Domaine St. Hilaire, MONTAGNAC .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

This has been one of our very best discoveries over the past twenty years. Situated just inland from the Mediterranean at Montagnac, this estate was planted, in the late 1960's, with a wide range of classic (and sometimes very unusual) grape varieties by the forward-thinking André Hardy. About 5 years ago, Monsieur Hardy sold this important estate to a delightful English couple, Jonathan and Anne James. Jonathan had been a successful QC and Anne had, for many years, managed the Monty Python team. Both had experienced far too much of the high-pressure life of London and wanted to take on another challenge. They arrived at St. Hilaire with their eyes wide open and under no illusion that this was going to be a pleasant, easy retirement venture. The James' have kept the existing team st St. Hilaire with the very talented young wine-maker Vincent Laurel being given much more of a free rein than he was under the previous owners. The secret of this domaine's success is the considerable age of the vines and the consequential reduced yield, ensuring wines of great character and surprising complexity. The Vermentino is a little-known variety (also known as Rolle) that produces a pale green, floral, soft and mouth-filling dry white. The 2003 has been an outstanding success as it won the 'Single Variety White Trophy' at the London "Top 100 Vin de Pays" 2004 Competition. Domaine St. Hilaire's Viognier is alluringly exotic, with an aroma of ripe apricots, peaches and honeysuckle. The palate exudes lush and unctuous fruit flavours, which is due to the fact that the vines are over 20 years old and were planted long before this variety was fashionable. It was selected to be in the London "Top 100 Vin de Pays" 2004 Competition. The Chardonnay is deliciously pure, clean and un-oaked whilst the Fût de Chêne Chardonnay is everything a good oak-fermented and aged Chardonnay should be with sweet ripe notes of pineapple and peach on the nose combined with juicy, pure honeyed Chardonnay on the palate. The two old-vine 'selections' are super-lush and concentrated and reveal the potential of the Languédoc as a very serious producer of quality red wines. The Old Vine Grenache is impressively constituted with its approachable, soft and ripe fruitiness and the Merlot has a deep purple colour, a bouquet of blackberries and 'garrigue' herbs, a firm structure supporting a black fruit and chocolate flavour, supported with a tiny amount of oak. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a 'macho' wine with a superb intensity of ripe, blackberry fruit with a touch of mint and well-integrated tannins. New to this year's list is a formidable Cabernet/Merlot blend (70/30) which has a penetrating cassis and violet nose and a ripe, fruit-driven palate with supple tannins. It was also selected to be in the London "Top 100 Vin de Pays" 2004 Competition. The Syrah has very ripe aromas, is intense and fruit-packed with a good dose of gamey spiciness on the finish. Click here to go back to the home page