Chateau Montana

The following article predates 2022, the period from which Château Montana changed ownership: it is now managed by Jean Jonquères d'Oriola.

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Certified HVE , committed to organic conversion, Château Montana is located in Banyuls-dels-Aspres , a village in the Côtes du Roussillon characterized by its wine-growing terroir which is as high-quality as it is expressive.

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The experienced man

While Patrick Saurel is an experienced entrepreneur, he is also a winemaker deeply involved in the young Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres appellation , granted AOC status in 2017. Coming from the retail sector, this business leader, a connoisseur of fine wines, has often visited vineyards in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley. With his extensive oenological knowledge, he was destined to be drawn to the vineyards. Arriving in Roussillon in 1982, settling in a region steeped in winemaking tradition quickly solidified his path to becoming a winemaker. The year 1996 proved pivotal with the acquisition of Château Montana , a 19th ^- century wine estate located in Banyuls-dels-Aspres . The estate, which had previously relied entirely on wine trading, held significant potential for revitalization. The prospect of creating an elegant wine brand on this Roussillon terroir thus emerged as a determination to do the work of a winemaker.

The reinvention of the vineyard

Taken over in 1996, Château Montana then comprised only 11 hectares of Carignan, Cinsault, and Maccabeu. A commitment to a sustainable project allowed for the establishment of an initial goal: to rethink and diversify the estate's grape varieties. Over the course of twenty years, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan, and Caladoc were planted. This diversity was accompanied by an expansion of the vineyard, which is now spread across two terroirs: one consisting of 25 hectares on the Château Montana site , and the other a 5-hectare plot located in the Aspres region . From these viticultural resources, certified as High Environmental Value (HVE), the estate's wines are now produced. They mature in a winery that was itself rebuilt and renovated between 2003 and 2005 to meet the demands of particularly meticulous winemaking and aging. At Château Montana , the pursuit of quality begins with the harvest, where the carefully preserved fruit is collected by gravity. Gentle extractions using a vertical press are then favored, combined with meticulous control of temperatures and fermentations. A particularly efficient winery, complemented by a barrel cellar, then determines the flexibility of the aging process.

The elegance of wines

Developing a high-quality range of Roussillon wines required a period of maturation. The first bottles bearing the Château Montana label began to leave the cellar in 2001. Today, production spans three main appellations: IGP Côtes Catalanes, AOP Côtes du Roussillon, itself divided into the sub-appellation Villages les Aspres . The wines are crafted with a focus on roundness and elegance, carefully balanced to reflect the nuances imparted by the terroir. The reds produced under the Côtes du Roussillon Villages les Aspres appellation are particularly demonstrative of this. Born from the estate's finest plots, L'Astre Rouge, like Silencio, reveals, in distinct ways, the expressive variations arising from the blend of Carignan, Syrah, and Grenache. One is powerful and aromatically rich, where oak influence establishes a spirit of great tradition; the other is a subtle revelation of dense fruit, complemented by notes of vanilla or spice acquired through aging. With L'Astre Blanc, the Grenache grapes of Roussillon fully express themselves, their floral and fruity notes enriched by the subtle complexities imparted by aging in demi-muids. A hallmark of Roussillon tradition, naturally sweet wines are also produced at Château Montana . These wines prioritize a full expression of the fruit, which the winemaker is keen to free from the veils of traditional oxidative aging.