Domaine du Monteillet has been in the de Villard family since the 16th century. Its most famous member was Louis Hector, Duc de Villard, Marshal of France under Louis XIV (1653-1734). Stéphane Montez’s ancestors, winegrowers, bargemen and coopers, all with a deep love for the Rhône River and the vineyards, bought the domaine’s land plot by plot. A notarial deed dating from 1741 mentions Stéphane Montez’s ancestor, Michel, a “shipwright on the Rhône and a cooper”, buying a vineyard in Le Monteillet. After the French Revolution, his descendants continued the acquisitions.
Today, Stéphane Montez is succeeding his father Antoine, who has passed on everything he knows to his son. Stéphane spent two years working in different wine regions around the world in England, Australia, California and South Africa. His international experience is now helping him to improve the family domaine’s methods and cope with some of the climate-related challenges. According to Stéphane, “This adventure abroad made me aware of the unique character of our terroir, which naturally gives my wines a fine balance”. The Montez family plants, vinifies, ages and sells its wines from 24 hectares in three AOCs.
Thanks to their exceptional south/south-east exposure, the vines thrive on the terraced hillsides, which are supported by low dry stone walls known as “chaillées”, built 2,000 years ago by the Romans. The terroir of the St Joseph Nord, Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu vineyards is located on the hillsides of the Rhône River’s right bank. The domaine’s terraces lie on the eastern edge of Mont Pilat (altitude 1434 m), which protects them from the elements. They overlook the Rhône Valley, where a constant gentle breeze keeps the grapes in good health. The Le Montelier valley, which joins the Rhône corridor, regularly brings cool winds, preserving the aromatic purity of the wines and preventing the outbreak of vine diseases. The main rock formations are “crystalline”, i.e. magmatic plutonic rocks (granites) and metamorphic rocks (schists, gneisses, migmatites). Domaine du Monteillet has one of the lowest annual rainfall rates in the region.
The grapes are picked at perfect maturity and quickly and carefully transported in small crates to preserve their colour, aroma and flavour. The bunches of grapes are sorted both in the vineyard by the pickers and in the winery on a sorting table in order to select the best berries. All the bunches are then destemmed.
In addition to the know-how handed down through the generations, modern processes are used, including temperature control, automated punching of the cap, destemming, sorting on a vibrating table, and a pneumatic press. These winemaking techniques bring out the finest qualities of the terroir and the grape varieties. Thanks to (low) temperature control, we can carry out long fermentations on the red wines (3 to 4 weeks) with native yeasts (no external yeasts). The punching down of the cap helps to smoothly extract the tannins and draw out colour. The barrel ageing lasts 1 to 3 years, depending on the wine. The white wines are vinified at a much lower temperature to preserve the natural aromas of the grape and the terroir (flowers, fruit, minerality). Malolactic fermentation takes place on the fine lees in French oak barrels and can last up to 9 months. Patience and a gentle touch are essential for the crafting of these golden wines. The domaine’s centuries-old cellars (a vaulted cellar dating back to the 17th century) round off the wines and add to their typical character.
