Community Tasting Note

G.H. wrote:

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 - I don't share my notes on CellarTracker often but I felt like my fantastic, and slightly surprising, 2003 Montrose experience merited an exception. Drank alongside a bunch of other 2003s, including Mouton, Haut Brion, Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, Las Cases, Leoville Barton, Cos D and Angelus. All of the wines were decanted 1.5 hours before. The Montrose was the clear winner of the line-up. It seems that the clay soil of Montrose really provided the ideal conditions for leveraging the heatwave/drought in 2003. Sweet tobacco, leather, vanilla, earthy forest, and blackberries explode from the glass. On the palate, it is rich, full-bodied, and complex with low-to-medium acidity and real freshness. The balance between intense, rich dark fruit, exotic spices, earthiness, sweet licorice and classic St. Estephe minerality is just so addictive. The finish keeps on going with incredible depth. Fantastic to drink now yet the wine promises significant upside potential with about 5 years of aging. I respectfully disagree with the "Napa Cab" reference that seems to float among prior reviews. The best QPR of the 03s I have tried so far. In fact, right now, for Northern Medoc, I seem to find myself preferring some of the 2003s (Leoville Barton/Poyferre, Comtesse, Baron especially) to any of the 00s (including 2005s) for their evolved nature, generosity, and fantastic fruit.

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