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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95.8 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 18 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 9/27/2023 & rated 96 points: The perfume of aged Bordeaux is on fire with its cedar, tobacco leaf, ash, sea salt, spice, herbs, red cherries, and redder currants. The finish is chewy, chunky, and firm, yet regal as well. Fully mature, if you have a bottle and its well stored, you are in for a treat. Drink from 2023-2030. (1957 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 9/8/2021 & rated 98 points: The 1955 Château Montrose reveals a typically Montrosian palette, consisting primarily of dense black fruit, augmented by pencil, squid ink, mineral, a touch of mint, and gravel. This is a dramatic, serious wine with glorious volume and tenacity, balancing fresh fruit with wonderful tertiary complexity. 97-98 (2778 views) | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 12/19/2018 & rated 96 points: Mid shoulder bottle. William kelley was spot on on this wine. A few people agreed that this was the best Montrose they have ever tasted. Vibrant, stunning, lively and intriguing. A very sexy and perfumed nose with flowers, tobacco, smoked fruit, and earth. Very complex with layers of stuffing. Silky body with weightless power. Impressive. (2985 views) | | | Tasted by nywine68 on 2/23/2017 & rated 94 points: An epic vertical of Chateau Montrose (Restaurant Daniel): Really distinctive and intense nose. Some volatile compounds made this a very funky wine. Super concentrated raspberry flavors like an Astralis on steroids. Graphite and big saddle leather flavors. Weird but delicious. Montrose vertical 1895-2000 (4153 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 2/23/2017 flawed bottle: From magnum. Intriguing at first with beautiful funk, cardamom and bright savory spice on the nose. But the palate quickly turned to mocha and wet fur. (3635 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 7/15/2016 flawed bottle: So sad - another one of these that didn't get out of the gate. (4666 views) | | | Tasted by William Kelley on 7/14/2016 & rated 98 points: The 1955 Montrose is particularly thrilling vintage for lovers of classical claret, with a fragrant and extraordinarily complex bouquet of raspberry, red cherry, cedar, camphor and graphite. On the palate the wine is absolutely singing, with sappy intensity and beautiful focus, with a deep core and long finish. This is a rather more savoury and vertical wine than the ripe, broad 1953; but it’s also more expressive and giving than the austere 1945. Just an immensely pleasurable example of this great vintage. (5482 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 6/24/2016: Despite a high shoulder fill, this was madeirized. So dreadfully sad. (3438 views) | | | Tasted by rnellans on 5/4/2014 & rated 95 points: From a cold cellar bought on release. Very dark with some browning. Floral, tobacco, dark fruits on the nose. Very good structure and balance. Believe it or not, there are still some tannins that need to be resolved and the wine needs more time. Good fruit. Excellent and should get better. 95 (3535 views) | | | Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 5/3/2014: From this cellar, I knew this was going to be too young, and it was. I could've confused this for a '95. Still tannic, which gives it a texture like the finest-grained sandpaper - but sandpaper just the same compared to the other, fully mature wines on the table. The fruit still has young, plummy flavors although not much gloss; I left most of it in the glass hoping for some development by the end of the evening, and it did get there, starting to offer more of a fragrance and some more interesting tobacco flavors, but from this cellar still more time was warranted to get this into gear. (3802 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 6/1/2013 & rated 98 points: Dinner at home with friends (Our home Northfield IL): Absolutly wonderful, deep garnet color, super intense nose, went on in the glass and developed wonderfully, a classic and still has time! (4624 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 1/1/2013: Pity this was an off bottle; in the bouquet only acidic impressions, on the palate almost aceto balsamico. No score. (3851 views) | | | Tasted by G Kapoor on 6/21/2012: This wine grabbed you from the get go and did not let up. I have enjoyed some older montrose such as 66, 70, 75, but this was just on another level.......and then some. The color was extremely rich for a 57 year old wine. We all thought it resembled a wine from the early 80's. Nose was typical Bordeaux with elegance (something I don't ever associate with montrose) and symmetry to behold. Every aroma, flavor, nunance was in perfect balance providing pleasure individually and in aggregate. Hot bricks, leather, cherry, strawberry, dried leaves, cedar are some of depiction I can recall. Over the 3.5 hour course of our dinner, this wine delivered the fireworks. To our amazement, practically no sediment from this bottle. (4777 views) | | | Tasted by Longboarder on 6/19/2012 & rated 99 points: Fill was at the base of the neck. Popped and poured. Dark garnet color with only minimal bricking at the rim. Classic St. Estephe nose of cedar, spice, and a hint of tobacco. Very expressive from the get-go. There was plenty of fruit left on the palate with currant predominant. Silky tannins remained to enhance the mouthfeel but oh what a finish. Long and persistant that left a smile on everyone's face. I have tasted the '59, '89. and '90 and this bottle was the best Montrose I have ever tasted. I had another bottle of the '55 approx. 2 years ago. Although that bottle was good, it paled in comparison to this one. One of the best Bdx I have tasted. (5155 views) | | | Tasted by don_quichotte on 2/19/2012 & rated 94 points: Red and dark fruits, musty tannins and every tertiary flavor descriptor you could think of. Great wine that kept improving in the glass, even an hour after opening... (3195 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 3/3/2011 & rated 94 points: Deeply toned wine, big scale, still showing youthful dark fruits. Excellent concentration, dense palate, bright acidity and still noticeable integrated tannins. (2711 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 12/30/2009 & rated 95 points: Jonathan Dinh Birthday Dinner at Fleur de Lys (Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, CA): Slightly cloudy, bricked, medium raspberry red color; elegant cassis nose with subtle tobacco; tasty, mature cassis, mild tobacco, tart raspberry palate with balance and depth; long finish (begins to fade after 45 minutes in the glass) (3796 views) | | | Tasted by cct on 2/11/2008 & rated 93 points: A step up in octane from the Margaux. Darker in color by a fair amount. A cassis bomb on the nose. Baking chocolate and a bit chunky if that makes sense. Sweet and ripe fruit, with damson (royalties to NM), dark licorice, more chocolate, and a bit of rough tannins on the back end. 53 years old, Ha! I 'd dare say this has 10+ years in hand at least. A nice contrast to the elegance to the Margaux. 93 pts. (2626 views) |
| By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, Epic European Vacation (9/6/2011)
(Montrose) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/20/2005)
(Ch Montrose St-Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, Paris a la Mode with Dr. Desai (9/19/2005)
(Montrose) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (12/30/2009)
(Château Montrose) Slightly cloudy, bricked, medium raspberry red color; elegant cassis nose with subtle tobacco; tasty, mature cassis, mild tobacco, tart raspberry palate with balance and depth; long finish (begins to fade after 45 minutes in the glass) 95 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vintage Tastings and JancisRobinson.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Montrose Producer website – Read more about Chateau Montrose
This was acquired In 1778 as part of the Calon estate, by Etienne Théodore Dumoulin. After his death, his son, (also Etienne Théodore Dumoulin) cleared the vegetation and discovered the soil beneath was gravelly and suitable for the vine. Planting was completed by 1815 with good results. By 1820, Dumoulin had expanded the vineyard and built a small chateau. This vineyard has changed hands many times over the years. New equipment in 1975, and again in 1985, and a new barrel cellar helped sow the seeds for Montrose's renovation, which reached a peak in about 2000 with some excellent wines. The estate and the wines were enjoying a great reputation when, in 2006, it changed hands once more when Martin & Oliver Bouygues bought the vineyard. The vineyard is currently 65 hectares with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The wines go into oak, 70% new for eighteen months for the Grand Vin Chateau Montrose (typically 19,000 cases per annum). Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.St. Estèphe Read more about St. Estephe and its wines Whereas the first activity recorded in Saint-Estèphe goes back as far as the Middle Bronze Age, the first vines date from the Roman Occupation. But it was the Bordeaux merchants who by aging and selling Saint-Estèphe wines themselves were largely responsible for this appellation's fame. And in the nineteenth century, noted for its prosperity, the great estates of today were created. The movement continues today with the merging of small estates.
A land of great wines, Saint-Estèphe is situated almost in the centre of the Médoc, close to the Gironde Estuary. The appellation is equidistant from Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave.
The beds of soil are characterized by their remarkable diversity, the result of their undulating relief and excellent drainage. Quartz and well-rounded pebbles mingled with light, sandy surface soil are found everywhere, giving the wines a distinctive finesse. And the subsoil is made up of the famous Saint-Estèphe limestone, which outcrops on the west of the commune.
Tasting
Thanks to ideal conditions of climate and geology, Saint-Estèphe wines are characterized by their sturdy qualities and robust constitution. Accordingly, they can be laid down for a very long time while yet preserving their youth and freshness. Distinguished by a subsoil which is more clayey than that in the other communal appellations which lie by the river, the wine here attains a distinctive individuality : a very rich tannic structure, a fine deep red colour and an exceptional backbone with aromas of great finesse.
Production conditions (Decree dated September 11, 1936):
In order to have the right to the Saint-Estèphe appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the communes of Saint-Estèphe, "excluding any parcels in that area which are situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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