Chateau Moutte Blanc, Marguerite Dejean Haut Medoc 2018

Grapes are all destemmed. No prefermentive cold maceration. Grapes are lightly crushed before fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation in small concrete vats for 10 days at 26 /28 degrees using selected yeasts. No chaptalisation. Vats are thermoregulated. Three pumping over per day during fermentation and no cap punching. Neither pumping over nor cap punching during a 2 to 3 week cuvaison. Pressed with a horizontal press. Light extraction so the press wine is interesting (blended with free-run juice in January). Aged for 14 months (on average) in 225L barrels (25% new) with four rackings in total. No botonnage; no filtration and fining in barrels with egg white. Only one bottling during the year, done by a service provider in April. 2200 bottles produced on average.

Patrice de Bortoli’s family originated from Italy, arriving in France in the early eighteenth century. But it was thanks to Patrice’s parents that Moutte Blanc was created, when nearing retirement in the early 1980s they started to tend one hectare of vines belonging to the family, restoring the vineyard, buying some good barrels and becoming passionate about their work.

Patrice joined whilst still working as an occupational therapist (becoming full time in 2000), modernisation continued, and the family gradually increased their holdings to the 4.5ha of today, with vines in the appellations of Bordeaux-Superieur, Haut-Medoc and Margaux. Patrice is quick to thank legendary Medoc wine consultant Jacques Boissenot for helping them with all aspects of their work until his death in 2014.