Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu

Some folks might recall the name Montesquieu from their classes in American history, where the man who is perhaps the most famous bearer of the Montesquieu name, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu is often mentioned as the famous philosopher and author of the book ‘Spirit of Laws,’ in which he delineated the principles of governmental separation of powers that greatly influenced the framers of our own U.S. Constitution.

What is not often mentioned in American history lessons is the Baron’s commitment to the fine art of crafting first-rate wines.

From the earliest years of his youth, and throughout the course of his life, the Baron de Montesquieu cultivated a deep and heartfelt love for his native land of Bordeaux. The food, the wine, the people and their spirit; the Baron had a deep love for the entire world that was his beloved Bordeaux.

Of all the aspects of Bordeaux loved by the Baron, chief among them was the wine; and not merely the finished product. The Baron harbored a deep devotion to every aspect of winemaking from the selection of vines to planting and cultivating, to harvesting and processing, to bottling, aging, and, yes, enjoying the fruits of all those labors in the form of a well appreciated bottle of superior wine.

The Baron was one of the first people to grasp and promote the concept of ‘terroir,’ the concept of wine taking on and reflecting the qualities of the earth unique to the region in which it was grown.

He was also an early advocate of isolating and selectively planting only the finest vines in order to craft the very best possible wines.

It was partly the Baron’s commitment and advocacy of these qualities that was the impetus for the creation and development of Bordeaux’s fabled first-growth Chateaux.

Anyone who nurses a deep and abiding love of Cabernet Sauvignon owes a small debt of thanks to the Baron de Montesquieu, as he was the first vintner identify and isolate the grape for cultivation in wine production.

Today, over two hundred years after his passing, the Montesquieu family continues to honor the Baron’s principles and techniques for crafting unique and superior wines.