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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.3 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 93 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Fatty Cat on 3/2/2024 & rated 90 points: Early Mar 2024, Rheingau Gourmet Festival, rarity diner “25 vintages of Chateau Montrose”: bottle immediately opened before consumption; dark crimson color; at start with an almost non existent nose, later subtle green and red pepper notes were discernible; in the mouth berry and cherry juice like flavors accompanied by a fruity acidity.
Vintages of flight III:
1952 - 1953 - 1966 - 1976 - 1979 - 1981 (380 views) | | | Tasted by renapen on 11/13/2023: The wine has lost all its fruit and tasted musty (826 views) | | | Tasted by ShadowIII on 5/7/2023 & rated 91 points: still hanging on, garnet, currants, cherry, graphite, good acidity, integrated soft tannins (1469 views) | | | Tasted by yaCellar on 12/17/2022 & rated 92 points: My experience was consistent with other recent notes. This was solid, but lacks some magic at this stage. (2023 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 12/9/2022 & rated 90 points: Birthday Celebration (Racquet Club - Chicago IL): Charming and intriguing, even if not as complex as the ideal aged Bordeaux at the half-century mark. But charming and wonderfully clean. (3173 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 11/19/2022 & rated 93 points: Really similar to my last encounter with this - blackberry, intense saline - almost oystery, old oak, gravelly mineral, an intense umami. Just a bit more of everything, more depth than the last bottle. (3315 views) | | | Tasted by djhammond on 10/16/2022 & rated 93 points: Remarkably robust for a 56 year old wine, it is still delivering but obviously in decline. Deep in appearance, the nose is deceptively young, but aromatic with berry and spice. The palate and finish are devoid of fruit and a little angular, but perfectly balanced and showing excellent length and depth subtley pushing 60 seconds. I would suspect that a decade ago this was a blockbuster and there are still glimpses. I agree with a fellow reviewer that you should take your time as it keeps improving in the glass. 93+ (1996 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 10/1/2022 & rated 91 points: Outstanding deep, deep ruby color. Typical Montrose character; intense black fruit and soil (petrichor). Well judged acidity, fortunately not volatile. Not tiring and held up well in the glass. (1430 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 3/11/2022 & rated 93 points: When it’s on like this one, the ‘66 Montrose is clearly one of the best preserved wines of the vintage. Perhaps it was even better a decade ago but the stylish blackness of the wine is enticing. The tannins and acidity are nicely balanced with the tertiary fruit which is still lively. A wine to contemplate; don’t rush it. (1574 views) | | | Tasted by HowardNZ on 1/22/2022 & rated 90 points: 1966 – 2010 Château Montrose vertical (Regional Wines, Wellington, NZ): Served single blind, one pour. Varieties: CS 70% | M 15% | CF 10% | PV 5%, the “old” more cabernet, less merlot regime at Château Montrose. The 1966 seemed apart, and different, from the other wines, clearly, to me anyway, the weakest and oldest of the 12. An interesting old left bank Bordeaux bouquet of fresh and preserved red and black fruit, herbs, spices, coffee and ash. On palate, clipped, dumbed down fruit, with perhaps a touch of Brettanomyces (that five tasters picked, others disagreed). Stalky and stemmy. Some tamarillo. Still, interesting, savoury tobacco, earth, forest floor and preserved blackberry notes. By the end of the tasting, the fragile 1966 had completely fallen over in the glass. The 1966, how it is today, suffered in comparison with the other, younger Montrose from good or great vintages. On its own, if you appreciate fragile, older Bordeaux, it would have held considerable interest. To drink soon.
Rankings: Me 12/12 | GK 11/12 | CT 11/12. (2460 views) | | | Tasted by Sean Tay on 7/24/2021 & rated 92 points: Deep tawny colour. Pronounced nose intensity with notes of hawthorn, spices, black tea, toast, dates. Medium acidity and tannin. Palate wise still feeling fresh due to the acidity. For nose, no more fruit notes. (2114 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 6/12/2021 & rated 88 points: A little off; slightly musty-corked and tart; cedar and blackberry; coarse; rough around the edges; decent but musty finish. (2298 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 3/14/2021 & rated 93 points: The apotheosis of old Bordeaux, the ‘66 Montrose is still lively at age fifty-five. From a bottle with top shoulder ullage there’s some browning at the edge yet the center is reassuringly medium ruby. Even before swirling there’s a modicum of damp earth and black currant aroma. The palate is strikingly fresh, thanks to integrated tannins and high acidity, which rather than tasting sour instead tingles the taste buds. Despite the advanced age there definitely remains a tight kernel of black fruit so characteristic of the northern Médoc. As always with the best preserved old Bordeaux it’s the complexity which is truly captivating and makes each sip a new and interesting experience. It lasted well in the glass for two hours before exhausting its essence and revealing its skeleton. (2884 views) | | | Tasted by RWG on 1/5/2021 & rated 93 points: drinking very nicely. life left. Love some old Montrose. (2565 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 10/10/2020 & rated 92 points: Leather; earthy blackberry; soft tannin; smooth sweet light finish. (2648 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 9/17/2020 & rated 93 points: Light; earth; initially layered and complex with notes of tobacco and sweet blackberry; faded quickly; smooth soft lean tannin; elegant finish. (2325 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 8/13/2020 & rated 94 points: Light leather and earthy-gravel; a little tired; mature with light blackberry and cedar; light lean finish. (2469 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 11/23/2019 & rated 95 points: Astonishing. This bottle from WineBid, ullage very high shoulder. Color is usual for age, maroon shading to near brown. Beautiful aroma of black fruit, cassis, cedar and gentle smoke. Intense and complex. Wonderful texture, no coarseness at all, the sweetness of perfectly mature old Bordeaux. Perfectly integrated tannins and just the right amount of tannins from an era when so many Montrose are spoiled by volatile acidity. Behaves like a top ‘82 Pauillac or St. Julien. Sound bottles of Montrose must be the wine of the vintage with only Latour as a challenger. (3190 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 5/29/2019: Route 66 - Bordeaux Exploration (Vaucluse Townhouse): Saints F: This is definitely a long living wine and was another example of how much I enjoy Montrose which is perhaps more of a 'new world style with old world fruit'. My first impression is vanilla and it's amazing to me how the oak is still coming through all these years later. Nicely aged and nicely set up. Perhaps a bit young - if we had bottles I'd wait longer on them for the vanilla to integrate - but clearly one of the better wines of this flight and quite enjoyable. (3524 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/10/2019 & rated 88 points: Second Sunday Group: 2009 Bordeaux (R&D's): Courtesy of MYo. Definitely shows its age with a faded red hue. Mature bouquet features tea leaf, black currant, cherry and earth. Soft on the palate and fully resolved. Subtle cherry and red fruit tones with a medium(-) finish. A good, mature Bordeaux. Thanks, M! (3398 views) | | | Tasted by fred o. on 10/6/2018: opaque dark burgundy color with no bricking.
Nose deep; ashy, earthy, almost briny olive. Palate fleshy fruit, long -- with swirling, some herbal flavor and pencil shavings. Still drinking so young, really amazing. my WOTN. 95 pts (3636 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 7/28/2018: First visit to Cafe Matisse (Friends House + Cafe Matisse): Really wonderful wine. This was in a great old Bordeaux spot. It's lots of cigar and pencil shavings and graphite. Still going strong. Very tasty. (4224 views) | | | Tasted by rjlud on 12/5/2017 & rated 91 points: Popped and poured and drank over about 2 hours (the usual stint). Amazing perfumed nose that lingered on for about 30 min after opening. Light and elegant with some fruit left, typical St. Estephe but with a bit less iron than I usually experience, more balanced. I enjoyed it but the last glass or it was a bit done, so don't decant for too long. Got this originally in an auction lot. Original slip label from Macy's Fine Wine - who knew they used to have a fine wine dept! (4204 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 9/12/2017 & rated 91 points: Typically Montrosian; dark disposition and a stern personality. This is all about the blackberry, plum, saline, and oak typical to the era. Monolithic, towering nose. More substance and depth on the palate than most 66s at this stage, if a bit simple. Enjoyable. (4496 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 9/10/2017 & rated 91 points: 1966 Bordeaux (Ducru, Brane, Montrose) (Concord, MA): Nose: Slate, Blackberry, dried blueberry, wet earth, pine and garden herbs. Palate: Great attack on this bottle of sweet black fruit then nice earth, mineral and chervil/bell pepper. Finish: A bit simple with dark fruit, licorice and earthy pepper/potato notes.
The Montrose was stylisticly in the middle tonight, but offered a really classic expression of St. Estephe. (4209 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2008, Issue #15, The 1966 Bordeaux Vintage Revisited
(Château Montrose) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (12/1/2011)
(Château Montrose) From magnum - lightly bricking very dark red violet color; mature, tart plum, pencil lead, tart currant, charcoal nose; tasty, mature, tart currant, pencil lead, roasted meat, iron palate with resolved tannins; medium-plus finish 94+ points 94 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (4/29/2004)
(Château Montrose) Lovely mushroom, truffle nose; mature, mushroom, plum palate; medium-plus finish 94 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of View From the Cellar 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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