retention properties to nourish the vines during the warm growing season, in the Mediterranean climate. The blend is made up of predominantly Merlot, which as an early flowering variety which can be susceptible to spring frost. The vines are sustainably cultivated, and the estate is certified HVE level 3, which officially recognises the environmental performance of winegrowers, including biodiversity conservation, plant protection strategies, managed fertiliser use and water resource management. The vines are machine harvested at optimal maturity in order to retain freshness.

The grapes were carefully sorted. Traditional fermentation was carried out with natural yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel vats to retain the purity of fruit. Maceration lasted for three weeks, where the flavours, colour and supple tannins were gently extracted. The wine was then matured without the influence of oak, to retain this fresh and fruit-forward Bordeaux expression.