Château Montaiguillon

France, Bordeaux

Proudly run by the Amart family since its founding in 1949, Château Montaiguillon has recently entered a new chapter with fourth generation Mathieu Ternault. As a teenager Mathieu came to work for Lea & Sandeman one summer. The quiet days of August meant that when not helping our customers in the Chelsea Branch, he was able to indulge his other great passion - Chess. Calm moments were filled with online chess!

Located at the highest point of Montagne-Saint-Émilion, the estate's 27 hectares of southwest facing vineyards are just across the Barbanne stream from Saint-Émilion’s most celebrated wineries – Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Ausone, and Figeac to name a few.

The vines are primarily Merlot, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc playing increasingly important roles. In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on Cabernet Franc, valued for its natural ability to moderate alcohol levels as summers grow warmer in Bordeaux. The wine is aged in 50% French oak barrels, and 50% stainless steel tanks, a balance that preserves vibrant red fruit character and lively acidity while adding texture and complexity. The estate continues to work closely with renowned oenologist Michel Rolland.

Refined, elegant and expressive, this wine is remarkable value for the region and a must try!

Tasting against far greater names this is a exceptional value - elegant, with a lovely weight of fruit - but high toned and very true - this hits all the high notes. A sadly all too rare bargain for this part of the world - this will not disappoint.

Vineyards are planted to 60% Merlot with 20% each of Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon.

On Wednesday I popped into the Fulham branch of Lea & Sandeman to meet Mathieu Ternault, the young owner of Château Montaiguillon in Montagne St Emilion. Ternault is the fourth generation to run this family business, taking over in 2016 after the untimely death of his mother. As he says, conditions for winemakers in Bordeaux are “challenging” and, while no one wants to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater, no business stays alive if its owners do not also innovate.

Five years ago, Ternault planted half a hectare of chardonnay in Montagne St Emilion. “We wanted to offer something else to our clients and also to promote the image of Montaiguillon.” The first fruit from those vines has just been picked so it’s not yet ready to taste but I asked if any of Ternault’s neighbours had also planted chardonnay and there are a few.

“I made my research recently and, on Bordeaux’s right bank, I found 15 estates that already have some chardonnay available, for sale. This is a very small amount compared to the thousands of growers in Bordeaux but...” Another change to keep an eye on.

Victoria Moore, Gulp & Sniff  (Oct 2025)