Developments at Ch Montrose

Bordeaux rumour has it that Jean-Bernard Delmas, long-serving but now retired manager of Ch Haut-Brion, is to be engaged by the new owner of Ch Montrose, the famous St-Estèphe second growth, to oversee winemaking under the new regime.

Delmas, who ran an admirably tight ship at Haut-Brion and subsequently La Mission Haut-Brion too, handed the Haut-Brion stable over to his son Jean-Philippe some years ago – in fact he made very sure that his son was left in place before leaving. As I wrote in Another French industrialist to move into Bordeaux, the young winemaker Philippe de Laguarigue already...