Behind the Bottles: The Winemaking Journey of Domaine Monbouché

Five generations of winegrowers have succeeded one another on this estate 5 km south of Bergerac in the commune of Monbazillac. Over the generations, divisions have been made, and each has made its contribution, Louis was the first to do its bit.

Marcel has converted to Organic Agriculture in the mid-60s. The use of chemical vine treatment products against Mildew and Oïdium triggered him major epidermal allergies. At the same time in Bergerac, some dissident winegrowers and farmers (including Marcel) questioned the chemical evolution of agriculture and changed their way of managing the vines and their protection against diseases, to follow the principles of the Lemaire-Boucher Method (one of the private charters that served as a basis for the European Specifications of Organic Agriculture).

René, who ran the estate for more than 40 years until his retirement in 2008, enriched it with a dozen hectares mainly of red vines in order to be able to offer you the current range of wines, which his daughter, Fanny, is making sure to keep going!

The vineyard extends over a little over 27 hectares (ha) of hillside vines in the communes of Monbazillac and St Laurent des Vignes.

The harvest takes place from mid-September to the end of October. They begin for the harvest of the dry whites and rosés, followed quite closely by the reds around September 25th on average but especially according to the maturity sought. Finally comes the harvest of the sweet wines. The concentration of the Monbazillac wines is obtained thanks to the development of noble rot (Botrytis Cinerea). It is therefore harvested by hand, bunch by bunch, and as this fungus develops within the limits of the weather. At this stage the rain is a relentless enemy! So it often takes at least 3 passes to collect this precious nectar.