Château Clos de Boüard
I confess it is a few years since I last ventured into the vineyards of Montagne-Saint-Emilion, one of several Saint-Emilion satellites which orbit the much grander central appellation. I was visiting Château Guadet Plaisance, and it was an eye-opening afternoon. The soils were rich in clay and peppered with hard, craggy lumps of limestone, surely the equal of anything that could be found in the vineyards of more famous properties in more prestigious appellations.
As for the wines they were very good, rich in texture and full of dark and convincing fruit. It struck me that this appellation was a huge and untapped resource, but I had to ask myself, why should consumers not opt for one of the many good wines from the appellation’s more prestigious neighbour, which with 5,000 hectares of vines also offers many good-value options? What would it take for us to see past the ‘lowly’ Montagne-Saint-Emilion appellation on the label?
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