Decanted for several hours. Dark black/purple color, this looks like a young wine. The nose is pungent and lusty with cedar, blackberry, saddle leather and some spice. Young palate, deep and showing dark, tannic fruit that is still tight and primary. The texture is rich and saline infused with a decent amount of grip and tension.
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had many weeks ago; side by side with a 2003 Cos - both were fantastic. I admittedly recall liking both of them a lot but am vague on the exact differences. but for a maligned vinatage for being too hot, i recall we thought they were both superb
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Decanted for several hours. Served blind in a flight of 9 cabernet based wines from the 2003 vintage. My #1 wine and the groups consensus #2 wine. The nose shows like a classic left bank Bordeaux and features coffee grinds, saddle leather, cedar and cassis. The palate is deep and mouth filling with layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins. Long finish. Not at all overdone or roasted, this is a classic ripe year Bordeaux with a long life ahead of it.
2 -3 hour splash decant helped soften this up but it needs more time asleep. Light-medium body. Dark fruits, barnyard funk that blows off with time. Enjoyable after lengthy decant but still slightly grippy - feels like needs another 2-3 years (until 2026/27).
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90 mins in the decanter. Consumed over the next 4 hours.
Slightly flat on the nose, much more on the palette. Dark black fruit, very slight notes of plum but remains mainly in check, good given it was a relatively hot year.
After the initial fruit it is a multi-layered wine with tobacco, smoke, tar, aniseed, and a very slight hint of menthol / mint. The tannins are largely fully resolved, and it drinks very smooth.
The finish is quite intense at first, and then diminishes after about 30 seconds, but stays residually in the mouth for 60+ seconds.
Overall this was very enjoyable, indeed very good, but I wasn't blown away, I expected slightly more. 94pts
Early Mar 2024, Rheingau Gourmet Festival, rarity diner “25 vintages of Chateau Montrose”: according to the sommelier double decanted for up to 3 hours; deep crimson color; highly open and opulent nose of cherries, red and dark berries; sumptuously lush on the palate. 95-96/100
I recently took the case out of bond, so it’s been kept in perfect condition. I gave it 2 hours air with a double decant to take to a restaurant in the bottle. During the evening it definitely improved so I agree with Jeff Leve - it’s into it’s drinking window but should continue to improve and being a Montrose, will last for years. I’m in no hurry to drink the remaining 11. It is supremely smooth with incredible length, a tremendous nose and quite a punch. Fantastic. RP said it was the wine of the vintage -who am I to argue?
Classic Bordeaux theme dinner at New Ubin CHIJMES. Drank in Sydonios Meridional. Decanter didn't do much to budge this guy much more. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of pencil lead graphite, blackcurrant, blackberries, black cherries, tar and earth. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), fine high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of fine blackcurrant, blackberries, fine polished black cherries, tar earth, graphite. Long finish. Very good quality. Strong and feels like it still has good life ahead for more development.
Ruby in colour, with just a hint of ageing on the rim. The bouquet is complex, notes of ripe red and black fruits, pencil shave, tobacco, dried leaves. It is somehow a bit more evolved than on the palate, where there is tension. The wine is balanced, it evolves in the glass and with a long finish. The wine is drinking well right now, but I don’t think it reached it’s summit yet.
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Fantastic bouquet of ripe blackberries, blackberry jam on a fresh warm toast, a bit of funk but well integrated, undergrowth. Incredibly nice palate, silky, sweet with a nice touch of acidity, ripe dark berries, spicy, leading to a long finish. Still feels relatively young but in a great place to drink.
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Despite reviews that speak of a classic wine that , it has pretty much the hallmarks of the warm vintage. Rather more fruit forward than I’d like but well made with its silkiness, but ultimately not the type of Bordeaux that wows me. Perhaps age will bring more depth and substance. We shall see.
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Unimpressed by this bottle. Predominantly graphite nose and taste. Tannins need more time. Drank after a 2003 CDP clos de Papes and the red berry flavor of the CDP was the clear winner. I don’t think I will grow to like it more over time.
Dark pretty ruby with very slight age on the rim, very viscous in glass. Needs a 2-3 hour decant at least before it opens up. Nose is still young with only minor hints of age. It has a touch of bretty barnyard/poop, earthy herbs, leather, cigar, chocolate, coffee, red fruit, menthol, violets. Palate is complex, elegant and balanced with ample fruit. Medium+ bodied with cedar, cassis, mushrooms, leather. Finishes long, pleasant with softening but not fully resolved tannins. This is starting to reach a nice drinking window, but will still improve over time. Easily another 20 years to go, who knows if longer.
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Another nice bottle of 2003 CM showing lots of irony earth in the bouquet, with the first signs of blood and flowers emerging. The wine is rather soft and very light in the mouth bringing you an elegant and rather Margauxish experience. It very much reminded me of the 2005 Brane Cantenac that I had not long ago. I think further aging will be a gain of bouquet at a cost of the loss of more power, that I dont think this wine can afford. Its 100% ready. Drink without fear or shame.
1 hour decant with another couple hours slow ox. Tannins were still a bit gritty and grippy. Another 45 minutes in the glass softened it more and the layers of black and blue fruits started to evidence themselves better and show the elegance this wine has underneath its burly exterior. This wine may prove to be one of the longest living '03s from Bordeaux and there is no rush to drink. Long decant or wait at least a handful of years longer before revisiting.
Lots of mineral, iron, blood. Really solid fruit, great energy. Tight red berries, tobacco, cedar. Earthy. Peppery. A strong, muscular wine. Still might be holding something back. Great minty herbal finish. Hard to believe from a 20 year old wine, but this may be still pre-maturity? With a couple of hours of air, this is really solid. Excellent, I look forward to watching this mature. Great stuff.
Perfect example of what gives the left bank old world style so much character. Not easily approachable, but what a development if one allows it to breathe. I let it sit in the bottle for 24h after opening and it just got better and better. Not free from irritations - the body is lean and there is some distant herbal tightness, the acidity is high and tannins are strong, some harsher, some finer and melting. But at no point is there any doubt that this is a class act. The aroma and spice are top notch, the finish is epic and following the mixture of distinct and elusive reflexes of fruit shimmering through the thunderstorm of black, green and grey notes is a genuine pleasure. This will remain interesting for very long.
Decanted 3 hours and it needed it. Seamless layers of overripe black and blue fruits with some mocha, black currant, and creamy vanilla Oak. Velvety across the palate with a 30+ second finish. I suspect that in a blind tasting most would not guess '03 and think '00 instead. Less than 1/2 teaspoon of sediment. Will wait a few more years before revisiting. This should be one of the longest lived '03s.
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5th of 24, decanted 3 hours, perfect cork and level, still purple rimmed and little changed from last bottle in Dec 21 and very primary, dense for Claret, attractive as ever, black fruit, earthy minerality, just lacking in nuance and grace but this may well develop, 30+ years. F+ at least (18).
Thanks to the member's tasting notes here on CT! I followed the suggestions and decanted the wine 5-6 hours in advance. At opening the nose was very shy! After the recommended time of 5-6 hours and swirling this beauty in the glass, there were pure and fresh aromas of black currant, plum, white and black pepper, cardamon, flowers, herbs, tobacco and pencil shavings - WOW! No barnyard! The mid+ palate was full of the same aromas. The fruit is not kicking at you, still in the background. But the best of this Montrose out of a hot year is its unbelievable freshness and its structure. No warmth, no heat! A fresh understatement wine with an unbelievable tannin structure that's like a silk cloth on the palate that stays there for more than 60 sec. What a length! This is not the loudest, heaviest left bank Bdx, but one of the most refined, fresh, complex and longest that I've had so far. I think there's enough structure for the next decades... If there would be a little bit more fruit, more "flesh" and pressure, it would be nearly perfect. I understand, why some of the tasters wrote, that it was closed and showing not too much: I think it needs time, especially to integrate its smooth, but challenging tannins. And: it is a very "silent" wine! You have to take your time to develop and conquer this beauty!
Classic BDX profile. However didnt seem to shine as other notes and 99-pointer ratings. Definitely has an upside to cellaring for 5-10 more years but it is already in its drinking window with a decant.
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13% ABV. Medium/deep ruby core with garnet rim. Still looking relatively youthful for a 20 yr old wine. Decanted for an hour and it was ready for business.
Notes of cassis, black plum, black cherry, anise, dusty cigar box, saddle leather, crushed rock. Fruit is focused and concentrated, which is nicely balanced by mouthwatering acidity. Dense on the palate. Tannins are very present and still rounding out. Finish is persistent.
The warm vintage seemed to have been handled very well by Montrose. A little more to be desired in complexity/nuance to make this an absolute home run, but the big fruit, brooding structure, and crunchy acidity points to this developing further and one that can cellar for ages. This is a proper and serious representation of claret from St Estephe. 95 today, 96 potential.
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Bordeaux 2003 – 20 Years On – 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind, not decanted (some wines would have needed it). Observations: 1) 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today. 2) Compared to five other vintage retrospectives, the 2003 came in last place (lower average score than 2011), with just Chateau Margaux reaching a group score above 95pts. 3) Margaux wines showed best, with the typical immediate charm, while St. Estephe and Pauillac have potential but will need more time (and/or would have needed more air). 4) Right bank wines did not show as good with some alcohol showing and a few wines being on a downhill path. I would not chase 2003 right banks.
TN: I’ve had this wine a few times before and I’m convinced of its quality (rated twice at 95pts, the best bottle a few years ago was even above that) but it needs a lot of air. In the context of this tasting, it didn’t get much and hence it showed a bit muted: Not much on the nose. On the palate the wine needs a lot of swirling to open-up and show a bit of fruit (blue and red berries), at first there was hardly any fruit. The fruit is fresh and quite pure and not at all too ripe (but without question riper than in other vintages), additional notes of minerality and herbs. Still a bit tannic but with fairly high-quality tannins. At first, the balance isn’t there at all, the acidity too pronounced, and not enough fruit but with time that gets better. My rating kept creeping up. With lots of time and air, this certainly would have been more than 92pts. Still, it was group number 4 tonight.
Decanting: I would give it at least 5-6 hours in the decanter.
Group average: 92.8 pts Group rank: Shared 4th out of 29 reds
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No formal notes - over dinner. Wonderful cabernet nose - dark fruit, menthol, spices, tobacco, graphite. Super elegant, especially in the context of the vintage, good acidity, very well integrated tannins. Very long. Drink or keep. 94-96?
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Nez animal, viandé, graphite aussi, du cassis. C’est puissant, plein, riche, une certaine acidité amène de l’équilibre, avec une superbe texture de bouche, très long, excellent. 94-95
Meaty and graphite nose, powerful palate but silky touch, some freshness beought to this rich and full wine by nice acidity, very long finish.
Wine shows great aromatics, good length. I was expecting a bit more with the hype of this vintage. Will hold for 20 and improve for another 10 most likely
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Decanted for 1 hour, powerful black fruits, still very young, not showing much secondary stuff, impeccable balance & poise, excellent Bordeaux but still some way to apogee
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Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
Tasting note: Dark cherry with mineral accents of pencil shavings. Earth and barnyard. Hight acidity and drying tannin. More dense and expressive than the Dame de Montrose 2003, but the latter had a more compelling fruit – all in all a comparable performance today. But: Had the Montrose twice before in the last 4-5 years, once after a 7h decant and once after a 5h decant. In both cases the wine showed leagues better than this one.
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A private tasting (Buurtcafé De Tros, Amsterdam, NL): Deep and powerful, rich fruit and warm spices, velvety tannins, voluptuous, but the nose is muted and the tannins are rough and dry. Not a good bottle. Low-level TCA?
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Bordeaux 2003 Horizontal (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): There's some red fruits and something sweet and meaty on the nose, almost like maple cured bacon, palate is taught but this is more comely than many Montrose. Tannins not fully resolved.
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2003 Bordeaux @ Piccolino (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Dense but vibrant deep ruby. Blackberry and bramble nose. Less dense and gloopy than the other two. This has more of a dryness than the others, similar to that that it showed four years ago, but perhaps a little more pronounced now and with a little less fruit to cover it fully. Again, heading towards being one to sniff rather than sip. ***
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A tad more muted nose (Mouton 05 was a tough act to follow) of blueberry, redcurrant and sweet red fruits. Showing the sweetness of 03 without the slightest hint of over-ripeness.
Medium bodied, classic profile, nicely resolved tannins and a pretty long finish. A nice stony character, also dried heather, a bit more tertiary palate compared with the nose.
Was expecting a big wine, though this was somewhat gentle, not showing the heat of 03 at all. Collapsed somewhat in the glass after some 4 hours.
Drank blind. Nice density and body. It’s still showing plenty of tannin and green notes. Black fruit, mineral, and tobacco. I guessed young super Tuscan.
This is a wine which seems on the decline despite its early glory. The colour is crimson brown particularly at the edge. The nose is complex with classic blackcurrant, dark plums, cedar and tobacco with touches of dark chocolate dipped prunes. The palate has plenty of flavour and mouth filling fruit but just lacks real distinction and drive. There is a touch of prune and fig yet there is some nice lingering sweet fruit at the end as an echo of the glory days. This interesting to compare with the fine 2005, 2000 and 2009 all of which shine with distinction.
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Inky purple/black in color. Takes a long time to open up and show aromas of black/purple cassis, blackberries, smoke, mocha, tar and hint of incense. Still massive and structured on the palate showing masses of smoky black fruits, hot rocks, medium (-) acidity, sneaky tannins and a long never-ending finish. Note to myself - do not touch another bottle for another 5+ years. Monumental wine.
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Nez très parfumé, délicat sur du fruit rouge. En bouche tout en rondeur et bien fondu. Les tanins sont soyeux. Longue finale sur des notes de cuir. Tres bon.
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Boxing Day wines at Domaine: Quite impressive for its concentration of powerful fruit and yet balanced without a hint of roastedness. Tannic structure is still firm and works with the dense, rich fruit. Better in 3-5 years, I'd hope as the components settle in a little more.
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Incredible bouquet of ripe blackberries, blueberries, grilled peppers, cigar box, liquor, undergrowth, intense and balanced. Lush, silken palate, medium-bodied, balanced mix of sweetness, freshness, spiciness, black and red berries, structured and elegant, leading to a long finish with pipe tobacco, spices, light sweetness, light touch of soy sauce. Still has some tannins but nearly dissolved. Agree that it has some upside but may take 3-5 years. Still highly enjoyable, so why wait?
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Double decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby, slightly lighter at the rim, red & dark fruit & more like a beautiful, mature CA cab blend, but not over-ripe, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding & best bottle I have had, drink or hold
1hour decant on Thanksgiving with prime rib roast (no turkey!). Graphite and leather with fine tannins and integrated but structured for long haul. Smells like my grandparents basement - ancient earth with complex layers of tea and tobacco leaves.
Drank w Nick and Olga and Carolyn; right out of the gate the wine was on fire; softer tannins and earthly flavors - total winner especially for the price
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A year and a half since my last bottle, and it is moving at a glacial pace in spite of my previous optimism. I was lucky enough to purchase a couple of cases soon after release, and am quite happy to track its progress, but otherwise I think this needs to be left alone for at least another two or three years. That said, it is truly magnificent and should eventually command a perfect rating. The nose has lost its greenness and is heady with aromas of blackcurran, plum, and leather with hints of cedar and some floral notes. Front palate is still showing greenness and is a little challenging with the tannin, but the rest of the wine is the embodiment of excellence. The depth and balance on the palate and finish are otherworldly and worthy of a 100 points. The finish seems to never end and pushes towards 90 seconds. However, at this stage residual tannin distracts.
1+ année depuis dernière bouteille. Carafé durant 30 minutes puis dégusté durant 2+ heures. Robe prune. Au nez, fleurs, cuir, foin, fruits rouges, épices. Au palais, corps moyen, bien équilibré, bonne acidité, touche herbacée, épicé, bonne longueur, très agréable à boire, homogène. Précédemment je me demandais s’il a besoin de plus de temps mais, finalement, je pense juste qu’il est à un excellent niveau maintenant! 93-94
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Purple-black in colour. Wonderful nose of dark-berried fruit, fresh tilled earth, wood smoke, tobacco, graphite and summer herbs. Rich plummy dark fruit on a medium-bodied frame. Excellent length. Perhaps just lacking a bit of freshness compared to other recent showings of this wine but still excellent. Needed an hour decant to really start delivering the goods.
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This was a great, classic Bordeaux with no sign of overripeness or other heat flaws from the vintage. The nose is dark fruit, cigar smoke, barnyard, and soil. As soon as this hits the palate, it feels grippy and young, but I soon got the sense that this had aged enough that the fruit has mellowed and plenty of complexity could show through the austere texture. There was wet stone, graphite, blackberries, and a touch of horse trodden trail. This has plenty of time left before the tannins reach what anyone might call gentle, but it’s in a great spot, has a ton of earth and texture, and a nice medium body.
Similar to prior notes, the nose has aromas of coffee, dark black fruit, smoke and anise. Palate is thin with a bit of plum, some dry tannins that may not ever fully evolve and a long finish. For me, it is behind top vintages of Montrose and pound for pound behind other above average vintages at similar price points. A good drink which is carried primarily by the nose but definitely not what I personally like in Montrose.
Best showing yet for this wine. The heat and tannins have resided somewhat and the resulting wine is very pretty and easy to drink yet big enough to go with big food such as ribs. A great showing for this wine and bodes well for the future.
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Took nearly 2 hours to fully open. Laser precise black fruit with graphite. Interesting nose of mint. Finish lasted at least 15 seconds. Can go another 20 years easily. 96+
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Showy flamboyant, rich, lush, ripe, and packed with layers of deep, dark, red, and black fruits, opulent textures, and a finish that keeps on going. This is simply great now and could be even better with a 3-5 more years of bottle age.
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1 hour decant and no sediment to speak of. The wine did not change over subsequent 2 hours. Elegant black and blue fruits. Not the jammy or too-extracted fruit you might expect from this vintage. Very smooth with long pliable tannins. I'll wait another couple years for my next one.
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🇫🇷 2003 Vieux Château Certan 🇫🇷 Lots of tertiary notes, ripe red berries, leather, sweet tobacco. Medium complexity, great balance. Drink up soon. 91/100 💵~200
🇫🇷 2003 Château Figeac 🇫🇷 Violets, dark plum, some meaty notes. Good complexity. A little too hot. Finish is a bit short. Drink now. 90/100 💵~200
🇫🇷 2003 Château Angelus 🇫🇷 Beautiful complexity and a lot of fruit power left. Grippy tannins and and super long finish. At least another 10 great years left. 94/100 💵~400
🇫🇷 2003 Château Cos d’Estournel 🇫🇷 Nice soft tertiary notes and lots of dark berries. Fantastic depth and structure. Powerful body. Long finish. In a great spot now. 95/100 💵~230
🇫🇷 2003 Château Montrose 🇫🇷 Ripe strawberries, cherries and wet ivy. Velvety tannins. Fantastic complexity and a great balance. Feels quite fresh and young, lots of good years ahead. 96/100 💵~230
🇫🇷 2003 Château Haut-Bailly 🇫🇷 Soft sweet notes in the nose. Alcohol is too hot and covering the fruit notes. Medium complexity, feels a little unbalanced. Drink now. 89/100 💵~100
🇫🇷 2003 Château Mouton Rothschild 🇫🇷 Great dark red fruits, some dry leather and tobacco - beautiful ripeness. Warm and velvety tannins. Fantastic complexity and length. In a perfect spot now. 96/100 💵~ 600
🇫🇷 2003 Château Lafite Rothschild 🇫🇷 Fantastic nose and palate with lots of elegant dark berries, tobacco leafs and lots of mineral style notes. Silky tannins. Very elegant structure. Incredible balance and complexity. Endless finish. At least another two great decades ahead. 97/100 💵~ 1.100
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Tighter bottle. Needed a couple hours decant to show. Nice blend of menthol and flint and smoke with back fruits. Palate plump and round on entry with tannins really coming out on the finish. Seemless and somewhat plush,but a bit tight today without the depth of prior bottles
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This is my first encounter with the 2003 Montrose and I have to admit that I’m completely befuddled. While it’s true that this doesn’t come across and hot or over-extracted, I don’t find much other than a whack of oak and black fruit, somewhat empty on the palate. This comes across as very much the odd man out among the 00, 90, 89 Montrose tasted alongside. Ex-chateau, 4 bottles, followed 4 hours.
Harvested Sept 11-26
62 CS / 34 M / 3 CF / 1 PV 13% ABV
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Nose: ripe blackberry, anise and plum. Quite dark and as this opened the oak notes of vanilla bean, espresso and wood shavings started to get more prominent. Palate: rich and nicely textured, black cherry, cassis and blueberry compote. Complex cracked pepper and loamy earth. Finish: dark and fruity.
Not a very classic Montrose, and yet not an overblown 2003. Very nice wine. What it that lacks in identity it makes up for in jubilant personality.
A couple of hours in a wide-bodied decanter and this was in the zone. The wine rocked from start to finish with an incredible nose of deli meats, fresh tobacco, loamy earth and some cedar hints. A nose you could just inhale all night. Impeccable balance with plush tannins and swathes of dark fruit, tobacco and epic length. Not left wanting for anything except more wine after the bottle ran out. What a great wine and may improve further over the decades of runway that still lie ahead.
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Decanted about an hour or so before dinner at home (with rack of lamb and risotto) - this is getting closer to closer to its sweet spot. Years (if not decades) of life ahead, but this is a seriously good Bordeaux
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This 19 year old wine surprised me in that it was still so youthful. It was very deep red in colour with dark berries and strong alcohol on the nose. In the glass were flavours of dark berries, strawberries, and some flowers. There was also a caramel ending to each sip. The tannins were still very strong while the acidity as at a good level. I would have never guessed the age on this bottle and I think these have many good years ahead of them.
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(2/18/22) Bought on the secondary market, with a fill well into the neck, this bottle displayed age-appropriate color as well as age-appropriate aromatics and development in the flavors on the palate (all fairly average). The big problem was that the palate showed medium-minus concentration, coarse, sand-like tannins, and almost zero acidity. I’m guessing previous storage problems are to blame for this bad showing, so I will withhold a score. 13% ABV. (But if I were to score this, it would be **/14/84.)
Deep purple-red. The nose on this wine was sensational with heady, pungent aromas emerging immediately upon pouring into the decanter. Dark and red fruit, charred embers, pot pourri, sous-bois, cedar, some iodine, mineral and saline notes. Still very young, showing excellent harmony, energy and lift for such a large-scale palate. So very enjoyable already although I suspect this will improve further with extended cellaring. That nose - wow!
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1966 – 2010 Château Montrose vertical (Regional Wines, Wellington, NZ): Served single blind, one pour. Varieties: CS 62% | M 34% | CF 3% | PV 2%. Deep, bright ruby. A huge volume to the bouquet. Fresh blackberry, vanillin and chocolatey scents with caramel, definitely showing its oak élevage. However, seemingly a little leaner and sleeker on palate than the nose suggests. Muscular but with cultured and svelte fruit. The fruit hugely concentrated, opulent and ripe, including dark plums, reflecting the large merlot component. Crème de cassis, graphite, liquorice, blackberries and cedar. Ultra fine grained tannins. Seductive and a little soft. Sufficient vibrant acidity retained. I had this wine as possibly the 2010. Although with the serious architecture and volume of ripe fruit, sitting in the glass, towards the end of the tasting the palate moved more linear. Excellent length. A top wine in this line-up. No stereotypical 2003 jamminess. Ideally drink from 2025+. Such is the huge dry extract, I would not be surprised if the 2003 drank well 40 years from today. 96+.
Rankings: Me 5/12 | GK 3/12 | CT 4/12.
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Fantastic bouquet of ripe blackberries, crushed stones, herbs, very tasty, complex but also elegant due to the minerals. Initially some burned elements that disappear, leading to lush, structured, yet surprisingly light and ethereal palate, perfectly balanced, hard to put the glass down, long, spicy finish. Whilst very Bordeaux, has a Burgundian touch, from a riper vintage. This is as great as wine can get: complex, dense but also light and fresh, a kaleidoscope of berries, spices, herbs, minerals.
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4th of 24, opened 90 minutes then decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, showing more earthy minerality, otherwise as last noted in Oct 20, moreish and with volume of top vintage, significant upside. F+ (18).
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Montrose's 2003 iteration is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Sampled from a well-cellared bottle that was provided by one of the guests at a holiday luncheon, it was uncorked and poured. Having received an "early" pour of the wine, I elected to set the glass aside and taste it over the ensuing 90 minutes. Still a youthful deep ruby in color, it is equally youthful with respect to its ripe blackberry and cassis fruit that is flanked with exotic spices, bittersweet chocolate, violets, graphite and dried herbs. Full-bodied, seamlessly alcoholic (13%) and surprisingly fresh for this hot vintage, it buttresses its flavors with abundant fine-grained tannins and a well-proportioned aliquot of oak. Layered and dense on the mid-palate, it moves on to a lengthy finish that carries a lot of tannic grip. There is no question in my mind that this would have shown even better with more aeration, but I am also quite convinced that properly cellared bottles have not yet fully hit their stride. Give this at least another five years in the cellar if you can resist. It should easily be a 40+ year wine. Drink 2026-2043.
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Brought a bottle to a restaurant for a dinner with friends. Opened around 2.5 hours before tasting and drunk with Wagyu Beef.
Beautiful color and nose. Surprisingly restrained for the vintage with tannins that were somewhat overpowering and a very long finish. Perhaps we should have decanted the wine, but it seems to me that it was not quite there yet.
I will hold my remaining two bottles for at least five years.
These may have been best experience with the '03 Montrose to date. Decanted about 5 hours before a wine dinner with some friends and these bottles were stunning.
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Decanted for 1 hour. Cedar, black currant, eucalyptus oil and some earth on the nose. The palate is surprisingly fresh, deep blackberry fruit, silky texture with some medium grained tannins. Surprisingly austere for the vintage, this wine is built to last.
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Definitely needed time and air. Started super pruny, but air and time helped. Not classic Montrose — lacks that great fruit— but decent with air. Just “okay”. (Maybe a subpar bottle based on others’ reviews but Montrose is a personal favorite and this was a vintage I’d skip.)
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My last bottle. Pretty tight upon opening but blossomed with a splash decant. Currant filled nose with some iodine notes. Palate was dense and concentrated, but had lift and freshness. Silky palate texture really stood out. Despite the hot year this was fresh and focused unlike some other ‘03s—no hint of roasted elements. Some coarseness of the tannins on the backend, but this really hold the palate with a long finish, adding hint of mint. Great stuff, should continue to evolve and maybe add complexity.
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Double decanted for 2.5 hrs, deep ruby to the rim, red & dark fruit with tobacco & leather, classic mature left bank, med/firm tannins, long finish; outstanding & has entered peak drinking where I suspect it will stay for at least a decade, drink or hold
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Better than my last bottle as I served in bottle of slow ox for one hour, drank over three hours. The nose was less reserved and silky palate with big structure and medium and elegant body. A typical grand cru BDX wine.
Explosive nose displaying hedonistic black and blue fruit, crème de cassis, black cherry, milk chocolate, bell pepper, strong lead pencil, eucalyptus, cedar and earth. This clearly show the vintage character, i.e. very ripe yet also with a hint of green. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of opulent black fruit, unctuous yet silk, warm and round, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long ripe black fruit driven finish with lead pencil and caramel at the end. Although youthful, this is drinking magnificently.
3 hour decant. Less than a teaspoon of sediment. Rich and ripe layers of black and blue fruits. Minerals, smoky pencil shavings, touch of cassis and soft leather with a little vanilla Oak. Very smooth and approaching velvety.
Dark red, deep core. Lovely ripe cassis, dark spice, smooth, sherbet zest, fruits and oak spice. Fine big tannins, dark berries, some cedar, some earth, but not overly complex. Plump, good density, lush for St Estephe, warm year ripeness. Drinking nicely.
Palooza part 2; 7/8/2021-7/10/2021 (Marco Island/Naples): Another fantastic wine shared by Mark. This felt especially young after the '66 Latour. Dark in color, lots of fruit and lots of structure. Enjoyable now but this has many good years ahead. Agree with Mark's assessment that the fruit went from red on opening to darker over the time open at the table.
Also popped tableside for our dinner tonight....obviously fresher than the '66 Latour. Brighter red fruit which gained weight and darkened quite a bit throughout the evening. Initially there was a little tart cherry on the ending but this lessened as the night wore on. A very clean wine with an oak/cedar component felt on the nose more on opening and more on the late palate later on, to me, personally. A very nice wine, but no spectacular components to remark about, in a nice drinking window for those who like a BDX in a slight secondary phase. Still plenty of years to go, so no hurry with this one at all.
Phenomenal wine. Deeply concentrated with a beautiful nose, body, and lovely long finish. Everything one can ask for in good bordeaux. This is humming and was terrific straight out of the glass. Firing on all cylinders! This baby is ready for prime time. Enjoy!
Dark berry fruit, black currant, tertiary tabacco and leather aromas. Opulent wine with a long live ahead, however the missing freshness makes it somehow unbalanced with a relatively short finish. Typical representative of the warm 2003 vintage.
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From magnum. Everything you would expect from a high class first mature phase st. Estephe. Cigar box and lots of ripe juicy fruits with smooth acid and tannin. Thanks to my friend for opening that bottle purchased from subscription, nothing to add. Straight from first glass to last one couple of hours after opening the bottle
Phil in Town; 6/25/2021-6/26/2021 (Matts House): This wine is off the charts good. Opened next to an 2005 Mouton and a 2010 Chave Hermitage. Held its own easily. Blueberry, graphite, bakers spice and a perfect harmony of fruit and oak. the Chave won the night but I need to load up on this wine as there is not a better $200-$250 out there in my opinion. I decanted 4 hours. This can be drank now with a small decant or held for many more years.
Lots of fruit and much helped by an hour in a decanter. Unfortunately I didn't decant. Moderate tannin still present after 18 years, this balanced and complex wine still has development ahead of it. Expect it to mellow out and gain opulence with additional years in the cellar. Drink with a decant, or let it age through 2030.
Bue le lendemain de LLC 2003, intéressant. Carafée pendant 30 minutes, puis consommée sur 3 heures. N’est pas au même niveau que LLC, plutôt dans la lignée de la bouteille de 2020, arômes de fleurs, de cèdre, un peu réticents. Au palais, plus puissant, plus acide, plus minéral, plus végétal que LLC, mais moins distingué, moins fin, moins long en finale. Peut-être lui faut-il plus de temps?
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Probably I decanted too long, 3 hours. I got the best sips at the start but after 3 hours, the experience was not as good as other comments in the group. The color was not shiny as the young BDX, with attractive milk chocolates, cream coffee, dark fruits, cheese cake aroma, medium body, silky tannin. However after 3 hours decanting, it slept...
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- Garnet color with medium forming legs. It's in total harmony and has flavours of raspberry, blackberry, black currant and chocolate with a medium/full body. Bright texture with a medium finish - This really is sensational wine. Everything about this wine seems to be perfect. The nose is deep and rick and full of unbelievable fruit. The wine is perfection as far as the balance.
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Once again, all the oohs and ah's tempted me to open one of my 2 remaining bottles. If you are a Bordeaux lover, and you LOOOOVVVE this wine, and drink too much of this, it may be dangerous to your real Bordeaux wines in the cellar. This is definitely a unicorn and a hybrid Bordeaux that drinks absolutely "delicious" with the gobs of fruit and lots of spice which is unusual for a left bank Bordeaux, but there's no denying that this is bordeaux by sniffing the glass. Long, long, rich finish with killer acidity for the vintage (and probably one of the reasons why this is so well made and fresh) make this a hard glass of wine to put down. After 5 hours, I did sense some decline in the glass, while a 2005 La Dame that was opened at the same time as a beak wetter was gaining steam and inching up...I'm glad that I did not buy the case that the English merchant at the time was peddling, I am still happy with my only one left. Drink or Hold
OH BABY! This wine was on point tonight. Based on recent tasting notes on CT, it seems like in a great drinking window. I decanted for 8 hours. The violet and perfume on the nose were crazy. The midpalate hit with soft blue fruits and graphite. Tea leaves and bakers spice on the finish. This wine has many more years ahead of it. It was well balanced but still a tad young and the tannins were noticeable. Now, in 10 years this could be a 100pt wine, it has all the makings of a perfect wine and tonight was incredible. This will get better with more age. I had the 2005 a few months ago and Montrose may have just become my favorite wine!
In spite of a 9 hour decant, it was an hour in the glass that tipped it to a new level. This wine is sensational, and will merit a perfect score in a few years. The nose is still a little reticent at present displaying a slight greenness. However, the palate is absolute perfection. The tannic backbone has now resolved and displays a perfect harmony with the blackcurrant, blackberry, and plum giving a wonderful mouthfeel without forgetting you are drinking a Northern Bordeaux. At present the finish is pushing 90 seconds and is perfectly balanced, but the extra point for perfection will come as the final residual tannins smooth out.
It probably needed a longer decant. But for a potential 100 pointer, the tannins were not yet fine for that score and it felt slightly chewy. Will develop further. Have other bottles so will revisit.
Decanted for 4 hours, checking it from time to time. Blackberries, cassis, plum, tobacco, graphite, a little leather, earth, and herbs on the nose. A whiff of va at first, but disappears with some air. Beautiful blackberries, tart cherries, cranberries, cassis, minerals, graphite, earth on the palate. So much earthiness. The second day there was a touch of saline on the palate. Good acidity, still grippy tannins, looong finish. Beautiful wine. It still seems so young.
Tasted blind. Powerful nose of red fruit, leather, tobacco, and a hint of green notes. Quite soft, yet structural tannins with dark fruit, and nice acidity on the palate. Velvety mouthfeel without being overripe. Long finish. Great Bordeaux!
It‘s been a while since I‘ve last had this wine. I‘m positively surprised by how well this Montrose did in 2003. Yes it is intense, ripe but that traits of a hot vintage paired with Montrose aristocratic masculinity is a great combo. Lots of finesse (!) and no excess weight. This was fun to drink and is at no risk whatsoever to decline anytime soon. I guess this will easily improve for at least another 15 or 20 years. Promising!
TN: Intense, very intense nose with very ripe (at least for a Bdx) dark fruit at the centre, along some exotic spices, herbs and earthy aromas. In some moments it showed just a tad of heat (but really just a little little bit). Full-bodied, intense palate with no shred of excess weight. Fine tannins and fresh, becoming lighter by the minute. Cassis, blackberries, some blueberries with a streak of red fruit. With time a bit chocolate notes and more red berries. Lots of earthy notes, herbs (fresh and even a bit medicinal I would normally associate with Napa/Australia), crushed rocks, leather and a bit of tobacco. Very complex and with a good but not perfect precision.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 5 hours and it needed it. Became better by the minute (and was utterly unspectacular in the first 4 hours).
Drinking absolutely sensational at the moment. Decanted for only one hour but was great right out of the bottle. Surprising for the hot 2003 vintage, this was pure finesse, balance and elegance. Beautiful classic Montrose nose. Can’t imagine it improving or getting better than this at this time. Drink now!
Tasted blind. Long decant of 5-6h, then consumed over 3 days. Sweet red berry fruit beautifully woven into aging notes of wet earth, sous-bois and layered with fine, sweet floral notes, herbal notes of dried tea leaves. Only traces of darker berries to be found. Incredibly decliate, feminine and sophisticated. On the palate fresh with lots of acidity otherwise well built with smooth even if very much present tannin. The floral aromas move more and more to center stage over time in the glass, although the fresh, sweet and perfumed notes transformed into dried flowers by day 3. Had this next to the 1989 and while on the first day I had a clear preference for this over the more muscular and less sophisticated 1989, it ended up being a tie by day 3.
Very much the product of the 2003 vintage. Ripe, meaty, and tannic, but lacking in acidity. The wine is outstanding, and may improve, but currently it is flat and slightly fatiguing to drink. Cabernet fruit verging on plummy character. No herbaceous elements at all. A touch of volatility on the nose, as well as wet oak. Floury black olive flavours, align with the currant and plummy fruit. The finish is massive and tannic, and high(ish)in alcohol. Only at the start of maturity, this wine will age for decades, and may well improve and approach an extraordinary experience, but for now, it feels as if it is in a hole. Based on this tasting, it appears as if Cos is the better wine in this vintage. 93++?
One of 3 reds for the New Year's Eve festivities with a small group of friends, along with an '05 Bouchard Le Corton and an '03 Montrose.
The Corton was opened prior to dinner, while the Insignia and Montrose were both decanted. Both the Montrose and Insignia were outstanding, but at least tonight, the Insignia was the (slightly) better wine. While that may have been a function of the youthfulness and slower evolution of the Montrose, the Insignia was stellar. But the Montrose continues to excel and is just hitting its adolescence.
Rich bouquet of blackberry preserve, undergrowth, tobacco, spices. Medium-bodied palate, lush, sweet yet with a nice acidic line, dark and red berry compote, Christmas spices, a long finish with red candy, fine, nearly resolved tannins. There is an element of vanilla ice cream, prunes compote, cinnamon, all very balanced, multi-dimensional.
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U Club NYC bottle. Very firm and showing good gravel, stone, minerals coupled with stone fruits and hard berry. Really aromatic and structured. We’ll made.
While I have had a few underwhelming Cru Classe from 2003, this confirmed my experience that St Estephe did well in this hot vintage. The tannins were well resolved and this is drinking well, showing spicy, rich fruit and good length though there is still a bit of a lack of freshness that characterized this year.
The fill was into the neck and the cork was pristine; double decanted 90 minutes prior to dinner, and served in Grassl 1855 stems. Youthful purple core, turning to deep garnet at the rim. Plenty of ripe fruit on the bouquet, with abundant scents of cassis, blackberry, star anise; hints of crushed stone, black truffle and briar patch. Medium to full bodied, with ripe and chewy tannins, excellent concentration and depth, and a long and well delineated finish. Clearly made from ripe fruit harvested in a hot vintage, but with excellent focus due to the good acidity. Very well balanced. I think this will stand the test of time, so I will plan to hold my remaining bottles until 2025+. It is excellent now, but I think it will continue to improve with additional cellaring.
2 hour decant and it still felt like it needed more air time - a touch closed. Fruits were black with some nice blue and red fruits. Very smooth with some sweet Oak and a touch of minerals.
The wine has a garnet hue as it is poured into the glass. Is it true to St Estephe? Absolutely! Extroverted and masculine with earthy rose petal notes and lacking some elegance. It has typical bordeaux aged nose with layers of spice with a background of primary blackcurrant, blueberry and blackberry. Slightly too acidic. Great length. Riedel Bordeaux glass. Temp 17 deg C. Estimated drinking window - now till 2040.
Dark fruit, coffee, anise, and a touch of fresh earth on a subtle but elegant nose. Gorgeous velevety body with a just a touch of thinness but meaningfully more attractive and weighty than its Cos cousin. Attractive polished finish with a sweep young tannins.
One from a case and paired with a mushroom pasta. Cork was in perfect shape. Aroma exploded into the glass, dark fruits, violets, leathers, more dark fruits, intense and brooding. Very sweet entry, followed by drying tannins, great alcohol integration. Nowhere near mature. Excellent considering the weak vintage overall. Could stand some decant time but so unexpectedly delicious on pop and pour. Maybe for the next bottle!
3rd of 24, opened 3 hours, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, ridiculously youthful, but moreishly attractive, would envisage greater nuance developing as ageing process kicks in, significant upside and long life ahead. F+ (18) for now.
Decanted prior to the dinner (tasting menu at Bresca in DC), and this may have been the best bottle so far of my first case. Amazing noise and great depth of classic Bordeaux flavors. This has at least a decade ahead of it - probably two or more - and watching this evolve will be great fun.
Bue sur 2 jours, cette bouteille était plus réticente que les précédentes. Moins de fruits et moins de complexité, la fraîcheur en bouche était bien présente toutefois, aucune lourdeur et toujours cette pointe herbacée qui ternit quelque peu la fin de bouche. Très belle bouteille juste un peu moins explosive.
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Drank from coravin over multiple days. Dark fruits, Napa like. Not nearly at the stellar bottles of 03 montrose I’ve had in prior years. Hopefully just an off bottle
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Served from a Magnum that was decanted for 60 minutes. Closed in at first with slight tertiary aromas. Dark Color, getting a bit amber around the edges. Then, after another 30 minutes was fantastic! Dark Chocolate, Bay Leaf, incense spice, blackberry, and Oak on the aroma. Typicity of Montrose is still there, despite the warm vintage. Flavor is rich and fruit forward; almost Napa Valley Oakville. Yet, still has a coolness and tannin structure that brings it back to Bordeaux. My assessment is that one should start drinking it now and not hold. This also goes for nearly all 2003 Red Bordeaux’s
2003 Montrose - 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, despite the hottest August ever: Bewitching, sensational nose with a concerted and at the same time complex nose with primary, secondary and tertiary aromas: fine roasted notes, coffee and laurel play perfectly together with the dark berry fruit. Astonishingly cool on the palate with good freshness and acidity, very clear and pure fruit. Fine-grained tannin, excellent depth and beautiful complexity; long finish. Very pleasurable 96/100 2020 - 2035
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Got more subdued the more air it got. Dark fruited, plush, pretty shy nose. Tannins bulky but mild. Typical favor profile of black fruit, but of smoke, and mint. Some tabacco on the finish. Holds the finish well. Seamless just not as expressive as expected. Seems to be in early maturity.
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Château Montrose through 6 legendary vintages (Zoom!): 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Herve Berland notes that the Montrose terroir (near the river and the sea) protected this wine from the worst of the year's heat. You can detect the richness on the nose, though. Feels pretty mature. The palate is even more marked by the heat and slightly dies off on the finish, but a minty green note develops with time. Would be lovely with a steak!
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Decanted about 90 minutes before dinner. This bottle seemed tight, but I think that was due from having followed immediately after the '03 Pegau Reservee, which was drinking beautifully. But the '03 Montrose is sadly good, too, with a very long life and more development ahead.
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Smoke and graphite. Flint and crushed rocks on the nose. Gorgeous superfine tannins. Fresh juicy blackberry flavors with a hint of black tea. Beautiful wine. The only knock is the relatively short finish.
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1st of 24, decanted 90 minutes, perfect cork and level - dark, dense ruby, purple rim; relatively simple, slightly jammy black fruit flavours, some vanilla, tobacco and earth, impressive impact if not particularly elegant; quite full bodied, long, persistent and concentrated, as yet fruit driven, earthy, drying slightly granular tannins underpinning the structure partly hidden by weight of sweetish mid palate fruit, excellent grip and drive, early days, scope for upgrade. F+ (18)…..interesting comparison with arguably more elegant Pichon Baron which for current drinking I prefer even though I've marked the Montrose marginally higher for now and fundamentally more to it than last week's 01.
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An odd wine. Superripe aromas: smoked meat, tar, with some ripe blackberry struggling through, a bit of cedar once in a while, noticeable volatile acidity. Not thick enough to be flabby, it was somehow leaden and heavy without any fruit density; I suspect this was an effect of the tannin quality. The tannins were very drying. No tension or precision. I had always wondered what Parker's description of "dry vintage port" was until now. Not a particularly fun experience.
Opulent, rich, full-bodied, showy and intense, this feels just great as layers of perfectly ripe, sensuous black and red fruits glide over your palate. There is no heat, jamminess or overripe characteristics. What you do experience with all its lush, velvety, showy fruit is layer after layer of intensity, richness and pleasure. Decanted about 90 minutes, this rock star hits all the right notes.
If you drink this alongside other 2003 Bordeaux, you will get more of a feel for the wine, and its awesome power and tilled earth and spiced fruit vibe. If you drink this, say, with a 2000 Montrose, it will get outclassed. This is about sheer power, heavy fruit to earth ratios, and density. Its a hybrid wine, crossing new world fruit ratios with Bordeaux terroir. Its as dark as a Bordeaux can get, yet if you look close enough, its a deep sea of garnet. Beautiful alone, and very good in a lineup.. This score is based on a stand alone bottle. Drink or Hold
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Decanted at the restaurant (Clarity in Vienna, VA) prior to, and consumed with, the entrees (Wagu flatiron steak and an even better venison strip loin). Started at a 94 and ended up closer to a 96 - dark fruits, with leather/tobacco aromas, and no hint of any roasted character, the '03 Montrose continues to develop and improve. It will be fascinating to watch my remaining bottles over the next decade (or two, if I make it that long!).
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Informal gathering, no notes taken. I’ve crossed path with this wine a couple of times in the past three years. The best bottle I’ve had was a 96/97 points sensation full of black truffles along the ripe fruit. Open and singing after 7 hours in the decanter. Most other bottles were a bit weaker and more muted an closed but always a bit flashier and riper, more new world-ish than your average aristocratic Montrose (due to the hot vintage). This magnum, which was not decanted, showed less ripe and opulent, fresher and more classic than the other bottles but of course, was muted and closed only hinting to its potential. If you open a bottle today, decant it for at least 6 hours, probably even better the day before consumption! 92 points today but definitely 97+ point potential.
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2hr decant. Solid wine but a bit muted. Came out with ribeye and some time in glass but still felt a bit restrained. Maybe in that slightly awkward early drinking window/late adolescence. Will have to revisit. Saw some potential for 95-96
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The ‘03 Montrose was seductive on this night, showing it’s ripe vintage character, yet balancing that richness on a powerful frame of regal tannin and lively acids. The nose was gorgeous, displaying a mix of ripe plum, strawberry and cassis, with herbal tobacco, dusty cedar, hints of pepper, and moist soil. On the palate, velvety textures caressed the senses, as tart black fruits saturated all they touched, leaving peppery herbal tones, minerals and a hint of savory pepper, in a large-scale yet still remarkably fresh expression. The finish was unbelievably long, with a complex web of mineral-infused tannins under resonating ripe dark fruits, savory spices and a peppery twang that just wouldn’t give up. It’s not often that I use the word umani in a tasting note, yet it applies here, as the ‘03 Montrose managed to be sweet, savory and even a bit salty. Wow.
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Double decanted about 2 hours before the tasting. Deep purple color with some ruby, not showing too many signs of age, but slightly brightening up towards the rim into orange. Explosive aromatics of tobacco leaf, cigar box, black cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cassis, cedar wood, christmas spices, a touch of flowery notes too, some earthy mineral notes, licorice, also some graphite. It‘s medium-full bodied, with layers over layer of mid-palate depth, has medium+ tannin that is superbly silky (especially in the context of the vintage) and medium acidity. Finish that lasts for minutes. Wow, this is incredibly good, complex and classic, with just a touch of extra fruit from the freakishly hot vintage. Stunning. (97+)
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Last tasted over 2 years ago when it was just at the beginning of its drinking window, this has moved forward with secondary characteristics now being displayed. This will without question be a 100 point wine in the future, and the only issue is when. To set the record straight the alcohol is a a relative regular 13%, with some reviews claiming levels of 15% or 16%. It is an absolutely magnificent wine, and fully deserving of its general plaudits. It is not atypical of the vintage. Although not over fruited, the nose still has a great richness with blackcurrant, blackberry, old leather, and cigar box prominent. The tannin is still in process of resolving, but the balance with the fruit is faultless. The depth and complexity on the palate and finish is worthy of a first growth in a perfect year. I am in agreement with other reviews that the only barrier to perfection at this stage is the tannic backbone on the finish. I gave this 6 hours in an open decanter, and I think it helped, but I would also recommend pouring the first glass an hour before drinking, as it really developed throughout the evening. I actually feel that another 12 to 24 months will see this reach its peak, but it has a structure to keep it there for at least 3 decades. 98+
After looking at notes here on CT, I decided on a 2 hr decant and that was the trick! First sips were heavenly. My first thought was this was easily one of the best 5 wines I’ve ever had—and it got better from there. The only thing holding this back from perfection is drying tannic backbone on the end of the palate—to be fair we’re splitting hairs at this point. Slight cooling removed the effect. Forest floor, mushroom, herbs, old study/barn, dried blackberry, blackberry, saddle leather, touch of dried blueberry, smoked game, dried cherries on the med-long finish. Good balance of fruit and foliage/earth. Complimentary to smoked ribeye, but drank well even without food. Many, many years left. Drank best at cellar temp, needs to maintain cellar temp to drink its best.
Complex bouquet of cigar box, leather, undergrowth, dark berry preserve, roasted bell pepper and eucalyptus. Palate is full, round, silken with a nice acidic line, leading into a very long, complex finish, perfectly balancing sweetness with freshness and a ever so slight bitterness that lends pressure. There are some fine, sweet residual tannins. More masculine than the Cos but equally great. I fully agree with the notes below stating it is very Bordeaux, and does not feel at all hot, rather in the sweet spot between a fuller, riper and a leaner, more austere style. Very elegant, aristocratic, a fantastic wine!
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Similar to prior notes after SO for 2 hrs the night before & a double decant for 2 hrs in the am. With all the air, it still continued to open up at the party for AA. Outstanding & still not at peak, drink or hold
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No bricking, ruby to the opaque core. The profile doesn’t show the heat of the vintage at all. Very well managed. The nose wafts complex and classic Bordeaux notes of celery seed, charcoal, red cherry, plum, gravel, graphite, leather, tobacco. Blind I actually thought this was a leaner vintage. The palate is still very well structured with medium plus tannin and acid. Medium finish replaying much of the nose. 13% alcohol.
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This is really rather gorgeous. Just opened, decanted and poured. Initially a little closed, with still a surprising amount of tannic grip underneath a wealth of ripe berry fruit and a slightly New World cab nose. Then quickly it started to blossom, with more classic Bordeaux secondary notes emerging on the nose and the palate showing a delicious fruit/acid tension that made it deliciously seductive and moreish. Overall, it was pure pleasure, not at all austere or over-hot, rather it was surprisingly refined and elegant and was one of those wines that restores your faith in Bordeaux as one of the greatest regions.
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Decanted probably 2 hours before dinner with friends; drank alongside the '03 Cos d'Estournel with a delicious roast leg of lamb. Both bottles were singing, with the Montrose perhaps a bit more classic Bordeaux and the Cos the slightly more flamboyant. Both were outstanding, with no sense of heat or jamminess in this incredibly hot vintage where the northernmost left-bank Bordeaux absolutely excelled. Tonight I thought the Montrose just maybe an eyelash ahead. Tomorrow I may change my mind. But I would never refuse either of these.
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Fenomenal wine. 2hr decant. Insane nose of earthy tones, some sandal wood, black and red fruits. Perfect tannins. Not too dry or firm, not to dusty. Just perfect. All backed up with a medium plus body. Wow!!!
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While this is still just a young pup, this is drinking much more advanced than the 2000 Montrose, which I had over the summer. It is a powerhouse wine that will be one for the ages. If you can be patient, I see this aging gracefully for the next 20+ years and becoming a modern day 1990 version. We popped & poured it with only a 10 minute decant. Shocking to me that it was already showing well straight out of the bottle. 80% primary flavor profile and 20% secondary character coming through right now. I will hold the rest of mine for at least another 5 years if not longer.
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Bue sur 2 jours, sans changement notable, sans passage en carafe. Robe prune foncée très légèrement plus claire sur les bords. Pour moi, le nez est supérieur à la bouche, avec ses arômes d'écurie, brièvement à l'ouverture, puis de mûres, de framboises, de roses, une pointe de savon, encens et bois précieux. La bouche est très savoureuse, d'abord douce, puis soutenue par une trame acide, sans creux mais qui finit sur des tanins un peu astringents et qui étaient un peu plus marqués le 2ème jour. Malgré le millésime, aucune trace de chaleur et un grand Bordeaux classique. Boire ou garder une dizaine d'années.
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Highly aromatic and seductive notes of Dark raspberries, anise, wet leather, and other earth tones. Sweet and balanced medium/light in weight but quite robust profile. Slightly drying tannins with moderate length.
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This has developed into another level of maturity compared to my earlier bottle 5 yrs ago. Truffles, soft cassis, oak, licorice. Medium sweetness and a lifting acidity. Medium plus body, intense with soft fine grained tannin. Very long finish with a great balance.
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Poured from half bottle. Beautiful wine, drinking well out of the bottle. We had been drinking some huge new world wines previously and the fruit here held up. Very rich and elegant.
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Bu au chalet de Bulle (René) avec la gang des Fouduvin pour ce beau souper weekend Annuel. Il a encore pas mal de coffre, des épices, des mures et un peu de prunes. Une petite point de fumée vers la fin aussi. Les tanins sont bien intégrés et assez fins. Long. Super long et complexe. Excellent.
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Wow. This surprised me from what I thought was a hot vintage. Just so elegant and balanced and quite superb. Singing sweetly and seductively from the glass with everything in harmony. Tremendous mouthfeel and simple more-ishness. Black currant, blackberry, raspberry a hint of fruit spices and tobacco. Lovely experience.
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Montrose 1982, 1989, 1996 and 2003 (JM Amsterdam): To sit down and reflect on; flamboyant and intense. Well-delineated and opulent nose with lavender, red ripe cherries, menthol, iron and tar. Expressive and complex palate with ripe juicy fruits and Asian spices. Smooth and well-integrated tannin in the long lingering finish with good freshness. More 'New-World' and relatively further developed or more accessible than the vintages as 1996. For now 96 points (nose 98) and more to come.
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From Coravin. Too young and possibly in an awkward phase. Lots of spice on the nose, and a somewhat disjointed palate with awkward acidity, hint of greenness and awkward tannins. Didn't have the option of letting it sit for hours to open up. If I had any bottles of this I would leave them alone for at least five years.
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A big wine with an outsized personality. Plenty of smooth tannins, cedar and tobacco, anise and tart cherry on the finish. Well balanced and a long finish round out this classy Saint-Estèphe.
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Utterly stunning wine. Took about 45min to truly open up after decanting. Do not pop and pour!!! Classic Bordeaux with lead pencil deep leather with warm cherry 🍒 compote. Absolutely love this wine and so glad to have more. 2003 vintage was vilified by many but a true all star emerged from parts of Left Bank. 03 COS is also a 100 and will be ready to drink in 4/5yrs. Laggy slightly behind its neigbour Montrose
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After 4 hours open before drinking it, it had still an amazing aroma and his blackberry and tannic flavor was really present. The only thing is that I was expecting a longer finish. It tended to not last long. Still an amazing bottle that can be kept for a few more year to soften the tannins.
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This was a deceptive wine seemingly a little straightforward but then with 2-3 hours breathing in the decanter it revealed a dramatic nose of blackcurrant, dark raspberry, dark cherries and liquorice without over-ripeness. The palate is deep and round with both richness and balance with a fine finish. There is just a tiny amount of clipping on the finish cf the purity of the 2005 but overall this is terrific.
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This is a super wine, although this bottle was not as expressive as other recently tasted examples, still, it is impossible not to be wowed by the flamboyant, showy nature. The tannins and fruit are expressive opulent and rich. The showy finish keeps on going. Drink this now, or over the next 20 or more years.
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Amazing perfume on the nose. So floral. Like pot pouri! Medium to full bodied. Some licorice. tannins well integrated and more so than the 2003 calon segur drank alongside. The heat of the vintage is evident but well balanced. Will last decades. I say give another 5-10 years. So drink 2023-43+
Served by ST at his CNY party
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Servi après Pontet Canet 2012, ouvert et bu, trop frais....en fait ce n’était pas prévu de l’ouvrir... Après 1 heure dans le verre, il a commencé à montrer son potentiel, puissance, classicisme, complexité. Seul point légèrement faible, je ressens une certaine astringence en fin de bouche, peut-être due au millésime, et qui ternit quelque peu le plaisir.
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8 hours in decanter. Here again I meet my own limitations. A great wine, but I still do not get the sensation of one of the best Montrose ever, as stated by many.(due to my cold today?) Future will solve this issue.
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Decanted 3 hours before dinner - still youthful, but very approachable now, especially with food. Pure fruit, long finish, sweet tannins; this still has a long life ahead and will get even better.
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A bit more variable than prior bottles, with restrained cherry notes, somewhat astringent and showing VA despite a 4-hour decant. Not flawed, just an off bottle amongst many I have enjoyed so thoroughly (and still a pleasure, even against tough company).
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2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): A touch reticent on the nose - slightly smoky, red fruit. Complex but quite discreet. Medium/full bodied, lovely on the initial attack with lightly spicy red fruit, touch of mineral, very fine but still quite firm tannins, fresh acidity, excellent length finish. Lovely if in need of more time.
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2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Again, dark but not dusty. Quite smooth a touch of heat on the finish. Reasonable balance. Smooths our with air. The most ‘classic’ so far. Just a touch dry. ***(*)
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The (annual) tasting at Loek's anniversary (His tasting room): Tasting note 5,001: (Only) A tad less than the Margaux '09, showing very young, superb tannins, juicy fruit (soft red and black fruit), freshness, power translated into concentration; a long live ahead.
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2019 New Years Day Tasting (Milton, GA): Very cloudy core with brighter purple rim; youthful-ish, smoke, seemingly bacon fat, violets, smoky mineral, green notes with strong purple fruit, black currants, blackberry and plum; extracted and dense palate, plummy, firm tannin yet there is a rounded fleshiness; a bit bizarre with nose suggesting N Rhone yet the palate was Bordeaux- has to be a large dose of Merlot- I called '01 Pavie.
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This had been open for ~5 hours prior to dinner to slow-ox and settle down. The nose was fairly brooding with non-delineated black cherry. The palate is more approachable and generous. Not at all roasted or over-ripe. Good cedar and earth notes. Long, chew finish. Clearly a wine of pedigree. Upside from here.
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Dinner at Margeaux Brasserie (Chicago, IL): The best showing of this wine yet, at least to me. There's clearly some ripeness on the nose here, but it's counterbalanced by the earthiness. Most importantly, there's no sign of overripeness or roasted qualities here. The ripe and juicy fruit plays nicely with the earth, and the tannins on this bottle are surprisingly more resolved than I'd have expected. Nonetheless, the Parkerian hyperbole for this wine is thoroughly unjustified. It will be a great wine at best, but a candidate for a perfect score? Risible.
Entering its drinking window. On the nose typical Cabernet Sauvignon bdx style. Forest floor. Wet leather. Blue cheese. Cigar box. On the palette it’s soft and fruity. Slightly drying tannins. Quite long aftertaste.
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2003 Bordeaux tasting (from 2011): An attractive nose of plum jam, black fruits, sage and spiciness, with one taster detecting earthy and capsicum notes. A controversial wine with grippy tannins, although these softened with the food. Some tasters found the wine attractive while others argued for a lack of structure and a drop off on the palate, considering the wine sappy and woody. Overall, fourth equal of the six wines.
NA = 0, B = 4, S = 13, G = 14, WON = 2
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Different from many other of the great Bordeauxs I’ve drank...more medium/light bodied than others. With that lighter body you still get the great, strong musty nose. Notes of sour cherry and wood that became clearer the longer the wine sat in the glass. A really fun, different wine.
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Incredible bouquet, you could sniff this for ages, ripe fruits, cigar box, more yummy than floral. Full and round in the mouth, dark fruits, ripe, lots of baking spices. The tannins are still slightly harsh, but you barely notice it, it is so good, finely grained. There is a tiny bit sulkiness but again the wine is just to nice to complain. An incredibly good wine with further upside!
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Expansive and full, clearly a riper styled Montrose but expressive, fresh and complex with typical Montrose characteristics, still quite young for a 2003 but very enjoyable now, should hold and develop for many years to come.
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Popped and poured, then enjoyed over an hour+. Lots of ripe black plum with some cassis. Plenty of earth with tobacco hints. Very good weight and plenty of elegant tannins. Seemed younger than 2003, and much better vs another bottle tasted earlier this year.
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Deep ruby garnet. Expressive nose of truffle, coffee, game, fresh dark berries, flint, flowers, licorice. Med+ body and acidity with med fine tannins that dissolve before the long finish. More dark fruit on the palate with dark chocolate, tobacco and a slightly saline/mineral finish. Enjoyable now, but i imagine there's still plenty of time to enjoy this vintage.
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Decanted for a 2 hours. The nose is beautifully fragrant with blackberry, leather, tobacco, herbal and truffle notes which leads way towards a blackberry and cassis driven palate that coats every inch of your palate, maintains freshness and lingers effortlessly.
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A Special 40th Anniversary Celebration (Restaurant Daniel, New York City): I wish this had been given more air, but as presented, the wine still echoed previous experiences I have enjoyed, albeit with a touch less subtlety. Aromas of ripe red fruit, licorice and chocolate. Silky mouthfeel, with lush cherry notes, some licorice and black olive, alongside ripe, delicious tannins.
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Wine & Dine Vol XI (Florhof (Zurich)): Tasted blind as part of a mini Montrose vertical (1996, 2003, 2005, 2009). For me the 2009 out on top, but the 1998 and 2003 were not far behind while the 2005 fell a bit short.
7h decant, and yet initally appeared a bit closed. Despite ~15 years of bottle age very much fruit-forward with marmelady berries, some menthol and sweet spices. Secondary leather aromas gained traction over time.
Tannins still granular and present hence not ideal balance on the palate.
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Wine & Dine Vol. XI (Zürich): Mini Montrose vertical 96/03/05/09. A good display of Montrose‘s aristocratic, classic charm. The 96 is fully mature and provides a lot of drinking pleasure even if it‘s not the most complex wine. The 03 is the odd one out, extremely spicy and quite ripe (the others who had it blind guessed Napa) but needs a lot of time. The 05 is completely closed, even after 7 hours in the decanter. The 09 is so intense, ripe and profound but so harmonious and elegant, certainly the one with the highest potential.
TN: Very ripe, highly expressive nose, dark fruit, red fruits, menthol and some black truffles. Same aromatic profile on the intense palate with more forest berries black and reds, more mint/menthol than I experienced in other bottles. Quite spicy apart from the telltale tertiary aromatics. Very smooth tannins and enough freshness to reveal the elegant Bordeaux soul among the new world ripeness and power.
Decanting: Decanted it for 7 hours, the wine was good but it could have needed even more. I would have loved to drink it the next day. Needs more cellar time.
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There was this scene in the movie Edward Scissorhands where, after his mad scientist creator died, leaving him unfinished and handless, he was discovered... He looked up at his discoverer and intoned, childlike, "not finished..."
The '03 Montrose is... not finished. Mind you, it is delicious now, beautiful in its own right, just as Edward was. Boisterous, loud, full of plenty of big flavors and scents (rose, rose hips, blackberry syrup, eucalyptus, rosemary and other herbal notes). But not nearly what it so clearly shows the potential of becoming. Those flavors are all in there, but the mix is muddied somewhat by biggish tannin, primarily, and just a general need to resolve, add detail and precision to it's considerable punch-in-the-head impact.
95 is a conservative estimate, where it is at right now more or less. In another 10-15 years, maybe less, who knows, we may be looking at an easy 99 (I don't believe in 100). The '03 Montrose clearly is made in a classic style, built to play the long game. After 15 years since harvest, it seems fairly clear that this is bound to be a winning game.
That said, if you decide to drink it now, why the hell not! It certainly is delicious enough to give plenty of pleasure as it currently stands. We stood for 24 hours then popped/poured; experimenting with more oxidizing service methods might produce an even better result. Though looking at previous notes from people who've tried this, perhaps not so much.
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Plus de 2 ans depuis ma dernière bouteille...et le vin a bien progressé. Passage en carafe de 45 minutes puis bu durant 2 heures et 1/2. Grenat foncé avec le bord du disque plus clair. Le nez est marqué d’abord par des arômes de cassis, de fruits rouges, de havane, puis de graphite, d’encre de chine et finalement un soupçon de cuir. La bouche est super classique pour ce millésime, sans aucune surextraction ou surmaturité, sans sensation de chaleur, même il y a une touche d’acidité. Les tanins ont commencé à se fondre et on sent une légère astringence en fin de bouche, seul petit point faible de ce vin. A boire durant les 15 prochaines années.
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Pristine cork with barely a mm of soakage. No bricking or raisining of the colour. Reddish pomegranate purple colour. Lovely refined nose of raspberry, black currant, subtle licorice. Lots and lots of fruit, no pruning or raisining at all. Not at all over the top or hot. Slight herbaceousness adds to the complexity. No perceptible oak at all on the nose. Palate is surprisingly medium bodied for all of the fruit on the nose. Not at all heavy. Very very smooth and almost delicate on the palate. Lovely black and red fruits. Even bodied throughout with a hint of some still unresolved but perfectly ripe tannins on the medium long, dry finish. Classy wine. Kudos!
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This wine shows incredible youthfulness. I fear I popped one too soon. After 3 hours open in decanter this wine has barely budged. This wine is a unique style indicative of the hot vintage. It is fruit forward yet you can definitely feel the edge of the tanins. These tanins will resolve with time and this 2003 will certainly give 1989 a run for its money. I would advise those that have only a few to hold for 5 years. I sacrificed one in the name of science. This wine has tons of potential for aging into a classic.
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Judgement of Singapore (Home (Singapore)): Ripe, bold aromas, kirsch, brooding. Massive tannin but has the acidity to keep it fresh. Needs at least another 5 years to soften out the tannin to then reveal its character. Hints of tobacco, cigar box on the palate. There'll be some magic in this with another 15 years.
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We tasted the 1989 versus the 2003. TN for both. Funnily these are both only just hitting their stride and both will be better in 5 / 10 years. Pretty amazing to be saying that for a 30 year old wine (the '89). The '89 is well integrated, red fruit, smooth but still a little singular. It tastes like a 10 year old wine - lots of fruit still. The 2003 is a little more tannic, but still highly drinkable - it will just get better. I don't think the 2003 will be this good in 30 years so I'm giving it a mere 95 compared with the '98 97. However the style and fundamental taste of the wines is amazingly similar - the consistent winemaking. Both have a long - minute finish.
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From en primeur purchase. Very closed, just a lot of earth, ash and almost a bit tertiary. Perhaps an odd bottle as this is not what others have been describing! Will try again soon.
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Blackish red color. Herbs, cassis and a barnyard saddle leather nose. Young palate, deep, menthol, cassis, very tannic with a saline quality. Drying finish. This wine is packed with flavor and seems destined for greatness.
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Superbe aussi, plus jeune moins sucré, spectaculaire mais autrement, droit, minéral et très long, voire interminable, mais d’une classe extraordinaire. Quelle finesse et quelle profondeur, alors que tout semble facile, çà se boit tout seul mais il accepte volontiers de danser un balai lascif avec le roastbeef. Un Montrose émouvant. 96+ pts
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Saint-Estephe nose dominated by earth, herbal, slight stable aromas around a dark fruit core. That continues on the palate complemented by increasingly intense black truffle notes (with time) and some spices. Velvety tannins, good freshness, well balanced, medium+ aroma intensity. Decanted for about five hours but I had it better in the glass before with a higher aromatic concentration and more black truffles to better balance the astringent character and creating more deepness and excitement. Already good today but a lot more potential some more years of age. If you pop one bottle today I would advise to decant it for ten hours.
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Maybe not quite yet a "Wow" wine, but it seems destined to get there. Popped and poured, and probably would have been even better with a couple hour decant. The first few bottles of this were more than pleasure, so I had not opened one in a couple of years. But this bottle was pure pleasure, with more potential still on the horizen. With ribeye/frites, and mushroom risotto at La Piquette on Bastille Day.
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At Wine dinner FransS: What a "blockbuster"! Incredible rich, warm, fruit, undefined freshness, length. One of the most Spectacular Montrose I tasted. But, let us see what future brings. When this wine develops and secondary notes are going to appear this Montrose could be one of the best ever.
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A tasting at home with friends (At home - Haarlem): Directy after uncorking: fat, vanilla, bit severe, restrained; a day later the wine is a real surprise with a lovely colour, not super deep, showing from start to finish a surprising freshness and totally no 2003-heat. Black fruit, deep, silky power, still a bit restrained in its youth, in the very long finish the black currents match perfectly with the super ripe tannins; on its way to more points in future.
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Weekly tasting group RWP #290: Bordeaux Vertical and Horizontal (@ VD): Beautiful and deep, complex bouquet with mocha, smoke, dark berries and beautifully dosed oak. On the palate smoke, cigar, toast, dark berries and chocolate. Beautiful acidity and a firm amount of sweetness. Full bodied and concentrated wine with powerful and round tannin which promises a future of at least another decade. The wine probably needs more time to show all of its finesse. 94 - 95 for today.
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Huge nose of cassis, liquorice, pepper, spices, cigar box. Ripe and fruit forward, sweet mid palate, pure red fruit; mouth coating, smooth tannins. A little bit of hard edge on the finish. Try in 2-3 years.
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Just stunning! The licorice, smoke, espresso, blackberry and cassis perfume almost overwhelms your senses. Full bodied, intense and mouth-filling, the wine coats your palate with, rich dark, opulent layers of fruit. Young and not close to mature, because the fruits are so ripe and the tannins and so polished, you can enjoy this now, or wait a decade.
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Had it at my friend's house last night. Well balanced bottle. Good nose of layers of perfumes, ripe dark fruits and herbs. Finish was mouth coating. Glad I have one bottle in my cellar.
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This is a great superstar left bank Bordeaux I opened it for 3 hours slow ox the nose is unbelievable loaded with dark ripe fruits , herbs , a lot of truffle and earthiness very impressive. the finish was very smooth yet very rich with powerful aroma . I had one bottle only but I’m definitely hunting for more
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Third time that I had the opportunity to drink this wine. Again blindly. You detect Bx in the nose but in the palate it is more unspecific. It is dense in colour and taste. It is not sumptuous as the new World but the late palate is for my taste too one-dimensional. I miss the Tension. Drinkable over the next 15-20 years. Maybe I had it too Young again. 94-95
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One of the best bottles of Bordeaux I've had in the last few years. I keep coming back to it. After much thought, and 3 bottles consumed, I'm ready to give this wine 100 points!
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Tasted blind. Decanted for 2h which was not nearly enough as the wine showed its best after three more hours in the decanter/glass. Dark soul, smooth, thick, deep, fresh, layered and so elegant and balanced. Dark fruit, typical left bank, some graphite/pencil, some herbal aromas and the typical bdx secondary aromas with earth, leather, truffles (the latter especially after some hours). A lot of joy. Bright future ahead. 96 with a lot of +++ for the potential with some more years and/or a longer decant.
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Lean dry almost tart red cranberry flavors with a bitter dark chocolate edge. Lots of tannic acid bite. Needs some time to resolve but lots going on underneath. Upside potential
Fireworks for January: plethora of top wines with great friends (Black Salt Restaurant, Washington D.C.): Fine perfume on the nose. Color matches the Latour 2003 tasted alongside. This has flavor, depth. The nose shows just a bit of confected fruit. It has raisin. Chris Bublitz preferred it to the Latour 2003. Temperature difference to note: the Montrose was warmer. In any case, it competed admirably with the Latour 2003. A fine wine. Somewhat abrupt on the finish, by comparison, but it conveys a sumptuous tasting experience with plenty of mid palate depth and nuance. 13% alcohol.
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Cedar and cigar box nose, dark fruits on a soft tannin palate. Creamy and balanced. OK finish. Nice but I wouldn't pay $200 a bottle for this stuff. Got a couple more bottles in the cellar - time to sell based on all the fawning going on here!
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This got a 2hr decant and followed over several more hours. Less flamboyant and more introspective than prior bottles. Vintage character is still there with a forward plush fruit texture atypical of the estate, but otherwise the structure and flavor profile is typical. Smoke and mocha on the nose. Dark fruit profile, big chewy tannins and long finish. Less aromatic, may be closing up a bit but still quite enjoyable now. No roasted notes at all.
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Took a bit to open, had the earthly, pencil nose to start. Dark blue fruit on the palate and eventually the nose. Great acidity late palette. A joy with food, but after being in the glass a couple of hours even better. Has a lot left.
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Nice nose of black lead pencil, sous-bois, not very expressive at opening, but gained a lot after 5 hours of aeration!! Very cold black fruit, fresh tannin leading to a sappy aftertaste. This is a vin de garde that has not yet not yet reached full maturity. What is amazing is that this wine took about 5 hours of aeration before it was totally opened up... once it was open it was just amazing wine!!
A little more discreet, or quiet than previous bottles, while this lacked some of its showy quality, there was no denying layer after layer of perfectly ripe, earthy fruit, Cuban cigar wrapper, truffle and stone that was found in every sniff. On the palate, the wine is rich, full bodied, deep and impressive. This is drinking great today, and it will only get better over the next several years.
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Saturday Bordeaux: Gorgeous licorice, cedar, and rich black currant, deceptively soft but with a lot of supple tannin on the back, very drinkable but with a long life ahead. This is the kind of wine that first made me love Bordeaux more than 20 years ago.
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Dark purple with little browning at the edge Leather, black currant, and ceder wood on the nose Licorice, forward, full bodied, with chewy tannins, lively acidity and a firm mineral finish
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Compact and massive with an eternity ahead of itself. Yet high drinkability factor already today. This has the potential of another 2-3 points for sure :)
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This is still a big burly monster. Yes, you can drink it now, if wrestling with a 900 pound gorilla is your idea of fun, but you'd be better off giving it a nice long nap. It'll be great in ten years time.
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Mid Jul 2017: intense purple red color; creme de cassis, cigarbox, cedar, spices, herbs and a hint of dark chocolate; medium body; satin-like texture; low acidity; fairy-like freshness; very long, mild finish.
Tasted together with a 2005 Leoville-Barton the 2003 Montrose was for me clearly the more noble and smoother wine. Near at perfection.
This bottle was ready to drink, no need to wait any longer. Having that said, there's no need to hurry since the Montrose 2003 has a prolonged preferred drinking window of at least 15-20 years from now (year 2017). Maybe over time he can develop even more aroma/flavor complexity.
In summary, noblesse and smoothness are the best words to describe an absolut outstanding wine monument.
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What some of the tasters and professional tasters have not yet understood is that there are 2 different qualities of the Montrose 2003, there is the original Montrose 2003 which is convincing of its quality and currently has 98 points for me Original 2003: Deep ruby rattan, violet reflexes, wider rim brightening, delicate earthy spicy nose, dark berry fruit, finely mined mineral. On the palate solid texture, bitter chocolate, fresh, sweet berries, already shows a great length, very typical Terroirnote, sweet core. Possesses enormous potential,
And then there is the bad quality and unfortunately I have to say how to see the reviews there are very many wrong Montrose 2003 This is judged by me with 91 points, the description of the 2 quality we spare here. I find one should however really times the producers and salesman strict control because what is sold here around 240 euro is an insolence. The responsible ones should be truly accountable.
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No 2003 excess. Decanted for about an hour before dinner and while I enjoyed the wine, can't say I got to the wow phase, which was a disappointment. Solid wine...hopefully more fireworks for future bottles
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Decanted for a good 45 minutes. This is a very classic in style claret devout of any of the issues of 2003 and testament to good wine making ( unlike its neighbour Cos who did not make a good wine) . The wine is at the start of its drinking window and would definitely improve. We would not open another bottle for at least 5 years. Blackcurrants , cassis notes, light touch of earth, cedar and light nots of eucalyptus. The nose is singing but the palate needs more time to evolve further, round and show more. Good acidity and longevity here and a standout forums for all the 2003s we have come across. 94-95 but pls be patient.
Our notes from the 2003 10yr in bottle tasting a few years back - https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=21222&searchId=3109C0CE&UISource=list
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This Montrose has a great cassis whiff on the nose. It's definitely a medium bodied blend but there is real substance here. It's got a dense, spicy herbal aspect to the fruit which I like. This is a nice effort. I won on a bid so the price was right too.
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Turning garnet on the edges. Altough similar in appearence to the 05 this was much more matured, much softer, much lighter. Perhaps more mature then the only 2 years gap would suggest.
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Tasted after the 2005. A bit more discolouration maybe, still very dark core. Sweeter, more concentrated fruit on the nose in comparison, lovely notes of spices, cedar, cocoa, pencil shavings. On the palate dense and sweet, very layered and generous fruit. Soft and rather unobtrusive tannins. For a 2003 great acidity and balance. Maybe slightly drying towards the finish. Very very long. One of the best 2003 red Bordeaux I have had the opportunity to taste, with Las Cases maybe. Unlikely for the very long haul though, drinking very well now. 93-95
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Decanted it for 4 hours but that wasn't long enough. The wine opened up in the glass, became softer, more balanced, it was super silky, very dense, intense and powerful. The nose showed lots of black truffle, tobacco, at some degree of black fruits. On the palate are some green aromas, black fruit, dark cherries and again tobacco, earth. It lasted a long 30s+ but here I expected a bit more. I would definitely wait a few more years or decant it for at least 8 hours (better just open the bottle 24h before drinking?). There is more to come.
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This wine has really transformed in the last 12 months. A year ago, whilst its greatness could be appreciated, it was still too closed to fully enjoy. It has now entered the beginning of its drinking plateau (albeit after 10 hours in the decanter) and is an astounding wine. Incredibly deep aromas of blackcurrent, blackberry, and cedar overwhelm. On the palate there is absolute perfect harmony between the fruit and tannin, and the finish seemed to go on forever, once again in perfect balance. It is almost perfection, full of fruit but not losing any tannic muscularity, reminding you what you are drinking and rightfully living up to its original plaudits as wine of the year. Another couple of years and this should be a 100 point wine.
Very dark, black with slightly purple rim. Intense blackberry and dark spice fragrance. Well balanced and smooth. Lightly nutty oak, strong ripe cassis flavours, nicely integrated with a little cedar spice. Genuine quality, pure refined flavours. Tannins are big though, ripe but dominant and drying on the finish. Plenty of years ahead, loads of fruit to carry it.
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Second wine of the evening, dinner with Gary and Danielle at Rat's. Seeing all the praise for this bottle, I thought it would be time to check in on it. Double decanted this prior to dinner, about 90 minutes before we drank it - drank over 45 minutes.
Deep ruby/garnet color, no signs of age. Ripe and expressive nose of blackberry, licorice and savory notes. Palate showed dark berries, sweet tobacco, vanilla, sous bois. Rich and full bodied (by Bdx standards...), earth and savory notes through the mid palate. Gorgeous wine all the way through.
Final blend here was 66 Cab/33 Merlot/3 Cab franc/1 petit verdot...I think the merlot content here has really created a plush and expressive wine. Still very young, should drink well for another 20+? Decant was critical here, wine started to show at about 2 hours and continued to improve in the glass...my score probably goes higher in time, would like to have had more time with this 96+
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We decided to nickname this one "Bigfoot." It's tough to get a read on because it's so thick and dense but it pulls that off with a sense of dimension, not merely cranking the concentration dial up to 11, and there's nothing over (or under) ripe about the flavors - after the succession of 12/08/95/10/09, the 2010 is actually the only one that's jammy and out of whack. This will need long aging but it's already impressive and I understand the wows it got at the en primeur tastings, this could very well become a legend.
Chateau Montrose with Mr. Herve Berland (Ripple Restaurant in DC): The roasted fruit has mostly dissipated hence no longer kinky. A slight hint of green which is not unusual in the 03s, keeps the wine fresh and interesting. Beautiful harmonious nose displaying cassis, a hint of plum, green pepper, cedar, milk coffee, eucalyptus, strong lead pencil and earth. Excellent concentration, nicely integrated palate, soft and warm, beautifully layered and surprisingly polished, nice mineral presence and a lovely long silky finish with a hint of cedar and milk coffee at the end. The nose expression is youthful but the palate is warm and round, totally sensual and ready. I believe this will age well due to the excellent fruit concentration. I believe the structure is there but masked by the opulent fruit. Some will disagree. No matter what, it is totally ready to go just like the 03 Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre, Margaux, Latour and etc.
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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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No formal notes taken. Popped and poured at Elmar’s house, after we had finished the 2001 I brought along for dinner. It took the 2003 a solid two hours before it started to open-up and come into its own. The wine was medium to dark ruby in colour and offered intense violet, forest berries, black currant, some bitter chocolate, some coffee, earthy notes, cedar, spices, black pepper and liquorice on the nose and palate, with medium-plus acidity and tannin and very good length. The medium- to full-bodied wine had good complexity and very good concentration and it was clear that there is more to come with time.
The 2003 and the 2001 shared the earthiness and a mild liquorice note on the backend, but this 2003 was fuller, broader, darker and much more concentrated than the 2001, and will be much longer-lived. That being said, drinking this young, concentrated 2003 was almost palate-tiring, the lighter, elegant 2001 was much more drinkable and would be my strong preference for drinking now. The 2003 clearly needs another seven to ten years in the cellar before it will enter into its optimal drinking window.
This was had alongside the 1990 La Chapelle. Some tobacco, earth on the nose. The palate was where this shone - held its own beside the La Chapelle; In fact, this came across (to me) as being fresher and lifted as opposed to the La Chapelle, but at the same time, had similar weight and intensity. Great, and will certainly improve furthur with more bottle age!
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very nicely done with depth, a rounded mouth feel and soft integrating tannins.
dark berries, figs, dates, and some earth make for a nice entry that coats the palate and lasts, though if i had one niggle it's a little soft rather than energetic. I think this is hitting it's window of drinkability, and given that some 03s seem to be aging at a fast pace it's probably the right time to be pulling the cork
in my recent experience i'd say better than Mouton and Lafite in 03
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UWS 2016 End of year dinner (@ CdW and KvdK): No formal notes. This wine is beautiful already, but there is still a lot of potential. Good red and dark forest fruits, luxurious oak, some green bell pepper. Waiting until 2024+ will be a good plan for my last bottle. 93 - 94+
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Decanted for a couple of hrs, med. ruby, red & dark fruit with flowers & just a hint of tobacco, mod. tannins, long finish; delicious but still young, drink or preferably hold
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Subtle aromas of cherry. On the palate licorice, black cherry, smooth but for the leathery tannins, chalky minerality. Saturated flavors yet it is holding back. The alcohol is more prominent than in previous tastings.
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Deep purple with ruby rim. Fleshy plums, hint of sweet blueberry, tobacco leaf and cigar box. Opulent nose. Needed a bit of air to gain weight. Slightly dumb at this phase on palate. Acid and earth is blocking the fruit... Finely knitted tannin that isnt yielding the fruit save on finish where there's a flourish of black fruit and vanillin tannin that goes on and on at the back. From a half. Pity to drink now but tremendous potential. Hold.
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@ Restaurant Vineum in Rotterdam: Earth, black fruit and tobacco aromas. The palate has become more refined then a few years ago with juicy tannins, wonderful complex earth and fruit concentration on the powerful finish.
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Leiden in Rotterdam at Vineum: Great Montrose. Lovely nose with dark fruit, graphite, earth, eucalyptus. Silky taste, concentrated fruit, soft tannins. Very fine, exquisite Bordeaux.
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Really enjoyed this one. Was pretty good right upon opening but decanted and drank over next few hours. Not a lot of change. Beautiful nose, deep, with red fruit, mineral, little tobacco. Silky smooth on the palate, not overly extracted or rich given the hot vintage. Complex, balanced, and very elegant. Delicious right now, and likely will stay. One of the better wines I have had recently. Will seek out more of these.
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Un nez très classe, de fruit noir mûr, note boite à cigare, épice, fond tabac blond, fumé. La bouche est à nouveau robuste, c'est puissant mais fin, tanins soyeux, denses, précis, whaouh, sur le fruit noir et rouge mûr, note épice puis boite à cigare, pointe encre qui donne de la profondeur, fond tabac, fumé très classe, très distingué. La finale est précise, dense et très longue persistance de fruit noir et rouge mûr, de tabac, de boite à cigare, puis poivron rouge grillé et fond fumé. Très beau vin
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Make Bordeaux Great Again: The HDH Aubrey McClendon auction (Chicago, IL): An example of a bottle that smells much, much better than it tastes. The nose is lovely, with lots of sweet fruit and some of that signature Montrose barnyard (but it's not over-the-top here). The palate's attack is quite promising, with some sweet black plums, but then it hollows out substantially and both the earth and fruit just drop out from under you. While this wine doesn't show much overripeness or heat, the thinning palate gives me a bit of concern. The tannins are a touch bitter. I'm certainly aware of the contradictory note I wrote a few months ago on this same wine; I'm of the belief that the difference can either be chalked up to a different ambiance (this bottle was served as a late afternoon sipper versus a wine at a dinner), or simply bottle variation.
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Opened and poured into a decanter and drank over the course of hours 3 and 4. The nose while restrained still offered up aromas of blackberries, plums, tobacco and truffle which leads way to huge, ripe red and black fruited multi-dimensional wine that is both powerful and refined and lingers on the long finish. Still quite youthful, to be revisited in 2020 but 97+ for now.
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The fill was into the neck and the cork was pristine. A darkly purple core, turning to red at the rim. Restrained on the nose, with primary and reticent notes of dark black fruits, roasted meat, and hints of cedar. Medium bodied, but a bit flat on the palate; lacking in depth and texture. A bit short on the finish. Quite disappointing; there were no signs of heat damage, but I suspect this was a bad bottle.
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It was difficult to decide to pop this open, but I did, then saved for the next day and decanted for a few hours, this is a fatter Montrose, leaning towards the ripe and rich spectrum of claret, sort of like a top shelf red wine from a warm climate, extremely well made, the aromas of dried cherries, berry compote, tobacco leaf and meats, goes into spiced vanilla bean, dark berry, chocolate, cinnamon and mineral on the palate, complex, fleshy, in the drinking window, however this remains young, and will need another five years to show more traces of maturity
A swathe of European 2003s (Chicago, IL): A brilliant Montrose. This is currently better than the 2005. It shows plenty of that Montrosian earthiness, coupled with some approachable fruit as well, rendering this a much more balanced drink than the 2005 (which is shut down and full of nothing but earth at the moment). There are nascent secondary characteristics developing, and I'd be optimistic about the future of this wine. While it's enjoyable now thanks to the fruit balancing out the stereotypically sterner nature of Montrose, this is certainly a great candidate for aging.
The 2003 Montrose is certainly marked by the warm vintage, though its ripe bouquet of sweet cassis, tar, subtle tobacco and truffle currently shows no overt signs of torrefaction. On the palate the wine is quite open, rich and plush, with refined tannins and comparatively low but correct acidity. This is a lovely wine in its rich, ripe style, but those who like a bit more energy in their claret will want to gravitate towards the ’00, ’05 and ’08 rather than the ’03.
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Decanted for 6hrs, had a few sips in between, very nice. Evolution was great, deep red/purple . some tannins but smooth, very complex , has a lot of life ahead of it. Full bodied, rich , just wonderful, black fruits to the taste. Wow!
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Drank out of a magnum the only Bordeaux which could compete as a pirate in an high end California CabSauv tasting. Great medley of black fruits, cassis, tobacco and some truffles. Great structure, nicely integrated tannins and good acidity are indicating a long live. Had the wine 8 days later (sealed in a little glass bottle). Almost as fresh as on day one with even more truffles on the nose.
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Note to self, do not open any more of your big 03s for at least another 5 years. While thoroughly enjoyable, this is nowhere close to being ready; and I purposely opened this particular bottle as it was the only retail wine store display bottle that I owned. All my others have been stored perfectly. I figured that this bottle may be a bit further down the road. Nope. Rant over, this is a monster of a Bordeaux. A little shy and sinewy on the nose, one still gets notes of charcoal, massive red and black fruit, earth, and some toasty oak. On the palate, this puppy sings and it will hit triple digits one day...many days from now. This wine overwhelms your taste buds with a cascade akin to Angel Falls. Layer after layer of deep dark fruit, clay, cassis, oak, tobacco, graphite, and a hint of pencil. The texture, mouth feel, and balance are exquisite - really in a different league. The color is gorgeous Stanford crimson ( sorry Harvard fans, couldn't resist) with no sign of age at all. Audouzed 10 hours in advance of service. 99 Pts.
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At Le Bistro du Sommelier, Bordeaux - €100 off the list. No formal note. This took time to unfurl but when it did it showed cedary red fruit, a touch of savour and earth, very sophisticated tannins, generously layered but with balancing acidity and a long finish. Delicious and, on this showing, ready.
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The nose, with its truffle, tobacco, spice box, blackberry, cassis, cigar wrapper and dark cherry nose could not get any better. But the perfume is only part of the show. The main event is on the palate, where this exotic, decadent wine really shows its stuff. Fat, rich and intense, there is intense concentration, silky, tannins and a mouth filling, powerful, yet regal, supple finish that sticks with you for at least one full minute!
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Bordal à Bernex (Pingus, Grange, Mouline, Chambertin, Montrose) (Chez moi): Belle couleur bordeaux, brillante. 1er nez sur des notes végétales, cassis, tabac, havane après 90 minutes dans le verre. En bouche, d'abord très retenu, puis beaucoup de complexité, de rondeur, de charme et de longueur. Sans doute le meilleur potentiel. Garder.
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Dark red; pleasant fruity nose, ripe, some pepper, strawberry; silky well-balanced attack, lots of fruit, tannic bite; better than 02 tasted yesterday (more fruit, sweetness and power), but not that much better (price tag)
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Fruktigt och biffigt vin med mycket härliga gröna cab toner, Cassis, höstskog, känns som detta vin sitter på massa mer att ge med lite tid. direkt från flaskan, tror det kunde gett oss ändå mer med lite tid i en dekander. 95-96
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The wine showed up after a few hours ventilation in the decanter at the top level. Great complex bouquet, great young and unused paint, and on the palate stunningly powerful, aristocratic, elegant. Leaving as the palate and neverending. No words can describe, enjoy it. This is a wine for a century, the Montrose of 2003.
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Unlike exactly 12 months ago, when the wine was showing spectacularly with only 1h slow oxidization, this is another 03 that has closed down a bit now (like the 03 Barton recently). While definitively enjoyable with only 1h slow ox, the wine feels a bit tight. Especially on the nose the depth of this Montrose vintage is however still coming through clearly. After about 1h in the decanter at the restaurant the tightness on the palate relaxed with more tobacco coming through in addition to dark fruit and wood spices but the wine is by far not showing as well as a year ago. Fine to medium tannins are round and non intrusive. Medium length today. Hold. 93++
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Weekly tasting group #195; St. Estephe (@ VD): The color is blood red and shows the first signs of development. In the bouquet beautiful and ripe dark forest fruits. Round and with perfectly integrated oak in the background. On the palate dark berry fruits, cocoa, chocolate, smoky oak, some bell pepper and spiciness. Beautiful acidity, round and still powerful tannin and pleasant bitterness. Truly great wine, possibly holding back a bit tonight. Around 2020+ this will certainly be great!
[Dinner with G&P W & CW at Aux Batifolles, Melbourne; decanted 2 hrs prior] Dense dark collor, purple rim. Tight blackcurrant blackberry bouquet with notions of warm earth, cassis, kirsch, espresso, tobacco, pepper, spice, cedar & smoke. Full, powerful, profound & intense, dense & very concentrated, supple & opulent, multi-layered core of black fruits, bolstered by & in superb balance with substantial dusty tannins, powdery extracts & abundant fine acidity; even at 12 years of age, very little development can be detected; masculine, powerful & rich; vibrant, energetic & flamboyant not without finesse, grace & charm. Long, rich & firm finish. (97.5)
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Chicago Wine Flock..."Wines Bob G Generously Shared" (Lincoln Park, Chicago IL): Tasted double blind in what turned out to be 2000-2003 Bordeaux flight. Forward and lush, without seeming overripe. Black fruit with some green pepper and tobacco hints. Good tannins, short on acid. I recall tasting this en primeur in Bordeaux in 2004 and finding it excessive, so like that it has softened nicely. I would have expected greater concentration from Montrose in this vintage.
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A touch of TCA mares this wine,but there is so much good stuff going on here that I'll try to taste past it. Love to try a good bottle of this stuff. Elegant Claret with no rusticity, and showing no ill effects from this torrid vintage. Probably a better wine with more upside than the highly regarded neighbor Cos d' Estournel, but not quite as friendly to drink today. Well balanced with some unresolved tannins. good acidity and a good finish.
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Dark, deep red/black. Lovely bright sherbet and cassis, tobacco leaf complexity and a little cedar. Medium weight, strong but ripe tannins, ripe blackberries, plum, cassis, good acidity. Quite a refined, long, well balanced palate. Delicious drinking, and quite a few years ahead.
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Fragrant aroma of cassis, leather in a deep red hue. Oak quite forward in a thick mouth feel, and tannin a little dusty, there is lasting fruit flavor from mid palate and feels powerful. Sufficiently complex but too conc for any finesse, maybe time will tell.
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A tremendous wine, ripe but no heat showing despite the vintage. Aromas of red fruit, licorice and chocolate. Silky and seamless on the palate: lush notes of raspberry, currants, licorice and black olive, finishing elegantly with ripe, delicious tannins.
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The wine did not fully open up even with a 4 hour decanting. The nose had big dark currants, ink, tobacco, and cassis. It was a Bordeaux made in a modern, big and powerful style. It is a Parker like big and heavy handed ripe Bordeaux. The layers indeed opened up with more time. And the palate was thick, powerful and long. However, it does not have the finesse of a classical left bank Bordeaux. It is still a baby now. It will last for the next 10-30 years.
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Nose - roasty, charcoal, mostly oak on the nose Mouth - big berry fruit, yet sleek, mouthcoating tannins, pencil lead, graphite. Nice but somewhat unyielding.
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Someone said "corpulent" in describing this wine and that seems right to me - sort of like a fat golfer. It represents what has changed (some might say 'gone wrong) in Bordeaux. Whether you like this wine depends on what you think "Bordeaux" means. Plenty of material, very extracted, oaky and clumsy? The wine does not have the requisite structure to age well and it is not a good compliment to food. Old Montrose is distinctive demonstrating St Estephe at its best. It often shines with 50 years of bottle age. This wine is nothing like that. The person serving this wine proudly told us that Robert Parker rated it a '99' -res ipsa loquitur.
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stor näsa, mycket cabdoft, grönt, lite stall, vinbär, tobak höstskog och ett härligt djup.
smaken är köttig, gröna stjälkiga toner ganska mjukt med en del taniner kvar, underbar kropp & Syran är verkligen där. Solmogen frukt, tobkak och ett härligt djup och bra längd i vinet. Jag tycker att ett vin som detta behöver mer tid, denna flaska kom upp sent på kvällen och dekanterades väldigt snabbt. et hade nog varit ändå bättre om det fått stå en stund till. Dock ett helt lysande vin. Montrose är alltid bra! 95-97
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Nose with leather, stones, cherries, blue fruit, green herbs and vedgetables, chocolate, some solvent/alcohol present. Palate shows big fat fruit, with silky fine tannins, dust, leather, some tar, dry wood and high acidity. This is still young and very fine, with excellent balance and structure, especially given the vintage. I liked this allot! (94 – 96)
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Not moved at this stage but the potential was looking right at me. It reminds me of the 2003 Pontet Canet's before they starting unfolding. Hiding behind all the fruit and oak was a beautiful potion in the making that needs some foresight.
Right now: Alcoholic nose, lots of red fruit, noticeable oak, long, long, long finish...Not ready. Avoid temptation for 5 to 25 years...
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Great wine and drinking beautifully now. I love Montrose on the nose with it's classic earth and pencil shavings. Lush dark fruit, hints of cocoa and gravel on the palate. Balanced with fine tannins. It will be interesting to see if this wine lasts another 15 years
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Très grand Bordeaux dans le millésime. Riche et décadent mais à la fois sérieux et autoritaire. Bien entendu ce n'est pas le Montrose le plus frais, mais il est réellement équilibré. La finale est incroyable, sur des notes chocolatées et de mûres.
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Dégustation Henschke : Mount Edelstone Shiraz et Hill of Grace Shiraz: Un grand Bordeaux puissant, mais fin et élégant, aux tanins dodus, superbe. Il avait heureusement reçu beaucoup d'aération de sorte qu'ils nous paraissait à point, mais je suis persuadé que le meilleur reste à venir. Superbe. 94+ pts
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Same commentary as my note back in 2007. But the wine is aging beautifully and has improved since then. It is more luscious and smoother than my last bottle. This is an outstanding wine. Enjoy!
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Return to San Antonio II (Barbaro): Popped and poured, still expressive from the beginning. Dark and smoky, with a plum palate, but lush seamless fruit. A long finish adding some coffee notes. Doesn't seem advanced at all compared to many ‘03’s. Tannic, but nothing compared to the Barolo’s. I was holding mine for longer but maybe I should open a bottle next year. 93-94
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50+5+15+17+7 Had it together with me friend thomas in Johannes at Amsterdam. By the way great restaurant with perfect service. the nose is a sensation: etheric, mint, eucalyptic,dark berries especially black currant. in the palate not that much expressive, the finish is middlelong, you feelthe lack of acidity to make it a real big wine, in my opinion drink it in the next 5-7 years, the tannins are too weak ti give him a lot of more potential, compared to leoville poyferre from the same vintage clearly second winner
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We killed a baby. Will be better in a decade. A bit over oaked right now which overwhelmed really beautiful fruit. Amazing structure. Too hard to judge right now.
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Having read Harley's note below, only slow ox'ed for about one hour and took to restaurant. This was superb from the very first glass and did not really move much over the course of a fantastic dinner at Italian restaurant Al-che-cciano in Hokkaido/Japan. Hard to believe this is the super hot 2003 vintage as what you get is a medium bodied Bdx with everything in balance and harmony. Nose of forest floor and some earthy notes. Berries and other dark fruit on the palate with some emerging notes of tobbacco. Perfectly integrated fine tannins. Long finish. What is there not to like here... Wonder if it will improve from here, could develop more complexity and a touch more length, but drinking so well now...
Mindful that RP gave this wine 99 points some months ago, I tried not to be influenced. But still, I found much to like about this wine, and precious little to complain about. There are two ways for wine (and people?) to achieve perfection -- either by being stunningly amazing, or by being so quietly, elegantly and beautifully free of any faults. I think this wine certainly has elements of the former, but its performance in the latter is what impresses me. Beautiful mineral nose that is true to its geological place; vibrant, deep and complex flavors; and just that perfect balance of weight, tannin and alcohol that has you polishing off half a bottle even before you know it. I am going to take off a few points for youthfulness, but really, it's very enjoyable to drink already.
PS: Remaining third of the bottle is delicious the next night, with no trace of oxidation, but is noticeably more open, expressive not to mention heavier bodied. One of those wines that need to be decanted well in advance if you want to catch it at its best
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If tasted blind I won't be able to guess a 2003. It's not overripe nor full-bodied like some '03s. In fact it was very elegant and very moreish. An achievement for Montrose in this vintage though it did not reach the highs of great vintages.
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Judgment of Madrid, time for aficionados plus a late dinner (Vila Viniteca - Madrid): Decanted for more than an hour. That wasn't a good idea. A delicate, complicate vintage even, that shows evident signs of maturity, then air didn't help. Very evolved colour, aromas of bouillon cube and cooked meat and really nice on the palate with acidity and strength enough to go ahead. Our sommelier told the wine was almost perfect when he opened the bottle. Third red of the nite.
Decantada por más de una hora. No fue una buena idea. Una añada delicada, complicada incluso, que muestra evidentes signos de madurez, así que el aire no ayudó. De color muy evolucionado, aromas a sopicaldo y a carne estofada y en boca muy rica con acidez y fuerza suficiente para salir adelante. Nuestro sommelier nos dijo que la botella al ser abierta estaba casi perfecta. En tercera posición entre los tintos.
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Still showing a lot of color, smoke, licorice, truffle, forest floor, fresh herbs, leafs, cigar wrapper, Asian spice and cedar chest make a compelling perfume. On the palate, the wine is powerful, dense and mouth filling, yet equally balanced, supple and rich. Everything is exactly where it should be. This is not a candidate for 50 years of aging like 1989 or 1990, but in its own way, it’s close to the same level of quality. The finish remained alive for more than 60 seconds. Bravo! This could be the wine of the vintage! The wine was produced from a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
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Always a joy drinking this wonderful Montrose. No sign of over ripeness or cooked flavor, St Estephe got thru the 2003 hot vintage well and produced high quality wines indeed. Dark purple in color, seductive bouquet of dark cherry, floral, graphite, cigar and fresh mint. This bottle appears just a touch lighter than the previous one, but still excellent, with great concentration and richness, velvety texture followed by juicy fruits, coffee and mushroom. Long finish as usual and truly enjoyable. However, this time, it comes up against a true star, the 2003 Lafite Rothschild. No competition needed, just pricelss memory of drinking two splendid wines.
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62 procent cabernet sauvignon, 34 procent merlot, 3 procent cabernet franc, 1 procent petit verdot. En intensiv doft med frukt av svarta vinbär och blåbär, lite rostade kaffetoner, mineral, läder, kubansktobak och äntligen början till mognadstoner med både stall och höstskog. En otroligt koncentrerad smak med lager på lager av komplexitet, elegans och otroligt lång eftersmak. Trots att det är en 2003:a och höga poäng av Parker så har det inte alls den här syltiga, kokta frukten utan detta är ett kraftfullt vin men ända väldigt fräscht och elegant. Har druckit det flera gånger under de senaste 3-4 åren och det blir bara bättre och bättre. En otroligt bra Bordeaux från 2003 hur otroligt det än låter.
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Wines @ John's (West Hartford, CT): I would be hard pressed to pick this as a 2003 wine, as there is so much freshness to the corpulent fruit. Cassis, plums, violets and stones. All about potential here, as the structure needs to resolve a bit more and the secondary flavors need to evolve. A powerful wine with great poise.
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Parker recently upgraded this so I had to take a look at one of my bottles. Indeed a pleasant surprise. In the past I found it a bit monolithic and hot. This is now, 10y of age, much better. Expressive nose of forest floor, blue fruit and secondary aroma with a noticeable barnyard touch. On the palate still fruity and dense but much more tame than before. If you like Napa structure/sweetness but Bordeaux aromas, this is your bottle. Decant before drinking. 96-97
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Cabernet Sauvignon at C's: Again tried to have a sip from what was left in the bottle but this wine has a fair bit of sediment so could not really make a fair assessment. Did not seem overripe or overly big despite the vintage. NR
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Fantastic wine. Opened an hour before consumption. Nose was of sous bois, cassis and red fruits. Palate was extremely elegant and refined with very fine tannins. Wine exhibited secondary aromas and flavors of earthiness and cigar box. Long and lingering aftertaste.
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Paris Tasting in Zwolle (again... at last) (De Librije - Zwolle): Kleur: Robijnrood, hele lichte verkleuring aan de rand Aroma / bouquet: Eerste indruk: gebrand aroma, zwaar, wat tabak, minder verfijning en minder complexiteit dan verwacht. Smaak / Afdronk: De smaak van deze wijn is meer uitgesproken dan het aroma, mooie frisse zuren, krachtige tannines met een heel subtiel groen karakter. In de afdronk wordt de wijn wat hoekig en drogend in de mond. Algemeen / potentieel: Niet helemaal zuiver. Geen slechte wijn, maar niet conform verwachtingen. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Smaak / Afdronk: 16 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 90/100
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Color: Ruby, very slight discoloration on the edge Aroma / bouquet: First impression: burnt aroma, heavy, some tobacco, less refinement and less complexity than expected. Taste / Finish: The flavor of this wine is more pronounced than the aroma, lovely fresh acidity and powerful tannins with a subtle green character. In the aftertaste the wine some angular and drying in the mouth. General / potential: Not quite pure. Not a bad wine, but not as expected. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Taste / Finish: 16 + General / potential: 8 = 90/100
Drinking super smooth, medium/full bodied, completely balanced and spherical in taste with nothing sticking out. An elegant wine that has not developed any secondary complexity, but is absolutely delicious to drink now. This should rate higher with some age.
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ON THE PATIO @ OEGSTGEEST: A wine with smooth tannin, great fruit concentration, black tea and earth. A wine of power, concentration and enormous texture as well as longevity – this was deep and big.
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Willpower failed and I had to try this wine for the first time to see where it was. Decanted for 3 hours, and it needed it. Thin film starting to form on bottle and tiny amounts of lose sediment. The color is showing a little age at the rim, but the wine on the palate is still clearly youthful. More red fruits than I expected with black and blue fruits underneath. Some spice, cedar, acidity and still firm and slightly course tannins. A 30 second finish that you feel will lengthen as the wine matures. There is a lot going on with this wine but it will be a couple more years before I come back to it.
Moderate amount of sediment and decanted for two hours Classic deep cedar aromas and juicy currant and cassis flavor on the palate. This is a fairly complete package of what one hopes for in a modern bordeaux. This was excellent as is but did not evolve much over 4 hours and that suggests significant youth. It was wine of the night for my tasting group.
I feel this has a good 20 years of life in it but if you want to enjoy it now, decant it for several hours
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Wow closed for an hour but quite a wine. Very dark dark blackberry expresso with substantial tannin. Coats the mouth and goes on forever. Will get better.
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Slightly closed to start but this one keeps opening up and grows on you all evening. Opulent aromas of dark fruit , tobacco, coffee. Lots of tannins still but a fabulous balance. Long warm palate but not with heat. Lay down for another 10y or so, but maybe try next one in 5. There's more to get out of this bottle for the patient wine lover.
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Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, St. Estephe (Rodwell House): Mid to deep ruby, the wine is open and attractive with aromas of blackcurrant towards cassis, marinated black cherries, spice and wood char. Feels like a warmer year with a touch of prune and orange peel. Full-bodied and broad in the mid-palate, filled with ripe black fruits, spices and oak notes. Quite an ambitious, powerful wine with a rich texture and gravelly tannins. The length is persistent, but I find the wine big and bold and not that "Bordeaux-like", almost slightly out of focus. There is a warmth and open-knit about the wine, yet it all holds itself in balance. Tricky to call but perhaps it needs time to show itself and for the structure to build around the fruit core.
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Very large and chewy. Not as complex as the '90 was at this stage. Very enjoyable, but was overshadowed by the '92 Dominus this was drank against. Excellently balanced, a bit jammy, my wife guessed Bordeaux, but she thought it had a lot of California in it. From 375. Case in wood left.
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Dinner at home with Mrs L, PH, VK and Ms C (At home): Decanted for 2 hours. This is one of those wines that does everything right. Pungent perfumed nose, rich dark berry flavors, plush mouthfeel, rounded tannins, faultless performance. I particularly liked the sweet hints of incense bobbing up occasionally amidst the stony, smoky endless waves of dark fruit. Just when you start to think this wine is already very enjoyable, the ever-present (though hardly obtrusive) tannins remind you that you've just popped the cork on a juvenile. For those of you friends out there who have a few bottles of this and want to try one for yourself by all means do so, but the majority of your bottles should be left for the 2030's when it will be stupendous. I've decided that if HK is underwater by then, I'll live on a little boat with a small stash of this wine safely stowed below deck...
Dark purple, brown hue. Developed nose, plums, tobacco some leather and spice. Medium + tannins and medium + finish. Secondary flavours starting to come out, tasted blind, obviously left bank Bordeaux but did not think would be as old as this. Think needs couple more years to integrate.
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The wine looks inky colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Forest floor, Espresso, Cedar, Black Pepper, and Tobacco. The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long at least for 45s
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Occasional tasting group (@ My place Bordeaux 2002 plus some other nice wines.): Consistent with previous notes. Exclusive dark cassis juice and oak with cigar, cedar, smoke, earth etc. Same on the palate. Great complexity and length. In this stage it is also a bit herbaceous and showing some bell pepper. 96+ for tonight and around 2020 probably a few points more.
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Came across as very young. Drank over 2 weeks, but never found a 'sweet spot' for me - needs another 10yrs at least in the cellar. Found it difficult to drink much at a time - tiring almost - not due to the concentration rather lack of acidity. A good wine, and I'm sure I will rate it 2-3pts higher in the future, but I would still much rather take 2 cases of the 96 Montrose over this.
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Chateau Montrose is as well equipped as any other classed growth to deal with extreme heat, given the clay in the soil, which holds water and the proximity of the river. This is why, quite possibly Montrose is the wine of the vintage in 2003. It is more evolved than the 2005, with classic left bank notes of berries and cedar. It is still tannic but already gives a lot of pleasure. It is full bodied, very rich and concentrated without being unbalanced. It is mouthfilling, setting all the senses alight. It is certainly the best 2003 Bordeaux I have tasted.
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Great 2003 Bordeaux (Wine Road Tel-Aviv): nose: rich earthy and ripe dark fruits with chocolate notes palate: rich, powerful, full bodied, grip tannins, excellent complexity, long quality finish
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17th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (The Lyon's Tree House): Wow! Another great wine in this flight. Cigars, stone, mocha, tar all competing with the black fruit for attention. Asian spice more obvious on day 2 and so were the tannins, but they are supple and the score didn't drop IMHO: 94.
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Muy rico suave! This wine is liquid velvet. Tons of fruit, perfectly balanced, drinking so well now it will be hard to keep corks in the rest of my bottles, but... this will develop secondary aromas and flavors becoming a multi-dimensional wonder if given some time. Well worth holding, but if you have a few bottles, do open one to savor it. Try again in 2018.
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Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2003 plus some extras.: Beautiful bouquet with cassis, graphite, licorice, smoke, tobacco and exclusive oak. Same on the palate with a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. Concentrated black forest fruits, firm and round tannin and beautiful bitterness. Tasted this wine blind beside Cos, Montrose was the winner by far tonight. Great wine, early maturity now and a future well past 2020.
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It's with great pleasure and gratitude to my best buddy DP that we get to drink this splendid 2003 Montrose again. Young? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely! This gem is simply brilliant and lovely. Opaque inky colored, attractive bouquet of creamy dark cherry, earth, graphite, cigar and a hint of menthol. On the palate, wow, pure, velvety, full bodied, loaded with black and red fruits, coffee, cocoa, the aromas spread thru the entire palate with so much ease. Smooth, chewy tannins, and a great long, satisfying finish. The claret is loaded with personality, masculinity and elegance blended perfectly.
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In the nose very tight. Minerality. It really shows it's potential.
In the mouth it puts enormous pressure and tension on your gustatory sensors. No passing by here. The wine is erecting like a giant infront of you "here I am!". You feel the heat of the summer 2003. Nonetheless it also has very sophisticated structures and very wide landscape of elaborated flavors.
This really has the potential to write wine history when it reaches it's full maturity and in my humble opinion could par with the 1990 and reach 100/100.
For us it was the perfect start on a Friday evening to start a hot summer weekend.
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Montrose, Bevan, Champagne, Lopez, Castelgiacondo++ (Jane & loren's home): So after a few fast ageing 03's, I thought I would check in on these as I had not had one yet. No worries here. This is drinking well now, but still has a way to go before peak. Slow-oxed for 6 hours. Purple in color. The nose is Bordeaux; cassis, some kirsch, bit of cedar with an under layer of fresh tobacco/earthiness. On the palate, this is awesome. Delicious. Complex yet tightly layered. Cassis, black raspberries, firm tannins, some oak. Long, long finish. Will improve, but I ma glad to have opened one bottle now.
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From DM - This wine has a long long way to go. It is really a baby, but even at this stage (as quiet eloquently said by Iain Seow "This is a beautiful wine"). It has a lovely tannic structure and lots of lush fruit that is not overpowering but very prevalent. Obviously a Cab dominant wine, but with some of the softness of a blend built in there. Looking forward to the next DM on Jade's 21st :-)
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Birthday dinner gathering with 2003 wines (Hong Kong): This wine is simply beautiful. Great profile, dark ruby with no ageing sign at all, long legs. Bouquet is seductive and complex, layers of dark/red fruits, cassis, earth, stone and cigar. Rich, dense, concentrated mouth feel with juicy fruits, licorice, minerals and hint of oak. Jeff Leve once said you can drink or eat it, if you try a bottle of this, you'd know why. Delicious tannins, round, subtle, complimented by a long long finish filled with jam and tobacco leaf. The best is still to come for the 2003 Montrose. Stunning!
Expressive nose of dark and dried fruits with smoke and earthy tones. Big and dense entry with strong but ripe tannins. Clearly with a southern touch. A very "fruity/modern" Version of a St.Estephe but without being too hot or to jammy. Freshness could be higher though. Everybody on the table liked it.
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Deep garnet, barely showing any age. Complex, dark-toned nose with plums, some prunes, spice, raspberries, balsamico. Med+ body. Interesting, but very dark and oaky palate. Concentrated, quite tannic, hiding the fruit. Spicy finish. Tannic, oaky aftertaste with traces of black fruit, quite long, slightly bitter.
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Return to San Anontio (Ducru Vertical); 2/21/2013-2/24/2013 (Monty): My blind, slow ox for 6hrs. This was a dark brooding Bdx. Nose was a little shy, but showed dark fruit, smoke/tar, and mocha. Quite complex on the nose. Palate with liquor-like blackberry and plum, but coarse tannins and the faintest hint of green/mint. Merlot profile, with a hint of maturity with some tobacco character. Finish was long and seamless with the palate, with repeating dark fruit, earth and tar notes. This was a massively structured and fruity wine, though I'm not sure it has the elegance of '90--more massive and masculine. Bigger scaled than '89 and '96 too, and in my limited experience, no real comparable vintage of Montrose. The more experienced Bdx palates nailed this as '03 St Estephe, but missed the producer. 94-95
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What a Wine, tasted side by side with cos 2003, What a sunday afternoon. Cos more feminine and seductive. Monty more power and potential. Both wondefull Wines. St. Estephe should be proud. Empressive freshness and balance. 98+
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Tasted blind. Beautiful nose of dark berries, black currant/cassis, earth/graphite and some spices and cedar. Full-bodied and very dense, medium+ tannins and a medium acidity add some grip. Very long. This is still pretty young, but already surprisingly accessible for such a big Montrose.
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Decanted for 30 minutes before dinner. Leather, cedar, vanilla on the nose. Velvety tannins, excellent balance and mouthfeel. An incredible wine that's likely to get even better. Those popping a cork now will not be disappointed though.
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Tobacco, cedar chest, cassis, forest floor, espresso and cigar box aromas make their way to the perfume. On the palate, the wine is all about power matched with grace and elegance. Long and intense, with sweet, roasted berries, slightly dusty tannins and cassis in the finish. Drink this now, or age it for years.
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Weekly tasting group #058; Bordeaux left bank 2001, 2002 and 2003. (@ VD): Beautiful and classical bouquet which is still a bit locked, but shows beautiful and ripe dark forest fruits, beautiful and exclusive oak as well as some lavender. On the palate ripe dark forest fruits as well, some good chocolate, beautiful oak, a beautiful balance between acidity and sweetness, soft bitterness and powerful tannin. Showing its potential, but also still very tight and not ready yet. It is best to wait until the early 2020’s at least and it will certainly drink nicely until at least the end of that decade. I have one bottle left, so I hope I have the patience to wait another decade. 96+ for tonight.
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Wineflock - 2003 Bordeaux (Kenny's): My #3, Group #7 - Full opaque purple/black. Big stewey nose of prune and black spice. Nice big juicy black fruit with hints of chocolate on the palate and a nice long finish. I like this one more than the group...
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Helt fantastisk och intensiv doft med mineraler , svarta vinbär, tobak, mörk frukt, rök och aningen menthol och peppar. Helt magnifik smak som bara exploderar i munnen. Lager på lager av elegant frukt och samtidigt tanniner med tryck men elegant silkiga. En eftersmak som bara fortsätter och fortsätter. Detta är fortfarande ett ungt vin men helt magnifikt. Ett av de bästa unga Bordeaux jag druckit. Bra mycket bättre än både -82 , -86 och -96 som jag tidigare druckit med stor glädje. Kommer med åren definitivt att vara i nivå med årgång 1990. Verkligen ett stort vin. Helt magiskt!
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Souper Bordeaux 2000-2003 Joli nez de fruit noir, un peu de vanille, de cèdre. Bouche ronde, plus exotique, très 2003, un peu de chaleur en finale. Très beau vin, mais il me semble un tantinet …péripatéticienne! 92-93 pts. À l'évolution, j’avoue hésiter, j’ai l’impression de l’avoir sous-évalué.
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2003 Chateau Montrose hooks you with the first sniff of its exotic, liqueur aromas complicated by wet earth, incense, blackberry jam, cassis, cedar wood, tobacco and truffle. This is so rich, you can drink it or eat it. The ripe tannins are incredibly silky and lush. The expansive, palate coating finish gets better and better as it remains on your palate for over 60 seconds. This is worth buying today. While it’s not cheap, few wines are this good.
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Cos-Montrose Battle (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): Nose of vegetable soup and ripe red fruits. Elegant and fresh nose. Seems reticent at the moment, lacks definition and complexity. Some burned flavours, too. Tasty but not remarkable. 17,5/20
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Drunk at a rather cool temperature. Rather dark and slightly oily Bordeaux red. In the nose, this is absolutely fantastic with a lot of warmth, warm and wet earth, prunes, some cassis, power and elegance. On the palate, while it still has some edges, it's quite accessible, shows a lot of class, depth and layers of fine minerality. Wonderful.
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Beautiful bouquet with exclusive oak, cedar and sweet spices. The wine is still reticent and classical and needs probably another decade to reveal what it has in store… So around 2020…..or later.
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Pepper, funk, cassis and some oak char on the expressive nose. Really rich and deep on the palate. Still youthful but not fierce or tannic in any way. It has a balance that belies its power and should the components stay in harmony this will live up to its early promise. Well done
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Beautiful bouquet! Luxurious oak, dark cassis, and a discriminating bit of pepper. On the palate beautiful cassis, cedar, luxurious oak, a touch of sweetness and beautiful bitterness. There also is that bit of white pepper and green bell pepper, which reminds of cabernet franc again. Beautiful freshness. This is still a baby and needs at least another 5 - 8 years of cellaring. 95 for now and several points to gain.
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rode kleur, veel rijpheid, fruitig, dikke geuren, houtgebruik, intens, licht klassiek, kersen, smaak is breed en intens, veel inhoud, makkelijk drinkbaar, rijpe zachte tannines, heeft nog een mooie toekomst
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Doug brought this. What a wine! Though still a baby. Firm, focused blackberry, candied cherry, tobacco leaf, sweet mint. Oak in perfect harmony, tannins softening nicely, good acid framework holding everything together. Still needs time but, wow.
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7 hour decant with huge red fruit flavors dominating with light chocolate on the finish. Firm tannins throughout but not overpowering. Next day the earthiness started to show. Red fruits still there on nose and palate combined with moist earth and cocoa. Long 30 second finish with smooth tannins. Think this has many years to go but drinking fantastic now if allowed to open in a decanter. Great wine!
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Chateau Montrose vertical (Tower Club): Alcohol :: 13% The nose is sweet and seductive the complex aromas of mocha, blackcurrant liquor, perfume violet and lily, graphite, smoke meat and tobacco leaf. 2003 is a really hot year hence some of the wines suffered from high alcohol and lack of freshness. However, this is not the case for Montrose. The 2003 has massive concentration of succulent sweet ripe fruits but has this incredible purity and freshness for the lift and definition. The palate is superb intense, powerful but well rounded and lush. The tannin here is massive but it is sweet and polished that expand across the palate with incredible grip and dimension. The finish is a bit disjointed and turned a little bit softer than 05 & 09 which also display charming sweetness of dark fruits and mocha like aftertaste. This will need decade in the bottle to develop. 92-94+?
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Initially the low concentration of Brett was masking much of the wines identity and purity(showing mainly tobacco aromas). After 4 hours of decant the brett aromas almost receded entirely, showing pure red cherry with a touch of ripe strawberry with a heavy dose of heavy toast barrel charr. On the palate following the decant this wine is thick and unctuous. With ripe cherry flavors, a lively balanced acidity and plenty of tannin to age. 95+
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Beautiful red and dark fruit-aromas (intermingled with sweet spices) on the nose, especially on the second day. Much more balanced on the palate now than a few years ago, but it is still early days... the searing acidity still dominates the sweet and sour fruit, but you feel the power and this will surely become something special with additional bottle age (7 years?). Not overpowered by alcohol or heat in any way; tastes classical, but a bit fruitier than in most years. What's wrong with that? Nothing! If you drink it now, do it for the science... and because it is just very tasty in a primary kind of way.
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På magnum Köttig, det är det första jag tänker. Svarta vinbär, jordighet. ;Moget, ändå balanserad, mycket kraft och tanniner men ändå elegant. Vinet kan säkert ligga längre men för mig så var det perfekt att dricka nu.
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Montrose Vertical Tasting 1989 - 2005 (Work in Progress) (Switzerland): 3 hour decanted bottle, tasted blind: Very dark red almost black in color. Nose of rubber, leather and dark berries. The wine is still very tarty, dry and is loaded with tannins (will they ever go away?). Below the tannins one can taste notes of black burrant, black berries, pepper. Sure this wine has an enormous potential, but at this stage it was just no fun to drink. Wait until 2020 or decant for more than 3 hours.
Note on decanting: Suggest > 3 hours as the same wine in the glass next to it was decanted for 3 hours and was equally backward as the just opened bottle.
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Montrose Vertical Tasting 1989 - 2005 (Work in Progress) (Switzerland): Tasted blind: Very dark red almost black in color. Nose of leather and dark berries. As the decanted Montrose 2003 this wine is also very tarty, dry and is loaded with tannins. Notes of black burrant, black berries, pepper. Strangely enought this bottle was a hint more balanced as the 3 hour decanted bottle. So this wine just needs patience! Wait until 2020 and hope the fruit will outlast the dry tannins.
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Well I can honestly say, this is not an over-ripe, over-oaked spoof bomb. Can you tell I'm a little jaded? My first thoughts for modern Bordeaux is how bad it isn't. Presently this wine doesn't offer a lot of pleasure; I would put it in the fast asleep camp( or worse). It reminds me a little of the 1989, although that wine maybe had, at least, a more approachable fruit profile. So today the wine is muted on the nose, but it still smelled of proper claret, has a nice dark fruit profile, a little earthiness and plenty of austere tannins. It comes across rather lean and middling. Is the goal to make a wine that is really rather undrinkable for 25 or so years with hope it will blossom into something that is amazing? Have I been led to believe that this is perfectly acceptable? Is it? I don't know. I am shocked at how many people gush over this wine today. I don't have a problem drinking this wine today to cure a little curiosity or assuage a little doubt, but really this needs a lot of time. The big question is will time help or will the wine dry out and miss the fruit completely. I will hold out hope and reservedly give the wine the possibility of positive improvement in the bottle.
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not blind to me, but was to others. what a difference 18 mnths makes. this has clearly gained weight and everything else. color was beautiful dark garnett. nnose of dark fruits, pencil, some barnyard earthiness and sweetness. palate has really improived. nice lush coating. full of dark fruits, chocolate, spice and lead. finsih has really improved and fleshed out. not quite at peak yet, but this puppy seems to be improving exponentially.
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Beautiful purple color that is vibrant and opaque. Opens with an herbal note with some steak and black pepper in the bouquet, leading to amroas of black currant, blackberry, dark cherry and licorice with pencil shavings, vanilla extract, mint, coffee and tobacco. Full-bodied and rich, this wine shows great concentration with blackberry, ripe cherry and plum on the attack. Tannic mid-palate, velvety and chewy, with medium-high acidity, forming a solid structural support for the fruit. Long and balanced finish with layers of fruit coming in waves of refreshed concentration leaving hints of vanilla, cedar, leather and Chinese herb. Very big wine, but balanced and well-contained. Best after 2013.
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Deep garnet/ruby colour, ripening red and black fruit and puppy fat and again puppy fat. When you have countered these elements an army of very ripe tannins attacks your papillas. It is a war you wanna lose, because at the end, let's say about 5 tot 10 years every taster will win the battle with the 2003 Montrose. At the moment it is a fantastic fight withe a giant wine. I'am not giving now the (informal) 100 points Parker did recently, but I think, in future, this wine will gain more points.
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At Rest Beddington AMS tasting Montrose (1982, 1990, 1995 and 2003). Deep purple/ black colour. A fantastic nose with thick, ripe red fruits as plums and cherries. Herbs, spicy and sweetness. Full bodied and lush in the mouth, with thick ripe fruits. High concentration but very fine and elegant. Great wine.
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Very dark, inky. Gorgeous and deep. Black berries, mulberry, ink, fragrant with no hard edges. Smooth, rich and youthfull. Plums, blackberries, essence of cassis, firmish close with big but fine tannins. Lacks slightly on complexity but a delicious drink regardless.
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Horizontale Bordeaux 2003: Nez sur le café, le cassis et les cerises. La bouche est ronde, veloutée, large. Il a un style viril mais civilisé, qui me fait reconnaître St-Estèphe et Montrose. Savoureux, long et parfaitement équilibré, un grand vin en devenir, déjà très agréable. 94 pts
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Far too young. Still in development. Tannins still dominate but structure is clearly present. Not an unpleasant drink at this stage but this needs at least another 5 years. No score.
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Opened it 10 hrs before testing/tasting along with Pape Clement 2003 ( 93-94/100 ) and Catena Zapata 2006 ( 95-96/100) and Rene Engel 2003 : Clos de Vougeot ( 92-93/100 WOTN )
2003 Montrose is widely opened today. Good deep, very elegant and silky in nosing. Layer upon layer, dramatic, hard to believe it's from 2003 vintage. Balance is superb, full elegant body, texture is seamless, structure is perfect, with the very snooth and very long-linger finished.
The best Montrose I've ever had, better than my favorite 1989 and seems thriller than the profound 2005. Don't miss !!!
Drink now - 2035............................98-99+/100................................
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This full-bodied, deep, rich, dark purple colored wine blesses us with a wonderful nose of cassis, cedar, blackberry, plum and tobacco spice. Delicious, balanced, perfectly structured, the sweet tannins will live a long life in this long finishing beauty.Drank the first of fifteen and I am glad that I did. The other 2003's will have a standard to live up to.
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Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, St. Estephe (Rodwell House): [Tasted Blind] Deep ruby with a wide orange rim. The aromas have an initial volatile flicker but display toasty oak, coffee beans, intense ripe black fruits and dark chocolate (80%). The entry is big, gutsy and richly textured with a core of blackcurrants, dark chocolate and blackberries alongside some fresh spices of oak infusion. Super complex, and full-bodied, the tannins have a furry texture but a density to them that shows a well-structured wine; a soft to lively acidity. Clearly a warmer vintage, the wine shows extract and, to an extent, builds the tannins to feel a little brutish at times. A superlative wine this shows multi-layers of a top growth (super second?). Fantastic, persistent length.
The OC Blind Crew (Kimera--Irvine, CA): Juicy, dark but still lean in tone with cherry, spice box and what seemed to me like the tell-tale herbal note of bordeaux. Nice long finish and a nice wine.
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Wineflock - Quilceda Creek Intro/Retro (Home): Group #10, My #6 - Full deep red color. Big bright candied red fruit nose. Bright with dusty cedar and tobacco notes. Nice balanced rich red/black fruit with cigar box notes on the palate. Long round tannic finish.
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Beautiful wine, although not as impressive as I had hoped. Dark core of Blackberry, cola, and mineral. Layered and complex, powerful wine. Nice wet earth notes. Drinking well now, but should develop further. It is a backward wine that falls a bit short on the palate. It does have a beautiful long finish though. decanted for four hours.
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Paris Tasting in Zwolle (De Librije - Zwolle): 2003 Château Montrose (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe) Kleur: Diep robijntood, veel concentratie. Aroma / bouquet: Subtiele neus, heeft alles maar vraagt om inspanning om zich volledig te presenteren, donker fruit. Smaak / Afdronk: Krachtige aanzet, wijn heeft duidelijk nog tijd nodig. Krachtige zuren, uitgesproken tannines. Veel structuur, maar op dit moment nog meer een eet-wijn. Algemeen / potentieel: Vrij jong, veel ontwikkelingspotentieel. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 12 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 7 = 91/100
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Canadian Tbone meets montrose; 10/13/2009-10/15/2009: At first taste, this was flat and sourish but after an hour in the decanter...the pedigree showed! My goodness...this opened up to show glimpses of its glory to be. Smoky barnyardish with green capsicums but hot stone minerality showed with very well ripened black fruits. Excellent structure that is perfectly soft though firm. The fruit has depth and length yet the tannins give it the right stucuture and rigidity wihtout making this any ole hot 03 vintage tramp of an easy going wine. This has the boobs as well as the brains and class to answer the toughest Q&A question on the economy and market trends. Very enjoyable to be in the company of. In fact, the aromas grow on u like a drug addict would to the highest grade of aromatic pipe smoking.Excellent and sexy texture and a lingering mouth watering finish. Very accessible with decanting now but I see lots of life in this wine.
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Oh my goodness. This wine is gorgeous. Delicious ripe berries and dark fruits, graphite, cedar oak, some nice spices. Great intensity and power, yet very balanced, elegant and silky. The complex flavours harmoniously build upon one another into a very long mineraly finish. Really well made and in a league of its own. Very delicious now, but this wine has a long promising life ahead. One of the best 2003 Bordeaux tasted to date.
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Thematic tasting of Bordeaux 2003 (Crystal Wines): Oh my..my my... big elegant nose of blackberry , blueberries, green capsicums, smoke, sweet berry liquer, mocha and framed by vanilla oak and lifted by animalistic notes. What is interesting is you get more and more exotic spices with airing. This wines explodes with one big green bell pepper! bomb...that smokes out to a dense conundrum of beautifully ripened dark and red fruits. Delicious and approachable with faultless finesse. Excellently structured wine that carries the front to the finish in one perfect flowing train of flavours. The finish is just amazingly lengthy for ...30s ..40s...a min...and i can still taste the last bits of mocha notes waning away gently on a bed of thick juicy tannins. Awe-struck bec ause this still has so much more potential going for it.
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This was served blind- I guessed a 2005 Left Bank (Leoville Poyferre), as it didn't have the tell-tale praline so many 2003's possess (others guessed the 2003 Pavie if that says anything!). This wine was clearly young but not hard at all. The fruit was primary but evident. If I had to call the style, I would have said a really high quality Cali syrah, as the fruit was spicy and exotic, not akin to Cab/Merlot in profile. Some called it a "monster"--I thought its weight was only moderate (concentration of fruit, mouth-feel, structure and length), but that will undoubtedly change with 10-15 years in the bottle. It was definitely very pure and clean (no brett or funk), and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't wowed after all the great wines in the line-up. Perhaps it was a bit inscrutable after tasting so many mature Bordeaux. This bottle was double decanted 13 hours prior to drinking.
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young, even with decanting. some barnyard notes but not overwhelming. fruit is there but certainly not showing its stuff yet. mouthfeel is slightly astringent but again the fruit and earth are there. quite a bit of tannins still overwhelm to some degree. this will get a lot better with time.
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Montrose Vertical Blind 1 hour decant - no where near long enough purple margerine container nose - did nothing for me not the same Montrose complexity - like a 98 beaucastle, why do people like this? no bordeaux characteristics at all tannins ripped my mouth
i really did not get the high 98+ parker rating - mine may be up for sale if after 10 more years there is no change
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UK Wine Pages - Chateau Montrose Vertical (Le Colombier, Kensington, London.): Very open, ripe nose, fresh cassis and bilberry fruit, oak, but also attractive floral notes. Very concentrated on the palate with lots of ripe, mouth coating tannins, bright, vibrant fruit, fresh, linear acidity and a very long, balanced finish. Surprisingly approachable now this has also got all it needs to make old bones. ***(**).
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Blueberry, spice and toasty oak. A very inviting mid palate building with some structure. However, end abruptly and somewhat lacking on the finish. Still very young
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Drank over two days. Ripe blackberry and cherry fruits with a graphite and char character. Really young and hard to read on the palate - firm, agressive tannins. Some alcohol evident. Clearly a good wine, but not surprisingly needs time.
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Ch. Montrose Dinner (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): Dense, alluring purple colour. Gorgeous welcoming nose of oak, good fruit and classic Bordeaux aromas but surprisingly forward for its age. Like the 2004. it has an interesting Californian way about it but remaining classically Bordeaux. On the mouth.....wow...tons of lovely fruit and already beautifully poised between fruit, tannin and oak. Lots of grip and rather closed, especially in terms of its potential length, but is already showing sufficient hints of its future greatness to mark high.
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Deep ruby core with a narrow rim. Youthful nose with exotic black fruits, smoke and expresso coffee. Super-dense palate with powerful, chewy tannins, low acidity and impressive length. Everything is in place. What was Clive Coates on about?
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Tasting Group Dinner - Steaks & Montrose (Dave's House): Very ripe and jammy, with intense flavors of crushed blackberries, minerals, and coffee. Delicious and primal. The power of the fruit holds the fierce tannins in check, at least for now. Obviously way too young, but this looks to be a stunning Montrose. WOTF for me.
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Another Tuesday Night in Minneapolis (Montrose 82, 86, 89, 90, 95, 01, 03, 04): Decanted about two hours before serving. I'm not usually a fan of young wines, but this showed amazingly well. The nose offers an intense blend of red and black fruits that dominate any possible secondary characteristics at this point. A bit jazzy on the palate with bright fruit displaying amazing concentration and flavor. Perfect balance. Awesome length on the finish. I can only imagine how good this will be when fully mature.
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This was fantastic. Clearly great already this was stuffed with everything good. Exceptionally well structured with delicious fruit this paired with our Porter House to a T. A great glimpse into a future legend that clearly tastes like great Bordeaux.
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This is really terrific. Beautiful aroma of brown sugar, dark cherries and plum. Very approachable right out of the bottle, albeit hot. Remarkable for such a young wine. Full bodied, coats the mouth. Chewy, big and bold. Sumptuous. Wow. This is great. Even my picky wife loved it. Time to stock up.
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Day 2: Bottle emptied halfway and re-corked and left for 24hrs. Dark ruby red in colour. Nose gave an initial blast of dark fruit with cinnamon and chocolate. Tannins have mellowed a little, but still palate gripping. Very smooth and silky wine. Flavours of cherries, pepper and cigar smoke. Lengthy finish bringing mocha and cedar box. At first sweet flavours prevailed, but then gets more earthy on the mid palate and finish. Seems to have lost its complexity overnight. More simplistic and less flavorful tonight.
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Day 1: Opened and served right away. Nice dark ruby red in colour. Initially, a powerful blast of manure, wet vegetation and mold came from the glass. These overpowering scents blew off, giving aromas of barnyard floor (dirt, manure, hay, wood) with underlying smells of dark cherries and popcorn. Very interesting and complex nose. Gigantic mouth feel. Again, tons of firm, palate gripping tannins. Flavours of mocha, cherries, cedar box and green vegetables. Like the Pavie, the loads of tannins made it difficult to discriminate all the different flavours. This wine has tremendous complexity and sophistication. 2+ minute finish of cherries and tobacco. Flawlessly integrated from start to finish. Structured and extremely intricate. When this wine peaks, it will be close to perfect.
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very black red,nose of delight fruits,hints of cedar,cigar,dark chocolate,medium-full bodied now,so so so silky in mouth with good acidity,lots of cherries,extremly elegant wine.now it is a little bit shy and gentle now,give her more years,I am convinced it will get super.not as spice as lafite,but more approachble.excellent,much more potential than 2002.I give it 92 now,but must be over 95 years later.
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Deep purple color. Ripe fruit aromas wafted from the bottle right after uncorking. Popped and poured over a 3 hour period, watching the Buckeyes unravel on national TV. The nose is a rich mixture of blackberries, gravel, a bit of menthol/licorice and oak notes. The palate is incredibly large framed, with deep densely packed flavors and a sweet, tart, lush mouth feel. This is very tightly wound and tannic, but the tannins are so fine and buttress a finish that goes on for 45 secs. This has so much evolution in front of it, but it was surprisingly pleasant to drink tonight, paired with a grilled tri-tip.
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Black to the rim. Classic Bordeaux notes of cassis, toasty oak, violets. Very long on the finish but surprisingly light on it's feet. This will be the last one I try for 10 years though. It is a can't miss classic.
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Deep purple red. Very intense nose of blackcurrant, other dark berries and some earth. Extremely intense with a big big structure. Impressive, but will need a lot of time to be truly pleasurable. Rating: 96+
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Decanted for approx 4 hours and drank over the next 3. The nose was dominates by sweet cherries, followed by rasberry, and licorace. This is the 3rd time I have tried this wine and this bottle did not show the monster tannins of the last two. While they were there they matched the ny strips wonderfully.
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Very dark garnet – thick. Wow, this is a typical Bordeaux nose on steroids – cedar, red fruits, cassis, smoke with a piercing eau-de-vie intensity (though not at all alcoholic or out of balance). Putting your nose in the glass is like looking at a beautiful lamp and turning on the light. The nose literally sparkles with intensity. This wine is a big step over the other ‘03’s tasted tonight (hard to believe) – Mr. Parker nailed this one. This is going to be monumental, with time. Classic flavor profile, no non-traditional flavors just great intensity. A classy effort that should not be touched until 2020. (19++)
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TTG#8: Old Barolo and Young Bordeaux (Shunju in Tokyo): A bit more gentle than the Latour, but equally dark and also mighty damn dense. Perhaps a bit of herbal character and clay to go with the deep dense black fruit, licorice, and structure. Good intensity, very rich mouthfeel, and seems in balance, but – as I said above – Bordeaux this young is wasted on me.
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Montrose Vertical and Others Dinner (Afghan Kabob): Opened and decanted for 8 hours and it was still singing when we finished the last drop. The nose is fantastic - moving in all directions from leather, chocolate, smores and spice. Super long finish with good tannic backbone and the right balance. No heat at all in the finish. I have only tasted a few of the greater older bordeaux's and the flavor profile is that of a young superstar. This can only get better and better.
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Very deep violet color with hints of blackcurrant and licorice, some fresh new leather as well (not a hint of brett), with silky tannins and great palate presence, and a very long finish. A wine for the ages.
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Opened at 16:19 CET and poured a glass. Nose dominated by graffite and animal blood. Some spices. No noticeable alcohol. Texture of palate is almost sirupy: it coats the moath and is thick and mouthfilling. Suprisingly restrained and balanced for a 2003 (not at all like the Troplong Mondot I had recently) and recogniseable as Montrose: graffite, meat, animal blood, tar... This bodes well for later this evening.
22:00 - Not much evolvement, but some black fruit is shining through on the palate. Still chewy and mouthfilling, very structured. Putting this away until the next day.
Next day (evening): Still not much evolvement (certainly no oxidation or degradation). The fruit is slightly more prominent, especially black cherries and berries. All the rest is still there... balanced and restrained.
The third day (evening): I used a different glass for my last taste (Riedel Vinum Extreme Pinot Noire - Nebbiolo instead of my usual Vinum Bourgogne). I'm now getting more on the nose, apart from the blood and graffite that are still present after three days. Now also dust, black coffee, a hint of chocolate and impressions of black fruit and fruit syrup. On the palate still no signs of detoriation. This remains a balanced, structured wine in need of several years of aging. The palate is dominated by graffite, meat, animal blood, tar, with additional notes of black fruit and it syrup, black coffee, and a very slight hint of liquorice.
In conclusion: this is a great wine in the making and if the Montrose tradition holds it won't be ready before 2015 at the earliest (if well stored). I'm upping my score to 96+.
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Bordeaux "en Primeur" Tasting and Rhone side visit; 3/29/2004-4/2/2004 (France): En Primeur tasting. Very ripe, powerful and firmly structured. Massively backward and brooding. I expect this will need at least a decade to provide pleasure, possibly longer, but the structure is certainly there to achieve balance someday. My friends enjoyed this much more than I did today.
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4/20/2024 - llink wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for several hours. Dark black/purple color, this looks like a young wine. The nose is pungent and lusty with cedar, blackberry, saddle leather and some spice. Young palate, deep and showing dark, tannic fruit that is still tight and primary. The texture is rich and saline infused with a decent amount of grip and tension.
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4/14/2024 - winelover1808 Likes this wine: 94 Points
had many weeks ago; side by side with a 2003 Cos - both were fantastic. I admittedly recall liking both of them a lot but am vague on the exact differences. but for a maligned vinatage for being too hot, i recall we thought they were both superb
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4/11/2024 - llink wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for several hours. Served blind in a flight of 9 cabernet based wines from the 2003 vintage. My #1 wine and the groups consensus #2 wine. The nose shows like a classic left bank Bordeaux and features coffee grinds, saddle leather, cedar and cassis. The palate is deep and mouth filling with layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins. Long finish. Not at all overdone or roasted, this is a classic ripe year Bordeaux with a long life ahead of it.
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4/5/2024 - drcheung Likes this wine: 95 Points
great presence on the palate, could probably do a few more years in the cellar
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3/30/2024 - bbq_grandcru Likes this wine: 92 Points
2 -3 hour splash decant helped soften this up but it needs more time asleep. Light-medium body. Dark fruits, barnyard funk that blows off with time. Enjoyable after lengthy decant but still slightly grippy - feels like needs another 2-3 years (until 2026/27).
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3/22/2024 - Noremedy21 wrote: 94 Points
90 mins in the decanter. Consumed over the next 4 hours.
Slightly flat on the nose, much more on the palette. Dark black fruit, very slight notes of plum but remains mainly in check, good given it was a relatively hot year.
After the initial fruit it is a multi-layered wine with tobacco, smoke, tar, aniseed, and a very slight hint of menthol / mint. The tannins are largely fully resolved, and it drinks very smooth.
The finish is quite intense at first, and then diminishes after about 30 seconds, but stays residually in the mouth for 60+ seconds.
Overall this was very enjoyable, indeed very good, but I wasn't blown away, I expected slightly more. 94pts
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3/2/2024 - Fatty Cat wrote: 96 Points
Early Mar 2024, Rheingau Gourmet Festival, rarity diner “25 vintages of Chateau Montrose”: according to the sommelier double decanted for up to 3 hours; deep crimson color; highly open and opulent nose of cherries, red and dark berries; sumptuously lush on the palate. 95-96/100
Outstanding, very open and lavish Montrose 2003.
Vintages of flight I:
1992 - 1998 - 2001 - 2003 - 2009 - 2010 - 2012
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2/14/2024 - PP56 Likes this wine: 97 Points
I recently took the case out of bond, so it’s been kept in perfect condition. I gave it 2 hours air with a double decant to take to a restaurant in the bottle. During the evening it definitely improved so I agree with Jeff Leve - it’s into it’s drinking window but should continue to improve and being a Montrose, will last for years. I’m in no hurry to drink the remaining 11.
It is supremely smooth with incredible length, a tremendous nose and quite a punch. Fantastic. RP said it was the wine of the vintage -who am I to argue?
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2/11/2024 - soyhead wrote:
nose- earth, sweet manure
mouth - funky, with loads of fruit. showed better than the '03 cos which was tasted side by side
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1/30/2024 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 94 Points
Classic Bordeaux theme dinner at New Ubin CHIJMES. Drank in Sydonios Meridional. Decanter didn't do much to budge this guy much more.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of pencil lead graphite, blackcurrant, blackberries, black cherries, tar and earth. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), fine high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of fine blackcurrant, blackberries, fine polished black cherries, tar earth, graphite. Long finish.
Very good quality. Strong and feels like it still has good life ahead for more development.
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1/18/2024 - ZAR789 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Ruby in colour, with just a hint of ageing on the rim. The bouquet is complex, notes of ripe red and black fruits, pencil shave, tobacco, dried leaves. It is somehow a bit more evolved than on the palate, where there is tension. The wine is balanced, it evolves in the glass and with a long finish. The wine is drinking well right now, but I don’t think it reached it’s summit yet.
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12/31/2023 - Édifice Likes this wine: 97 Points
Fantastic bouquet of ripe blackberries, blackberry jam on a fresh warm toast, a bit of funk but well integrated, undergrowth. Incredibly nice palate, silky, sweet with a nice touch of acidity, ripe dark berries, spicy, leading to a long finish. Still feels relatively young but in a great place to drink.
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12/27/2023 - Hazeo wrote: 91 Points
Despite reviews that speak of a classic wine that , it has pretty much the hallmarks of the warm vintage. Rather more fruit forward than I’d like but well made with its silkiness, but ultimately not the type of Bordeaux that wows me. Perhaps age will bring more depth and substance. We shall see.
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12/20/2023 - plhew wrote: 92 Points
Unimpressed by this bottle. Predominantly graphite nose and taste. Tannins need more time. Drank after a 2003 CDP clos de Papes and the red berry flavor of the CDP was the clear winner. I don’t think I will grow to like it more over time.
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12/12/2023 - dera Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dark pretty ruby with very slight age on the rim, very viscous in glass. Needs a 2-3 hour decant at least before it opens up. Nose is still young with only minor hints of age. It has a touch of bretty barnyard/poop, earthy herbs, leather, cigar, chocolate, coffee, red fruit, menthol, violets.
Palate is complex, elegant and balanced with ample fruit. Medium+ bodied with cedar, cassis, mushrooms, leather.
Finishes long, pleasant with softening but not fully resolved tannins. This is starting to reach a nice drinking window, but will still improve over time. Easily another 20 years to go, who knows if longer.
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10/22/2023 - dimispicksix Likes this wine: 94 Points
Six hours in the decanter, great potential, still somewhat closed. Drink 2025+
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10/14/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 94 Points
Another nice bottle of 2003 CM showing lots of irony earth in the bouquet, with the first signs of blood and flowers emerging. The wine is rather soft and very light in the mouth bringing you an elegant and rather Margauxish experience. It very much reminded me of the 2005 Brane Cantenac that I had not long ago. I think further aging will be a gain of bouquet at a cost of the loss of more power, that I dont think this wine can afford. Its 100% ready. Drink without fear or shame.
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10/7/2023 - NBouras915 Likes this wine: 94 Points
94+ 2 Hour decant and double decanted later. Drink 2025+. A terrific wine.
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10/4/2023 - BLam Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dinner with university classmates.
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9/26/2023 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Dry, well balanced, vertical, elegant, the vintage is handled more than well here. Still young. 94+ point
#IB
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9/19/2023 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 94 Points
1 hour decant with another couple hours slow ox. Tannins were still a bit gritty and grippy. Another 45 minutes in the glass softened it more and the layers of black and blue fruits started to evidence themselves better and show the elegance this wine has underneath its burly exterior. This wine may prove to be one of the longest living '03s from Bordeaux and there is no rush to drink. Long decant or wait at least a handful of years longer before revisiting.
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9/16/2023 - MRichman wrote:
Lots of mineral, iron, blood. Really solid fruit, great energy. Tight red berries, tobacco, cedar. Earthy. Peppery. A strong, muscular wine. Still might be holding something back. Great minty herbal finish. Hard to believe from a 20 year old wine, but this may be still pre-maturity? With a couple of hours of air, this is really solid. Excellent, I look forward to watching this mature. Great stuff.
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9/8/2023 - Jumbo-Jet Likes this wine: 96 Points
Perfect example of what gives the left bank old world style so much character. Not easily approachable, but what a development if one allows it to breathe. I let it sit in the bottle for 24h after opening and it just got better and better. Not free from irritations - the body is lean and there is some distant herbal tightness, the acidity is high and tannins are strong, some harsher, some finer and melting. But at no point is there any doubt that this is a class act. The aroma and spice are top notch, the finish is epic and following the mixture of distinct and elusive reflexes of fruit shimmering through the thunderstorm of black, green and grey notes is a genuine pleasure. This will remain interesting for very long.
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9/8/2023 - densan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lead, fresh, crushed stone.
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8/26/2023 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted 3 hours and it needed it. Seamless layers of overripe black and blue fruits with some mocha, black currant, and creamy vanilla Oak. Velvety across the palate with a 30+ second finish. I suspect that in a blind tasting most would not guess '03 and think '00 instead. Less than 1/2 teaspoon of sediment. Will wait a few more years before revisiting. This should be one of the longest lived '03s.
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8/26/2023 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
5th of 24, decanted 3 hours, perfect cork and level, still purple rimmed and little changed from last bottle in Dec 21 and very primary, dense for Claret, attractive as ever, black fruit, earthy minerality, just lacking in nuance and grace but this may well develop, 30+ years. F+ at least (18).
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8/25/2023 - Chrysostomus Likes this wine: 97 Points
Thanks to the member's tasting notes here on CT! I followed the suggestions and decanted the wine 5-6 hours in advance. At opening the nose was very shy! After the recommended time of 5-6 hours and swirling this beauty in the glass, there were pure and fresh aromas of black currant, plum, white and black pepper, cardamon, flowers, herbs, tobacco and pencil shavings - WOW! No barnyard! The mid+ palate was full of the same aromas. The fruit is not kicking at you, still in the background. But the best of this Montrose out of a hot year is its unbelievable freshness and its structure. No warmth, no heat! A fresh understatement wine with an unbelievable tannin structure that's like a silk cloth on the palate that stays there for more than 60 sec. What a length! This is not the loudest, heaviest left bank Bdx, but one of the most refined, fresh, complex and longest that I've had so far.
I think there's enough structure for the next decades...
If there would be a little bit more fruit, more "flesh" and pressure, it would be nearly perfect.
I understand, why some of the tasters wrote, that it was closed and showing not too much: I think it needs time, especially to integrate its smooth, but challenging tannins. And: it is a very "silent" wine! You have to take your time to develop and conquer this beauty!
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8/16/2023 - bugles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Classic BDX profile. However didnt seem to shine as other notes and 99-pointer ratings. Definitely has an upside to cellaring for 5-10 more years but it is already in its drinking window with a decant.
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7/23/2023 - Axelpeter wrote: 96 Points
Schw Adler COM) wunderbar, klar, präzise, tief. Auf dem Höhepunkt…
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7/7/2023 - iBurg1229 Likes this wine: 95 Points
13% ABV. Medium/deep ruby core with garnet rim. Still looking relatively youthful for a 20 yr old wine. Decanted for an hour and it was ready for business.
Notes of cassis, black plum, black cherry, anise, dusty cigar box, saddle leather, crushed rock. Fruit is focused and concentrated, which is nicely balanced by mouthwatering acidity. Dense on the palate. Tannins are very present and still rounding out. Finish is persistent.
The warm vintage seemed to have been handled very well by Montrose. A little more to be desired in complexity/nuance to make this an absolute home run, but the big fruit, brooding structure, and crunchy acidity points to this developing further and one that can cellar for ages. This is a proper and serious representation of claret from St Estephe. 95 today, 96 potential.
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5/7/2023 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux 2003 – 20 Years On – 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind, not decanted (some wines would have needed it). Observations: 1) 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today. 2) Compared to five other vintage retrospectives, the 2003 came in last place (lower average score than 2011), with just Chateau Margaux reaching a group score above 95pts. 3) Margaux wines showed best, with the typical immediate charm, while St. Estephe and Pauillac have potential but will need more time (and/or would have needed more air). 4) Right bank wines did not show as good with some alcohol showing and a few wines being on a downhill path. I would not chase 2003 right banks.
TN: I’ve had this wine a few times before and I’m convinced of its quality (rated twice at 95pts, the best bottle a few years ago was even above that) but it needs a lot of air. In the context of this tasting, it didn’t get much and hence it showed a bit muted: Not much on the nose. On the palate the wine needs a lot of swirling to open-up and show a bit of fruit (blue and red berries), at first there was hardly any fruit. The fruit is fresh and quite pure and not at all too ripe (but without question riper than in other vintages), additional notes of minerality and herbs. Still a bit tannic but with fairly high-quality tannins. At first, the balance isn’t there at all, the acidity too pronounced, and not enough fruit but with time that gets better. My rating kept creeping up. With lots of time and air, this certainly would have been more than 92pts. Still, it was group number 4 tonight.
Decanting: I would give it at least 5-6 hours in the decanter.
Group average: 92.8 pts
Group rank: Shared 4th out of 29 reds
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5/4/2023 - hargy Likes this wine: 93 Points
this was delicious - certainly mature but I suspect not yet at its peak
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4/26/2023 - King Julien wrote: 94 Points
Decanted about 1.5 hours.
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4/24/2023 - rossi.wine wrote:
No formal notes - over dinner. Wonderful cabernet nose - dark fruit, menthol, spices, tobacco, graphite. Super elegant, especially in the context of the vintage, good acidity, very well integrated tannins. Very long. Drink or keep. 94-96?
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4/23/2023 - Mario17 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nez animal, viandé, graphite aussi, du cassis. C’est puissant, plein, riche, une certaine acidité amène de l’équilibre, avec une superbe texture de bouche, très long, excellent. 94-95
Meaty and graphite nose, powerful palate but silky touch, some freshness beought to this rich and full wine by nice acidity, very long finish.
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4/23/2023 - KeepItSimple Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wine shows great aromatics, good length. I was expecting a bit more with the hype of this vintage. Will hold for 20 and improve for another 10 most likely
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4/11/2023 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
still some good structure and remaining tannins. good depth. will hold.
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3/31/2023 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 1 hour, powerful black fruits, still very young, not showing much secondary stuff, impeccable balance & poise, excellent Bordeaux but still some way to apogee
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3/20/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 92 Points
Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
Tasting note:
Dark cherry with mineral accents of pencil shavings. Earth and barnyard. Hight acidity and drying tannin. More dense and expressive than the Dame de Montrose 2003, but the latter had a more compelling fruit – all in all a comparable performance today. But: Had the Montrose twice before in the last 4-5 years, once after a 7h decant and once after a 5h decant. In both cases the wine showed leagues better than this one.
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3/15/2023 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Similar to prior note after double decanting; outstanding, ready to drink, no rush
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2/28/2023 - Eric wrote:
Huge, black fruit, cranberry, iron, silky tannins. Still young and primary but with some early hints of secondary character.. Very pure and fresh.
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2/25/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: flawed
A private tasting (Buurtcafé De Tros, Amsterdam, NL): Deep and powerful, rich fruit and warm spices, velvety tannins, voluptuous, but the nose is muted and the tannins are rough and dry. Not a good bottle. Low-level TCA?
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2/16/2023 - Vinumming & Ahhing Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bordeaux 2003 Horizontal (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): There's some red fruits and something sweet and meaty on the nose, almost like maple cured bacon, palate is taught but this is more comely than many Montrose. Tannins not fully resolved.
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2/16/2023 - SimonG wrote: 88 Points
2003 Bordeaux @ Piccolino (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Dense but vibrant deep ruby. Blackberry and bramble nose. Less dense and gloopy than the other two. This has more of a dryness than the others, similar to that that it showed four years ago, but perhaps a little more pronounced now and with a little less fruit to cover it fully. Again, heading towards being one to sniff rather than sip. ***
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2/11/2023 - Hugo Hilde wrote: 94 Points
Classics (Tøyen, Oslo): Double decanted 1h prior to serving
A tad more muted nose (Mouton 05 was a tough act to follow) of blueberry, redcurrant and sweet red fruits. Showing the sweetness of 03 without the slightest hint of over-ripeness.
Medium bodied, classic profile, nicely resolved tannins and a pretty long finish. A nice stony character, also dried heather, a bit more tertiary palate compared with the nose.
Was expecting a big wine, though this was somewhat gentle, not showing the heat of 03 at all.
Collapsed somewhat in the glass after some 4 hours.
94/95
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2/4/2023 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 95 Points
Drank blind. Nice density and body. It’s still showing plenty of tannin and green notes. Black fruit, mineral, and tobacco. I guessed young super Tuscan.
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1/22/2023 - drjb Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a wine which seems on the decline despite its early glory. The colour is crimson brown particularly at the edge. The nose is complex with classic blackcurrant, dark plums, cedar and tobacco with touches of dark chocolate dipped prunes. The palate has plenty of flavour and mouth filling fruit but just lacks real distinction and drive. There is a touch of prune and fig yet there is some nice lingering sweet fruit at the end as an echo of the glory days. This interesting to compare with the fine 2005, 2000 and 2009 all of which shine with distinction.
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1/18/2023 - Jacksonlane wrote: flawed
Unfortunately was a flawed bottle; slightly oxidized
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1/4/2023 - devraj Likes this wine: 96 Points
Inky purple/black in color. Takes a long time to open up and show aromas of black/purple cassis, blackberries, smoke, mocha, tar and hint of incense. Still massive and structured on the palate showing masses of smoky black fruits, hot rocks, medium (-) acidity, sneaky tannins and a long never-ending finish. Note to myself - do not touch another bottle for another 5+ years. Monumental wine.
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1/3/2023 - Renevin Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nez très parfumé, délicat sur du fruit rouge. En bouche tout en rondeur et bien fondu. Les tanins sont soyeux. Longue finale sur des notes de cuir. Tres bon.
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1/1/2023 - alexbhurst1678 wrote:
Drank on NYE
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12/26/2022 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Boxing Day wines at Domaine: Quite impressive for its concentration of powerful fruit and yet balanced without a hint of roastedness. Tannic structure is still firm and works with the dense, rich fruit. Better in 3-5 years, I'd hope as the components settle in a little more.
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12/24/2022 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Incredible bouquet of ripe blackberries, blueberries, grilled peppers, cigar box, liquor, undergrowth, intense and balanced. Lush, silken palate, medium-bodied, balanced mix of sweetness, freshness, spiciness, black and red berries, structured and elegant, leading to a long finish with pipe tobacco, spices, light sweetness, light touch of soy sauce. Still has some tannins but nearly dissolved. Agree that it has some upside but may take 3-5 years. Still highly enjoyable, so why wait?
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12/18/2022 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Double decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby, slightly lighter at the rim, red & dark fruit & more like a beautiful, mature CA cab blend, but not over-ripe, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding & best bottle I have had, drink or hold
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11/24/2022 - brewnello wrote: 95 Points
1hour decant on Thanksgiving with prime rib roast (no turkey!). Graphite and leather with fine tannins and integrated but structured for long haul. Smells like my grandparents basement - ancient earth with complex layers of tea and tobacco leaves.
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10/9/2022 - alexbhurst1678 wrote:
Drank w Nick and Olga and Carolyn; right out of the gate the wine was on fire; softer tannins and earthly flavors - total winner especially for the price
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9/26/2022 - djhammond Likes this wine: 98 Points
A year and a half since my last bottle, and it is moving at a glacial pace in spite of my previous optimism. I was lucky enough to purchase a couple of cases soon after release, and am quite happy to track its progress, but otherwise I think this needs to be left alone for at least another two or three years. That said, it is truly magnificent and should eventually command a perfect rating. The nose has lost its greenness and is heady with aromas of blackcurran, plum, and leather with hints of cedar and some floral notes. Front palate is still showing greenness and is a little challenging with the tannin, but the rest of the wine is the embodiment of excellence. The depth and balance on the palate and finish are otherworldly and worthy of a 100 points. The finish seems to never end and pushes towards 90 seconds. However, at this stage residual tannin distracts.
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9/11/2022 - Ericsson wrote: 93 Points
1+ année depuis dernière bouteille. Carafé durant 30 minutes puis dégusté durant 2+ heures.
Robe prune. Au nez, fleurs, cuir, foin, fruits rouges, épices. Au palais, corps moyen, bien équilibré, bonne acidité, touche herbacée, épicé, bonne longueur, très agréable à boire, homogène.
Précédemment je me demandais s’il a besoin de plus de temps mais, finalement, je pense juste qu’il est à un excellent niveau maintenant!
93-94
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9/4/2022 - camachodavalos Likes this wine: 99 Points
A very beautiful wine. Perfectly balanced. Lacking a bit of profoundness to be perfect.
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8/31/2022 - hkbob Likes this wine: 95 Points
Purple-black in colour. Wonderful nose of dark-berried fruit, fresh tilled earth, wood smoke, tobacco, graphite and summer herbs. Rich plummy dark fruit on a medium-bodied frame. Excellent length. Perhaps just lacking a bit of freshness compared to other recent showings of this wine but still excellent. Needed an hour decant to really start delivering the goods.
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7/23/2022 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was a great, classic Bordeaux with no sign of overripeness or other heat flaws from the vintage. The nose is dark fruit, cigar smoke, barnyard, and soil. As soon as this hits the palate, it feels grippy and young, but I soon got the sense that this had aged enough that the fruit has mellowed and plenty of complexity could show through the austere texture. There was wet stone, graphite, blackberries, and a touch of horse trodden trail. This has plenty of time left before the tannins reach what anyone might call gentle, but it’s in a great spot, has a ton of earth and texture, and a nice medium body.
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7/20/2022 - mchern02 wrote: 91 Points
2 hour decant and followed over many hours
Similar to prior notes, the nose has aromas of coffee, dark black fruit, smoke and anise. Palate is thin with a bit of plum, some dry tannins that may not ever fully evolve and a long finish. For me, it is behind top vintages of Montrose and pound for pound behind other above average vintages at similar price points. A good drink which is carried primarily by the nose but definitely not what I personally like in Montrose.
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7/13/2022 - Topper wrote: 95 Points
Best showing yet for this wine. The heat and tannins have resided somewhat and the resulting wine is very pretty and easy to drink yet big enough to go with big food such as ribs. A great showing for this wine and bodes well for the future.
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7/8/2022 - soyhead wrote:
nose - earthy
mouth - bursting with fruit power, dark cherry, good acidic and loads of tannins. on the young side. HOLD.
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6/27/2022 - Mchiarot Likes this wine: 92 Points
needs more time
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6/12/2022 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Took nearly 2 hours to fully open. Laser precise black fruit with graphite. Interesting nose of mint. Finish lasted at least 15 seconds. Can go another 20 years easily. 96+
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5/30/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Showy flamboyant, rich, lush, ripe, and packed with layers of deep, dark, red, and black fruits, opulent textures, and a finish that keeps on going. This is simply great now and could be even better with a 3-5 more years of bottle age.
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5/2/2022 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 95 Points
1 hour decant and no sediment to speak of. The wine did not change over subsequent 2 hours. Elegant black and blue fruits. Not the jammy or too-extracted fruit you might expect from this vintage. Very smooth with long pliable tannins. I'll wait another couple years for my next one.
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5/1/2022 - DrZett wrote: 96 Points
🇫🇷 2003 Vieux Château Certan 🇫🇷 Lots of tertiary notes, ripe red berries, leather, sweet tobacco. Medium complexity, great balance. Drink up soon. 91/100 💵~200
🇫🇷 2003 Château Figeac 🇫🇷 Violets, dark plum, some meaty notes. Good complexity. A little too hot. Finish is a bit short. Drink now. 90/100 💵~200
🇫🇷 2003 Château Angelus 🇫🇷 Beautiful complexity and a lot of fruit power left. Grippy tannins and and super long finish. At least another 10 great years left. 94/100 💵~400
🇫🇷 2003 Château Cos d’Estournel 🇫🇷 Nice soft tertiary notes and lots of dark berries. Fantastic depth and structure. Powerful body. Long finish. In a great spot now. 95/100 💵~230
🇫🇷 2003 Château Montrose 🇫🇷 Ripe strawberries, cherries and wet ivy. Velvety tannins. Fantastic complexity and a great balance. Feels quite fresh and young, lots of good years ahead. 96/100 💵~230
🇫🇷 2003 Château Haut-Bailly 🇫🇷 Soft sweet notes in the nose. Alcohol is too hot and covering the fruit notes. Medium complexity, feels a little unbalanced. Drink now. 89/100 💵~100
🇫🇷 2003 Château Mouton Rothschild 🇫🇷 Great dark red fruits, some dry leather and tobacco - beautiful ripeness. Warm and velvety tannins. Fantastic complexity and length. In a perfect spot now. 96/100 💵~ 600
🇫🇷 2003 Château Lafite Rothschild 🇫🇷 Fantastic nose and palate with lots of elegant dark berries, tobacco leafs and lots of mineral style notes. Silky tannins. Very elegant structure. Incredible balance and complexity. Endless finish. At least another two great decades ahead. 97/100 💵~ 1.100
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4/29/2022 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tighter bottle. Needed a couple hours decant to show. Nice blend of menthol and flint and smoke with back fruits. Palate plump and round on entry with tannins really coming out on the finish. Seemless and somewhat plush,but a bit tight today without the depth of prior bottles
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4/26/2022 - englishman's claret wrote: 91 Points
This is my first encounter with the 2003 Montrose and I have to admit that I’m completely befuddled. While it’s true that this doesn’t come across and hot or over-extracted, I don’t find much other than a whack of oak and black fruit, somewhat empty on the palate. This comes across as very much the odd man out among the 00, 90, 89 Montrose tasted alongside. Ex-chateau, 4 bottles, followed 4 hours.
Harvested Sept 11-26
62 CS / 34 M / 3 CF / 1 PV
13% ABV
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4/26/2022 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
Nose: ripe blackberry, anise and plum. Quite dark and as this opened the oak notes of vanilla bean, espresso and wood shavings started to get more prominent. Palate: rich and nicely textured, black cherry, cassis and blueberry compote. Complex cracked pepper and loamy earth. Finish: dark and fruity.
Not a very classic Montrose, and yet not an overblown 2003. Very nice wine. What it that lacks in identity it makes up for in jubilant personality.
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4/8/2022 - hkbob Likes this wine: 98 Points
A couple of hours in a wide-bodied decanter and this was in the zone. The wine rocked from start to finish with an incredible nose of deli meats, fresh tobacco, loamy earth and some cedar hints. A nose you could just inhale all night. Impeccable balance with plush tannins and swathes of dark fruit, tobacco and epic length. Not left wanting for anything except more wine after the bottle ran out. What a great wine and may improve further over the decades of runway that still lie ahead.
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4/6/2022 - cct wrote: flawed
TCA
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3/15/2022 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted about an hour or so before dinner at home (with rack of lamb and risotto) - this is getting closer to closer to its sweet spot. Years (if not decades) of life ahead, but this is a seriously good Bordeaux
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3/10/2022 - Rosengoo wrote: 94 Points
This 19 year old wine surprised me in that it was still so youthful. It was very deep red in colour with dark berries and strong alcohol on the nose. In the glass were flavours of dark berries, strawberries, and some flowers. There was also a caramel ending to each sip. The tannins were still very strong while the acidity as at a good level.
I would have never guessed the age on this bottle and I think these have many good years ahead of them.
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2/18/2022 - Jake Barnes wrote:
(2/18/22) Bought on the secondary market, with a fill well into the neck, this bottle displayed age-appropriate color as well as age-appropriate aromatics and development in the flavors on the palate (all fairly average). The big problem was that the palate showed medium-minus concentration, coarse, sand-like tannins, and almost zero acidity. I’m guessing previous storage problems are to blame for this bad showing, so I will withhold a score. 13% ABV. (But if I were to score this, it would be **/14/84.)
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2/9/2022 - hkbob Likes this wine: 97 Points
Deep purple-red. The nose on this wine was sensational with heady, pungent aromas emerging immediately upon pouring into the decanter. Dark and red fruit, charred embers, pot pourri, sous-bois, cedar, some iodine, mineral and saline notes. Still very young, showing excellent harmony, energy and lift for such a large-scale palate. So very enjoyable already although I suspect this will improve further with extended cellaring. That nose - wow!
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1/31/2022 - BLam Likes this wine: 94 Points
One of our CNY Eve wines. It served well.
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1/22/2022 - HowardNZ Likes this wine: 96 Points
1966 – 2010 Château Montrose vertical (Regional Wines, Wellington, NZ): Served single blind, one pour. Varieties: CS 62% | M 34% | CF 3% | PV 2%. Deep, bright ruby. A huge volume to the bouquet. Fresh blackberry, vanillin and chocolatey scents with caramel, definitely showing its oak élevage. However, seemingly a little leaner and sleeker on palate than the nose suggests. Muscular but with cultured and svelte fruit. The fruit hugely concentrated, opulent and ripe, including dark plums, reflecting the large merlot component. Crème de cassis, graphite, liquorice, blackberries and cedar. Ultra fine grained tannins. Seductive and a little soft. Sufficient vibrant acidity retained. I had this wine as possibly the 2010. Although with the serious architecture and volume of ripe fruit, sitting in the glass, towards the end of the tasting the palate moved more linear. Excellent length. A top wine in this line-up. No stereotypical 2003 jamminess. Ideally drink from 2025+. Such is the huge dry extract, I would not be surprised if the 2003 drank well 40 years from today. 96+.
Rankings: Me 5/12 | GK 3/12 | CT 4/12.
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12/31/2021 - petenich Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic. Next bottle in 10 years.
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12/25/2021 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fantastic bouquet of ripe blackberries, crushed stones, herbs, very tasty, complex but also elegant due to the minerals. Initially some burned elements that disappear, leading to lush, structured, yet surprisingly light and ethereal palate, perfectly balanced, hard to put the glass down, long, spicy finish. Whilst very Bordeaux, has a Burgundian touch, from a riper vintage. This is as great as wine can get: complex, dense but also light and fresh, a kaleidoscope of berries, spices, herbs, minerals.
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12/24/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
4th of 24, opened 90 minutes then decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, showing more earthy minerality, otherwise as last noted in Oct 20, moreish and with volume of top vintage, significant upside. F+ (18).
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12/10/2021 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 96 Points
Montrose's 2003 iteration is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Sampled from a well-cellared bottle that was provided by one of the guests at a holiday luncheon, it was uncorked and poured. Having received an "early" pour of the wine, I elected to set the glass aside and taste it over the ensuing 90 minutes. Still a youthful deep ruby in color, it is equally youthful with respect to its ripe blackberry and cassis fruit that is flanked with exotic spices, bittersweet chocolate, violets, graphite and dried herbs. Full-bodied, seamlessly alcoholic (13%) and surprisingly fresh for this hot vintage, it buttresses its flavors with abundant fine-grained tannins and a well-proportioned aliquot of oak. Layered and dense on the mid-palate, it moves on to a lengthy finish that carries a lot of tannic grip. There is no question in my mind that this would have shown even better with more aeration, but I am also quite convinced that properly cellared bottles have not yet fully hit their stride. Give this at least another five years in the cellar if you can resist. It should easily be a 40+ year wine. Drink 2026-2043.
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11/28/2021 - boillatm wrote: 93 Points
Brought a bottle to a restaurant for a dinner with friends. Opened around 2.5 hours before tasting and drunk with Wagyu Beef.
Beautiful color and nose. Surprisingly restrained for the vintage with tannins that were somewhat overpowering and a very long finish. Perhaps we should have decanted the wine, but it seems to me that it was not quite there yet.
I will hold my remaining two bottles for at least five years.
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11/13/2021 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 97 Points
These may have been best experience with the '03 Montrose to date. Decanted about 5 hours before a wine dinner with some friends and these bottles were stunning.
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11/13/2021 - Bugiman wrote: 99 Points
A Power horse. Fantastic nose and great length.
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10/28/2021 - llink wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. Cedar, black currant, eucalyptus oil and some earth on the nose. The palate is surprisingly fresh, deep blackberry fruit, silky texture with some medium grained tannins. Surprisingly austere for the vintage, this wine is built to last.
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10/9/2021 - Larslatour wrote: 94 Points
Big body, sweet fruit from a warm year
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10/8/2021 - rcg62 wrote: 91 Points
Definitely needed time and air. Started super pruny, but air and time helped. Not classic Montrose — lacks that great fruit— but decent with air. Just “okay”. (Maybe a subpar bottle based on others’ reviews but Montrose is a personal favorite and this was a vintage I’d skip.)
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10/5/2021 - jsebiri wrote:
Excellent nose, just a tremendous wine.
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10/1/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 94 Points
My last bottle. Pretty tight upon opening but blossomed with a splash decant. Currant filled nose with some iodine notes. Palate was dense and concentrated, but had lift and freshness. Silky palate texture really stood out. Despite the hot year this was fresh and focused unlike some other ‘03s—no hint of roasted elements. Some coarseness of the tannins on the backend, but this really hold the palate with a long finish, adding hint of mint. Great stuff, should continue to evolve and maybe add complexity.
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9/24/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double decanted for 2.5 hrs, deep ruby to the rim, red & dark fruit with tobacco & leather, classic mature left bank, med/firm tannins, long finish; outstanding & has entered peak drinking where I suspect it will stay for at least a decade, drink or hold
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8/20/2021 - BLam Likes this wine: 93 Points
Better than my last bottle as I served in bottle of slow ox for one hour, drank over three hours. The nose was less reserved and silky palate with big structure and medium and elegant body. A typical grand cru BDX wine.
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7/24/2021 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Explosive nose displaying hedonistic black and blue fruit, crème de cassis, black cherry, milk chocolate, bell pepper, strong lead pencil, eucalyptus, cedar and earth. This clearly show the vintage character, i.e. very ripe yet also with a hint of green. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of opulent black fruit, unctuous yet silk, warm and round, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long ripe black fruit driven finish with lead pencil and caramel at the end. Although youthful, this is drinking magnificently.
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7/20/2021 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 96 Points
3 hour decant. Less than a teaspoon of sediment. Rich and ripe layers of black and blue fruits. Minerals, smoky pencil shavings, touch of cassis and soft leather with a little vanilla Oak. Very smooth and approaching velvety.
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7/9/2021 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark red, deep core.
Lovely ripe cassis, dark spice, smooth, sherbet zest, fruits and oak spice.
Fine big tannins, dark berries, some cedar, some earth, but not overly complex. Plump, good density, lush for St Estephe, warm year ripeness. Drinking nicely.
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7/8/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Palooza part 2; 7/8/2021-7/10/2021 (Marco Island/Naples): Another fantastic wine shared by Mark. This felt especially young after the '66 Latour. Dark in color, lots of fruit and lots of structure. Enjoyable now but this has many good years ahead. Agree with Mark's assessment that the fruit went from red on opening to darker over the time open at the table.
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7/8/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Also popped tableside for our dinner tonight....obviously fresher than the '66 Latour. Brighter red fruit which gained weight and darkened quite a bit throughout the evening. Initially there was a little tart cherry on the ending but this lessened as the night wore on. A very clean wine with an oak/cedar component felt on the nose more on opening and more on the late palate later on, to me, personally. A very nice wine, but no spectacular components to remark about, in a nice drinking window for those who like a BDX in a slight secondary phase. Still plenty of years to go, so no hurry with this one at all.
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7/4/2021 - VINNICK Likes this wine: 96 Points
Phenomenal wine. Deeply concentrated with a beautiful nose, body, and lovely long finish. Everything one can ask for in good bordeaux. This is humming and was terrific straight out of the glass. Firing on all cylinders! This baby is ready for prime time. Enjoy!
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7/4/2021 - wild ferment wrote: 89 Points
Dark berry fruit, black currant, tertiary tabacco and leather aromas. Opulent wine with a long live ahead, however the missing freshness makes it somehow unbalanced with a relatively short finish. Typical representative of the warm 2003 vintage.
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6/27/2021 - perrez Likes this wine: 95 Points
From magnum. Everything you would expect from a high class first mature phase st. Estephe. Cigar box and lots of ripe juicy fruits with smooth acid and tannin. Thanks to my friend for opening that bottle purchased from subscription, nothing to add. Straight from first glass to last one couple of hours after opening the bottle
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6/25/2021 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Phil in Town; 6/25/2021-6/26/2021 (Matts House): This wine is off the charts good. Opened next to an 2005 Mouton and a 2010 Chave Hermitage. Held its own easily. Blueberry, graphite, bakers spice and a perfect harmony of fruit and oak. the Chave won the night but I need to load up on this wine as there is not a better $200-$250 out there in my opinion. I decanted 4 hours. This can be drank now with a small decant or held for many more years.
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6/20/2021 - Lipsman wrote: 94 Points
Lots of fruit and much helped by an hour in a decanter. Unfortunately I didn't decant. Moderate tannin still present after 18 years, this balanced and complex wine still has development ahead of it. Expect it to mellow out and gain opulence with additional years in the cellar. Drink with a decant, or let it age through 2030.
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6/6/2021 - Ericsson wrote: 93 Points
Bue le lendemain de LLC 2003, intéressant.
Carafée pendant 30 minutes, puis consommée sur 3 heures.
N’est pas au même niveau que LLC, plutôt dans la lignée de la bouteille de 2020, arômes de fleurs, de cèdre, un peu réticents.
Au palais, plus puissant, plus acide, plus minéral, plus végétal que LLC, mais moins distingué, moins fin, moins long en finale.
Peut-être lui faut-il plus de temps?
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6/6/2021 - BLam Likes this wine: 92 Points
Probably I decanted too long, 3 hours. I got the best sips at the start but after 3 hours, the experience was not as good as other comments in the group. The color was not shiny as the young BDX, with attractive milk chocolates, cream coffee, dark fruits, cheese cake aroma, medium body, silky tannin. However after 3 hours decanting, it slept...
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5/29/2021 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dekantert. Meget stort behag, uten å være innsmigrende. Elsker den, klassiker!
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5/9/2021 - Marc S wrote: 98 Points
- Garnet color with medium forming legs. It's in total harmony and has flavours of raspberry, blackberry, black currant and chocolate with a medium/full body. Bright texture with a medium finish - This really is sensational wine. Everything about this wine seems to be perfect. The nose is deep and rick and full of unbelievable fruit. The wine is perfection as far as the balance.
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4/8/2021 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
Once again, all the oohs and ah's tempted me to open one of my 2 remaining bottles. If you are a Bordeaux lover, and you LOOOOVVVE this wine, and drink too much of this, it may be dangerous to your real Bordeaux wines in the cellar. This is definitely a unicorn and a hybrid Bordeaux that drinks absolutely "delicious" with the gobs of fruit and lots of spice which is unusual for a left bank Bordeaux, but there's no denying that this is bordeaux by sniffing the glass. Long, long, rich finish with killer acidity for the vintage (and probably one of the reasons why this is so well made and fresh) make this a hard glass of wine to put down. After 5 hours, I did sense some decline in the glass, while a 2005 La Dame that was opened at the same time as a beak wetter was gaining steam and inching up...I'm glad that I did not buy the case that the English merchant at the time was peddling, I am still happy with my only one left. Drink or Hold
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3/23/2021 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 98 Points
OH BABY! This wine was on point tonight. Based on recent tasting notes on CT, it seems like in a great drinking window. I decanted for 8 hours. The violet and perfume on the nose were crazy. The midpalate hit with soft blue fruits and graphite. Tea leaves and bakers spice on the finish. This wine has many more years ahead of it. It was well balanced but still a tad young and the tannins were noticeable. Now, in 10 years this could be a 100pt wine, it has all the makings of a perfect wine and tonight was incredible. This will get better with more age. I had the 2005 a few months ago and Montrose may have just become my favorite wine!
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3/6/2021 - djhammond Likes this wine: 99 Points
In spite of a 9 hour decant, it was an hour in the glass that tipped it to a new level. This wine is sensational, and will merit a perfect score in a few years. The nose is still a little reticent at present displaying a slight greenness. However, the palate is absolute perfection. The tannic backbone has now resolved and displays a perfect harmony with the blackcurrant, blackberry, and plum giving a wonderful mouthfeel without forgetting you are drinking a Northern Bordeaux. At present the finish is pushing 90 seconds and is perfectly balanced, but the extra point for perfection will come as the final residual tannins smooth out.
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2/28/2021 - SussexSB Likes this wine: 93 Points
It probably needed a longer decant. But for a potential 100 pointer, the tannins were not yet fine for that score and it felt slightly chewy. Will develop further. Have other bottles so will revisit.
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2/23/2021 - rmh66 wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 4 hours, checking it from time to time. Blackberries, cassis, plum, tobacco, graphite, a little leather, earth, and herbs on the nose. A whiff of va at first, but disappears with some air. Beautiful blackberries, tart cherries, cranberries, cassis, minerals, graphite, earth on the palate. So much earthiness. The second day there was a touch of saline on the palate. Good acidity, still grippy tannins, looong finish. Beautiful wine. It still seems so young.
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2/15/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted blind. Powerful nose of red fruit, leather, tobacco, and a hint of green notes. Quite soft, yet structural tannins with dark fruit, and nice acidity on the palate. Velvety mouthfeel without being overripe. Long finish. Great Bordeaux!
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2/9/2021 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
It‘s been a while since I‘ve last had this wine. I‘m positively surprised by how well this Montrose did in 2003. Yes it is intense, ripe but that traits of a hot vintage paired with Montrose aristocratic masculinity is a great combo. Lots of finesse (!) and no excess weight. This was fun to drink and is at no risk whatsoever to decline anytime soon. I guess this will easily improve for at least another 15 or 20 years. Promising!
TN: Intense, very intense nose with very ripe (at least for a Bdx) dark fruit at the centre, along some exotic spices, herbs and earthy aromas. In some moments it showed just a tad of heat (but really just a little little bit). Full-bodied, intense palate with no shred of excess weight. Fine tannins and fresh, becoming lighter by the minute. Cassis, blackberries, some blueberries with a streak of red fruit. With time a bit chocolate notes and more red berries. Lots of earthy notes, herbs (fresh and even a bit medicinal I would normally associate with Napa/Australia), crushed rocks, leather and a bit of tobacco. Very complex and with a good but not perfect precision.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 5 hours and it needed it. Became better by the minute (and was utterly unspectacular in the first 4 hours).
Glass: Conterno Sensory
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2/4/2021 - TQ33 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Drinking absolutely sensational at the moment. Decanted for only one hour but was great right out of the bottle. Surprising for the hot 2003 vintage, this was pure finesse, balance and elegance. Beautiful classic Montrose nose. Can’t imagine it improving or getting better than this at this time. Drink now!
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1/23/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tasted blind. Long decant of 5-6h, then consumed over 3 days. Sweet red berry fruit beautifully woven into aging notes of wet earth, sous-bois and layered with fine, sweet floral notes, herbal notes of dried tea leaves. Only traces of darker berries to be found. Incredibly decliate, feminine and sophisticated. On the palate fresh with lots of acidity otherwise well built with smooth even if very much present tannin. The floral aromas move more and more to center stage over time in the glass, although the fresh, sweet and perfumed notes transformed into dried flowers by day 3. Had this next to the 1989 and while on the first day I had a clear preference for this over the more muscular and less sophisticated 1989, it ended up being a tie by day 3.
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1/20/2021 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dekantert. Meget pen.
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1/3/2021 - Philippe_C wrote: 98 Points
Nice nose of cedar, ripe black cherries, sandalwood... Superb tannin, fruits rouges murs, belle fraicheur et equilibre.
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1/1/2021 - Marc wrote: 93 Points
Very much the product of the 2003 vintage. Ripe, meaty, and tannic, but lacking in acidity. The wine is outstanding, and may improve, but currently it is flat and slightly fatiguing to drink. Cabernet fruit verging on plummy character. No herbaceous elements at all. A touch of volatility on the nose, as well as wet oak. Floury black olive flavours, align with the currant and plummy fruit. The finish is massive and tannic, and high(ish)in alcohol. Only at the start of maturity, this wine will age for decades, and may well improve and approach an extraordinary experience, but for now, it feels as if it is in a hole. Based on this tasting, it appears as if Cos is the better wine in this vintage. 93++?
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12/31/2020 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 95 Points
One of 3 reds for the New Year's Eve festivities with a small group of friends, along with an '05 Bouchard Le Corton and an '03 Montrose.
The Corton was opened prior to dinner, while the Insignia and Montrose were both decanted. Both the Montrose and Insignia were outstanding, but at least tonight, the Insignia was the (slightly) better wine. While that may have been a function of the youthfulness and slower evolution of the Montrose, the Insignia was stellar. But the Montrose continues to excel and is just hitting its adolescence.
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12/26/2020 - Édifice Likes this wine: 97 Points
Rich bouquet of blackberry preserve, undergrowth, tobacco, spices. Medium-bodied palate, lush, sweet yet with a nice acidic line, dark and red berry compote, Christmas spices, a long finish with red candy, fine, nearly resolved tannins. There is an element of vanilla ice cream, prunes compote, cinnamon, all very balanced, multi-dimensional.
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12/20/2020 - Lipsman wrote: 95 Points
Lush and complex. An expressive glass of Montrose in its prime drinking window. Needs a short decant to open up.
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12/10/2020 - T.E.D. wrote: 94 Points
U Club NYC bottle. Very firm and showing good gravel, stone, minerals coupled with stone fruits and hard berry. Really aromatic and structured. We’ll made.
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11/29/2020 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 95 Points
While I have had a few underwhelming Cru Classe from 2003, this confirmed my experience that St Estephe did well in this hot vintage.
The tannins were well resolved and this is drinking well, showing spicy, rich fruit and good length though there is still a bit of a lack of freshness that characterized this year.
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11/11/2020 - tbabes wrote: 96 Points
The fill was into the neck and the cork was pristine; double decanted 90 minutes prior to dinner, and served in Grassl 1855 stems. Youthful purple core, turning to deep garnet at the rim. Plenty of ripe fruit on the bouquet, with abundant scents of cassis, blackberry, star anise; hints of crushed stone, black truffle and briar patch. Medium to full bodied, with ripe and chewy tannins, excellent concentration and depth, and a long and well delineated finish. Clearly made from ripe fruit harvested in a hot vintage, but with excellent focus due to the good acidity. Very well balanced. I think this will stand the test of time, so I will plan to hold my remaining bottles until 2025+. It is excellent now, but I think it will continue to improve with additional cellaring.
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10/17/2020 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 94 Points
2 hour decant and it still felt like it needed more air time - a touch closed. Fruits were black with some nice blue and red fruits. Very smooth with some sweet Oak and a touch of minerals.
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10/10/2020 - Indran Rajendra wrote: 98 Points
The wine has a garnet hue as it is poured into the glass. Is it true to St Estephe? Absolutely! Extroverted and masculine with earthy rose petal notes and lacking some elegance. It has typical bordeaux aged nose with layers of spice with a background of primary blackcurrant, blueberry and blackberry. Slightly too acidic. Great length. Riedel Bordeaux glass. Temp 17 deg C. Estimated drinking window - now till 2040.
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10/5/2020 - Vinewanderers Likes this wine: 92 Points
No tasting notes
Grade: A−
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10/4/2020 - mchern02 wrote: 93 Points
2 hour decant
Dark fruit, coffee, anise, and a touch of fresh earth on a subtle but elegant nose. Gorgeous velevety body with a just a touch of thinness but meaningfully more attractive and weighty than its Cos cousin. Attractive polished finish with a sweep young tannins.
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9/19/2020 - guile Likes this wine: 95 Points
One from a case and paired with a mushroom pasta. Cork was in perfect shape. Aroma exploded into the glass, dark fruits, violets, leathers, more dark fruits, intense and brooding. Very sweet entry, followed by drying tannins, great alcohol integration. Nowhere near mature. Excellent considering the weak vintage overall. Could stand some decant time but so unexpectedly delicious on pop and pour. Maybe for the next bottle!
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9/5/2020 - Cikgoo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very powerful, seems high in alcohol yet shows that St Estephe mineral and intense flavour.
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9/3/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
3rd of 24, opened 3 hours, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, ridiculously youthful, but moreishly attractive, would envisage greater nuance developing as ageing process kicks in, significant upside and long life ahead. F+ (18) for now.
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8/28/2020 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted prior to the dinner (tasting menu at Bresca in DC), and this may have been the best bottle so far of my first case. Amazing noise and great depth of classic Bordeaux flavors. This has at least a decade ahead of it - probably two or more - and watching this evolve will be great fun.
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8/9/2020 - Ericsson wrote: 93 Points
Bue sur 2 jours, cette bouteille était plus réticente que les précédentes.
Moins de fruits et moins de complexité, la fraîcheur en bouche était bien présente toutefois, aucune lourdeur et toujours cette pointe herbacée qui ternit quelque peu la fin de bouche.
Très belle bouteille juste un peu moins explosive.
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7/29/2020 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank from coravin over multiple days. Dark fruits, Napa like. Not nearly at the stellar bottles of 03 montrose I’ve had in prior years. Hopefully just an off bottle
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7/17/2020 - KenPlace wrote: 95 Points
Exceptional wine. Gorgeous nose of black and red fruit. Impecabbly balanced. This could go on for another 30 years!
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7/15/2020 - Winemaker51 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Served from a Magnum that was decanted for 60 minutes. Closed in at first with slight tertiary aromas. Dark Color, getting a bit amber around the edges. Then, after another 30 minutes was fantastic! Dark Chocolate, Bay Leaf, incense spice, blackberry, and Oak on the aroma. Typicity of Montrose is still there, despite the warm vintage. Flavor is rich and fruit forward; almost Napa Valley Oakville. Yet, still has a coolness and tannin structure that brings it back to Bordeaux. My assessment is that one should start drinking it now and not hold. This also goes for nearly all 2003 Red Bordeaux’s
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6/28/2020 - MQuentel@web.de Likes this wine: 96 Points
2003 Montrose - 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, despite the hottest August ever: Bewitching, sensational nose with a concerted and at the same time complex nose with primary, secondary and tertiary aromas: fine roasted notes, coffee and laurel play perfectly together with the dark berry fruit. Astonishingly cool on the palate with good freshness and acidity, very clear and pure fruit. Fine-grained tannin, excellent depth and beautiful complexity; long finish. Very pleasurable 96/100 2020 - 2035
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6/27/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Got more subdued the more air it got. Dark fruited, plush, pretty shy nose. Tannins bulky but mild. Typical favor profile of black fruit, but of smoke, and mint. Some tabacco on the finish. Holds the finish well. Seamless just not as expressive as expected. Seems to be in early maturity.
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6/26/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
2nd of 24, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, as May bottle. F+ (18).
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6/16/2020 - NickA Likes this wine: 90 Points
Château Montrose through 6 legendary vintages (Zoom!): 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Herve Berland notes that the Montrose terroir (near the river and the sea) protected this wine from the worst of the year's heat. You can detect the richness on the nose, though. Feels pretty mature. The palate is even more marked by the heat and slightly dies off on the finish, but a minty green note develops with time. Would be lovely with a steak!
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5/30/2020 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted about 90 minutes before dinner. This bottle seemed tight, but I think that was due from having followed immediately after the '03 Pegau Reservee, which was drinking beautifully. But the '03 Montrose is sadly good, too, with a very long life and more development ahead.
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5/23/2020 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Kort dekant. Meget pen!
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5/8/2020 - nywine68 wrote: 94 Points
Smoke and graphite. Flint and crushed rocks on the nose. Gorgeous superfine tannins. Fresh juicy blackberry flavors with a hint of black tea. Beautiful wine. The only knock is the relatively short finish.
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5/1/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
1st of 24, decanted 90 minutes, perfect cork and level - dark, dense ruby, purple rim; relatively simple, slightly jammy black fruit flavours, some vanilla, tobacco and earth, impressive impact if not particularly elegant; quite full bodied, long, persistent and concentrated, as yet fruit driven, earthy, drying slightly granular tannins underpinning the structure partly hidden by weight of sweetish mid palate fruit, excellent grip and drive, early days, scope for upgrade. F+ (18)…..interesting comparison with arguably more elegant Pichon Baron which for current drinking I prefer even though I've marked the Montrose marginally higher for now and fundamentally more to it than last week's 01.
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4/25/2020 - ChrisR wrote:
An odd wine. Superripe aromas: smoked meat, tar, with some ripe blackberry struggling through, a bit of cedar once in a while, noticeable volatile acidity. Not thick enough to be flabby, it was somehow leaden and heavy without any fruit density; I suspect this was an effect of the tannin quality. The tannins were very drying. No tension or precision. I had always wondered what Parker's description of "dry vintage port" was until now. Not a particularly fun experience.
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4/20/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Opulent, rich, full-bodied, showy and intense, this feels just great as layers of perfectly ripe, sensuous black and red fruits glide over your palate. There is no heat, jamminess or overripe characteristics. What you do experience with all its lush, velvety, showy fruit is layer after layer of intensity, richness and pleasure. Decanted about 90 minutes, this rock star hits all the right notes.
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4/15/2020 - Kevnzworld wrote: 94 Points
A beautiful balanced wine, albeit still drinking young.
Lots dark fruit and plum with some tannic oak on the finish.
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4/2/2020 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for maybe two hours before drinking with grilled ribeyes at home. Still improving, but also getting to be awfully good right now.
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3/31/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Spontaneous wine night: Great showing and stylistically unlike previous Montroses that I’ve had.
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3/11/2020 - curtr Likes this wine:
Needed a longer decant, enormous wine, starting to shows a glimpse of the future, drink 2026-34.
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3/5/2020 - Melli wrote: 96 Points
Really showing well at this stage!
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2/23/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank at La Grenouille in NYC. Wonderful, ripe, elegant, drinking beautifully.
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2/19/2020 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
If you drink this alongside other 2003 Bordeaux, you will get more of a feel for the wine, and its awesome power and tilled earth and spiced fruit vibe. If you drink this, say, with a 2000 Montrose, it will get outclassed. This is about sheer power, heavy fruit to earth ratios, and density. Its a hybrid wine, crossing new world fruit ratios with Bordeaux terroir. Its as dark as a Bordeaux can get, yet if you look close enough, its a deep sea of garnet. Beautiful alone, and very good in a lineup.. This score is based on a stand alone bottle. Drink or Hold
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2/16/2020 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted at the restaurant (Clarity in Vienna, VA) prior to, and consumed with, the entrees (Wagu flatiron steak and an even better venison strip loin). Started at a 94 and ended up closer to a 96 - dark fruits, with leather/tobacco aromas, and no hint of any roasted character, the '03 Montrose continues to develop and improve. It will be fascinating to watch my remaining bottles over the next decade (or two, if I make it that long!).
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2/14/2020 - d'Artagnan wrote:
Le bordeaux idéal! Frais, profond, très long et superbement équilibré. Jeune et déjà grand. 94-95 pts
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1/26/2020 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
Informal gathering, no notes taken. I’ve crossed path with this wine a couple of times in the past three years. The best bottle I’ve had was a 96/97 points sensation full of black truffles along the ripe fruit. Open and singing after 7 hours in the decanter. Most other bottles were a bit weaker and more muted an closed but always a bit flashier and riper, more new world-ish than your average aristocratic Montrose (due to the hot vintage). This magnum, which was not decanted, showed less ripe and opulent, fresher and more classic than the other bottles but of course, was muted and closed only hinting to its potential. If you open a bottle today, decant it for at least 6 hours, probably even better the day before consumption! 92 points today but definitely 97+ point potential.
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1/20/2020 - TomKathy Likes this wine: 98 Points
Near perfect
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1/13/2020 - Jd6725 wrote: 93 Points
2hr decant. Solid wine but a bit muted. Came out with ribeye and some time in glass but still felt a bit restrained. Maybe in that slightly awkward early drinking window/late adolescence. Will have to revisit. Saw some potential for 95-96
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1/7/2020 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 96 Points
The ‘03 Montrose was seductive on this night, showing it’s ripe vintage character, yet balancing that richness on a powerful frame of regal tannin and lively acids. The nose was gorgeous, displaying a mix of ripe plum, strawberry and cassis, with herbal tobacco, dusty cedar, hints of pepper, and moist soil. On the palate, velvety textures caressed the senses, as tart black fruits saturated all they touched, leaving peppery herbal tones, minerals and a hint of savory pepper, in a large-scale yet still remarkably fresh expression. The finish was unbelievably long, with a complex web of mineral-infused tannins under resonating ripe dark fruits, savory spices and a peppery twang that just wouldn’t give up. It’s not often that I use the word umani in a tasting note, yet it applies here, as the ‘03 Montrose managed to be sweet, savory and even a bit salty. Wow.
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1/6/2020 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double decanted about 2 hours before the tasting.
Deep purple color with some ruby, not showing too many signs of age, but slightly brightening up towards the rim into orange.
Explosive aromatics of tobacco leaf, cigar box, black cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cassis, cedar wood, christmas spices, a touch of flowery notes too, some earthy mineral notes, licorice, also some graphite. It‘s medium-full bodied, with layers over layer of mid-palate depth, has medium+ tannin that is superbly silky (especially in the context of the vintage) and medium acidity. Finish that lasts for minutes. Wow, this is incredibly good, complex and classic, with just a touch of extra fruit from the freakishly hot vintage. Stunning. (97+)
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12/29/2019 - djhammond Likes this wine: 98 Points
Last tasted over 2 years ago when it was just at the beginning of its drinking window, this has moved forward with secondary characteristics now being displayed. This will without question be a 100 point wine in the future, and the only issue is when. To set the record straight the alcohol is a a relative regular 13%, with some reviews claiming levels of 15% or 16%. It is an absolutely magnificent wine, and fully deserving of its general plaudits. It is not atypical of the vintage. Although not over fruited, the nose still has a great richness with blackcurrant, blackberry, old leather, and cigar box prominent. The tannin is still in process of resolving, but the balance with the fruit is faultless. The depth and complexity on the palate and finish is worthy of a first growth in a perfect year. I am in agreement with other reviews that the only barrier to perfection at this stage is the tannic backbone on the finish. I gave this 6 hours in an open decanter, and I think it helped, but I would also recommend pouring the first glass an hour before drinking, as it really developed throughout the evening. I actually feel that another 12 to 24 months will see this reach its peak, but it has a structure to keep it there for at least 3 decades. 98+
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12/25/2019 - Geaux Tigers wrote: 99 Points
After looking at notes here on CT, I decided on a 2 hr decant and that was the trick! First sips were heavenly. My first thought was this was easily one of the best 5 wines I’ve ever had—and it got better from there. The only thing holding this back from perfection is drying tannic backbone on the end of the palate—to be fair we’re splitting hairs at this point. Slight cooling removed the effect. Forest floor, mushroom, herbs, old study/barn, dried blackberry, blackberry, saddle leather, touch of dried blueberry, smoked game, dried cherries on the med-long finish. Good balance of fruit and foliage/earth. Complimentary to smoked ribeye, but drank well even without food. Many, many years left. Drank best at cellar temp, needs to maintain cellar temp to drink its best.
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12/25/2019 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Complex bouquet of cigar box, leather, undergrowth, dark berry preserve, roasted bell pepper and eucalyptus. Palate is full, round, silken with a nice acidic line, leading into a very long, complex finish, perfectly balancing sweetness with freshness and a ever so slight bitterness that lends pressure. There are some fine, sweet residual tannins. More masculine than the Cos but equally great. I fully agree with the notes below stating it is very Bordeaux, and does not feel at all hot, rather in the sweet spot between a fuller, riper and a leaner, more austere style. Very elegant, aristocratic, a fantastic wine!
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12/13/2019 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Similar to prior notes after SO for 2 hrs the night before & a double decant for 2 hrs in the am. With all the air, it still continued to open up at the party for AA. Outstanding & still not at peak, drink or hold
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12/8/2019 - Wine Canuck wrote:
No bricking, ruby to the opaque core. The profile doesn’t show the heat of the vintage at all. Very well managed. The nose wafts complex and classic Bordeaux notes of celery seed, charcoal, red cherry, plum, gravel, graphite, leather, tobacco. Blind I actually thought this was a leaner vintage. The palate is still very well structured with medium plus tannin and acid. Medium finish replaying much of the nose. 13% alcohol.
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12/8/2019 - Oddbod Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is really rather gorgeous. Just opened, decanted and poured. Initially a little closed, with still a surprising amount of tannic grip underneath a wealth of ripe berry fruit and a slightly New World cab nose. Then quickly it started to blossom, with more classic Bordeaux secondary notes emerging on the nose and the palate showing a delicious fruit/acid tension that made it deliciously seductive and moreish. Overall, it was pure pleasure, not at all austere or over-hot, rather it was surprisingly refined and elegant and was one of those wines that restores your faith in Bordeaux as one of the greatest regions.
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11/16/2019 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dekantert. Very Nice!
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11/10/2019 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted probably 2 hours before dinner with friends; drank alongside the '03 Cos d'Estournel with a delicious roast leg of lamb. Both bottles were singing, with the Montrose perhaps a bit more classic Bordeaux and the Cos the slightly more flamboyant. Both were outstanding, with no sense of heat or jamminess in this incredibly hot vintage where the northernmost left-bank Bordeaux absolutely excelled. Tonight I thought the Montrose just maybe an eyelash ahead. Tomorrow I may change my mind. But I would never refuse either of these.
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11/8/2019 - strijbosmh Likes this wine: 100 Points
Fenomenal wine. 2hr decant.
Insane nose of earthy tones, some sandal wood, black and red fruits. Perfect tannins. Not too dry or firm, not to dusty. Just perfect. All backed up with a medium plus body. Wow!!!
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11/8/2019 - ccn Does not like this wine:
Everything I hate about 2003. 15-16% alcohol perhaps? Overripe, jammy, hot. Not rating it as it’s so much not my style.
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10/18/2019 - Vmaster007 Likes this wine: 95 Points
What a great wine, a lot of depths and still a baby that will age beautifully.
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10/12/2019 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
While this is still just a young pup, this is drinking much more advanced than the 2000 Montrose, which I had over the summer. It is a powerhouse wine that will be one for the ages. If you can be patient, I see this aging gracefully for the next 20+ years and becoming a modern day 1990 version. We popped & poured it with only a 10 minute decant. Shocking to me that it was already showing well straight out of the bottle. 80% primary flavor profile and 20% secondary character coming through right now. I will hold the rest of mine for at least another 5 years if not longer.
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10/9/2019 - Ericsson wrote: 94 Points
Bue sur 2 jours, sans changement notable, sans passage en carafe.
Robe prune foncée très légèrement plus claire sur les bords.
Pour moi, le nez est supérieur à la bouche, avec ses arômes d'écurie, brièvement à l'ouverture, puis de mûres, de framboises, de roses, une pointe de savon, encens et bois précieux.
La bouche est très savoureuse, d'abord douce, puis soutenue par une trame acide, sans creux mais qui finit sur des tanins un peu astringents et qui étaient un peu plus marqués le 2ème jour.
Malgré le millésime, aucune trace de chaleur et un grand Bordeaux classique.
Boire ou garder une dizaine d'années.
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9/22/2019 - mchern02 wrote: 94 Points
Two hour decant
Highly aromatic and seductive notes of Dark raspberries, anise, wet leather, and other earth tones. Sweet and balanced medium/light in weight but quite robust profile. Slightly drying tannins with moderate length.
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9/14/2019 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 95 Points
This has developed into another level of maturity compared to my earlier bottle 5 yrs ago. Truffles, soft cassis, oak, licorice. Medium sweetness and a lifting acidity. Medium plus body, intense with soft fine grained tannin. Very long finish with a great balance.
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9/7/2019 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
Poured from half bottle. Beautiful wine, drinking well out of the bottle. We had been drinking some huge new world wines previously and the fruit here held up. Very rich and elegant.
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8/26/2019 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Bu au chalet de Bulle (René) avec la gang des Fouduvin pour
ce beau souper weekend Annuel.
Il a encore pas mal de coffre, des épices, des mures et
un peu de prunes.
Une petite point de fumée vers la fin aussi.
Les tanins sont bien intégrés et assez fins. Long.
Super long et complexe.
Excellent.
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8/21/2019 - nwebstar Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wow. This surprised me from what I thought was a hot vintage. Just so elegant and balanced and quite superb. Singing sweetly and seductively from the glass with everything in harmony. Tremendous mouthfeel and simple more-ishness. Black currant, blackberry, raspberry a hint of fruit spices and tobacco. Lovely experience.
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8/18/2019 - Ary Likes this wine: 96 Points
Montrose 1982, 1989, 1996 and 2003 (JM Amsterdam): To sit down and reflect on; flamboyant and intense. Well-delineated and opulent nose with lavender, red ripe cherries, menthol, iron and tar. Expressive and complex palate with ripe juicy fruits and Asian spices. Smooth and well-integrated tannin in the long lingering finish with good freshness. More 'New-World' and relatively further developed or more accessible than the vintages as 1996. For now 96 points (nose 98) and more to come.
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8/3/2019 - nihraguk wrote:
From Coravin. Too young and possibly in an awkward phase. Lots of spice on the nose, and a somewhat disjointed palate with awkward acidity, hint of greenness and awkward tannins. Didn't have the option of letting it sit for hours to open up. If I had any bottles of this I would leave them alone for at least five years.
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7/16/2019 - Lipsman Likes this wine: 94 Points
A big wine with an outsized personality. Plenty of smooth tannins, cedar and tobacco, anise and tart cherry on the finish. Well balanced and a long finish round out this classy Saint-Estèphe.
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7/9/2019 - Jeffrey Silver Likes this wine: 99 Points
Utterly stunning wine. Took about 45min to truly open up after decanting. Do not pop and pour!!! Classic Bordeaux with lead pencil deep leather with warm cherry 🍒 compote. Absolutely love this wine and so glad to have more. 2003 vintage was vilified by many but a true all star emerged from parts of Left Bank. 03 COS is also a 100 and will be ready to drink in 4/5yrs. Laggy slightly behind its neigbour Montrose
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6/18/2019 - MaxiJacquet607 wrote: 94 Points
After 4 hours open before drinking it, it had still an amazing aroma and his blackberry and tannic flavor was really present. The only thing is that I was expecting a longer finish. It tended to not last long. Still an amazing bottle that can be kept for a few more year to soften the tannins.
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5/30/2019 - drjb Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was a deceptive wine seemingly a little straightforward but then with 2-3 hours breathing in the decanter it revealed a dramatic nose of blackcurrant, dark raspberry, dark cherries and liquorice without over-ripeness. The palate is deep and round with both richness and balance with a fine finish. There is just a tiny amount of clipping on the finish cf the purity of the 2005 but overall this is terrific.
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5/9/2019 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:
Flawed. What a shame.
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4/29/2019 - jmoon Likes this wine: 92 Points
In a dumb phase right now despite few hours slow ox. Blocky dense and dull. 92 because I’m sure it’s a phase else 90.
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4/21/2019 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fortsatt super. Fra første glass!
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3/3/2019 - tacman wrote: flawed
72 .... dull and flat, no fruit and no tannin, no structure
jeez ... I have a case of this left ... I hope this was a random bad bottle
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2/25/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This is a super wine, although this bottle was not as expressive as other recently tasted examples, still, it is impossible not to be wowed by the flamboyant, showy nature. The tannins and fruit are expressive opulent and rich. The showy finish keeps on going. Drink this now, or over the next 20 or more years.
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2/16/2019 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 95 Points
Amazing perfume on the nose. So floral. Like pot pouri! Medium to full bodied. Some licorice. tannins well integrated and more so than the 2003 calon segur drank alongside. The heat of the vintage is evident but well balanced. Will last decades. I say give another 5-10 years. So drink 2023-43+
Served by ST at his CNY party
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2/2/2019 - Ericsson wrote: 94 Points
Servi après Pontet Canet 2012, ouvert et bu, trop frais....en fait ce n’était pas prévu de l’ouvrir...
Après 1 heure dans le verre, il a commencé à montrer son potentiel, puissance, classicisme, complexité.
Seul point légèrement faible, je ressens une certaine astringence en fin de bouche, peut-être due au millésime, et qui ternit quelque peu le plaisir.
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2/2/2019 - maaike2 wrote: 93 Points
8 hours in decanter. Here again I meet my own limitations. A great wine, but I still do not get the sensation of one of the best Montrose ever, as stated by many.(due to my cold today?) Future will solve this issue.
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1/25/2019 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted 3 hours before dinner - still youthful, but very approachable now, especially with food. Pure fruit, long finish, sweet tannins; this still has a long life ahead and will get even better.
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1/21/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 91 Points
A bit more variable than prior bottles, with restrained cherry notes, somewhat astringent and showing VA despite a 4-hour decant. Not flawed, just an off bottle amongst many I have enjoyed so thoroughly (and still a pleasure, even against tough company).
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1/17/2019 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 93 Points
A familiar wine which is ripe, quite ready, and is a bumptious and chewy mouthful of delicious claret. My wotn.
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1/17/2019 - Paul D wrote: 92 Points
2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): A touch reticent on the nose - slightly smoky, red fruit. Complex but quite discreet. Medium/full bodied, lovely on the initial attack with lightly spicy red fruit, touch of mineral, very fine but still quite firm tannins, fresh acidity, excellent length finish. Lovely if in need of more time.
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1/17/2019 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Again, dark but not dusty. Quite smooth a touch of heat on the finish. Reasonable balance. Smooths our with air. The most ‘classic’ so far. Just a touch dry. ***(*)
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1/5/2019 - FransS wrote: 97 Points
The (annual) tasting at Loek's anniversary (His tasting room): Tasting note 5,001: (Only) A tad less than the Margaux '09, showing very young, superb tannins, juicy fruit (soft red and black fruit), freshness, power translated into concentration; a long live ahead.
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1/1/2019 - Rezy13 wrote: 93 Points
2019 New Years Day Tasting (Milton, GA): Very cloudy core with brighter purple rim; youthful-ish, smoke, seemingly bacon fat, violets, smoky mineral, green notes with strong purple fruit, black currants, blackberry and plum; extracted and dense palate, plummy, firm tannin yet there is a rounded fleshiness; a bit bizarre with nose suggesting N Rhone yet the palate was Bordeaux- has to be a large dose of Merlot- I called '01 Pavie.
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12/27/2018 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
This had been open for ~5 hours prior to dinner to slow-ox and settle down. The nose was fairly brooding with non-delineated black cherry. The palate is more approachable and generous. Not at all roasted or over-ripe. Good cedar and earth notes. Long, chew finish. Clearly a wine of pedigree. Upside from here.
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12/27/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Margeaux Brasserie (Chicago, IL): The best showing of this wine yet, at least to me. There's clearly some ripeness on the nose here, but it's counterbalanced by the earthiness. Most importantly, there's no sign of overripeness or roasted qualities here. The ripe and juicy fruit plays nicely with the earth, and the tannins on this bottle are surprisingly more resolved than I'd have expected. Nonetheless, the Parkerian hyperbole for this wine is thoroughly unjustified. It will be a great wine at best, but a candidate for a perfect score? Risible.
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12/25/2018 - vr.bart Likes this wine: 96 Points
Entering its drinking window. On the nose typical Cabernet Sauvignon bdx style. Forest floor. Wet leather. Blue cheese. Cigar box. On the palette it’s soft and fruity. Slightly drying tannins. Quite long aftertaste.
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12/24/2018 - King Julien wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 4 hours.
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12/23/2018 - HowardNZ wrote:
2003 Bordeaux tasting (from 2011): An attractive nose of plum jam, black fruits, sage and spiciness, with one taster detecting earthy and capsicum notes. A controversial wine with grippy tannins, although these softened with the food. Some tasters found the wine attractive while others argued for a lack of structure and a drop off on the palate, considering the wine sappy and woody. Overall, fourth equal of the six wines.
NA = 0, B = 4, S = 13, G = 14, WON = 2
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12/12/2018 - Big Dog E wrote: 95 Points
Different from many other of the great Bordeauxs I’ve drank...more medium/light bodied than others. With that lighter body you still get the great, strong musty nose. Notes of sour cherry and wood that became clearer the longer the wine sat in the glass. A really fun, different wine.
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12/1/2018 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Incredible bouquet, you could sniff this for ages, ripe fruits, cigar box, more yummy than floral. Full and round in the mouth, dark fruits, ripe, lots of baking spices. The tannins are still slightly harsh, but you barely notice it, it is so good, finely grained. There is a tiny bit sulkiness but again the wine is just to nice to complain. An incredibly good wine with further upside!
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11/28/2018 - Simply Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Expansive and full, clearly a riper styled Montrose but expressive, fresh and complex with typical Montrose characteristics, still quite young for a 2003 but very enjoyable now, should hold and develop for many years to come.
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11/25/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured, then enjoyed over an hour+. Lots of ripe black plum with some cassis. Plenty of earth with tobacco hints. Very good weight and plenty of elegant tannins. Seemed younger than 2003, and much better vs another bottle tasted earlier this year.
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11/23/2018 - akim_hobo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep ruby garnet. Expressive nose of truffle, coffee, game, fresh dark berries, flint, flowers, licorice. Med+ body and acidity with med fine tannins that dissolve before the long finish. More dark fruit on the palate with dark chocolate, tobacco and a slightly saline/mineral finish. Enjoyable now, but i imagine there's still plenty of time to enjoy this vintage.
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11/18/2018 - SimonS wrote: 96 Points
Real class, seeming at the start of a very long drinking window. Dark fruit, depth, no undue heat.
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11/11/2018 - Donjcorleone Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for a 2 hours. The nose is beautifully fragrant with blackberry, leather, tobacco, herbal and truffle notes which leads way towards a blackberry and cassis driven palate that coats every inch of your palate, maintains freshness and lingers effortlessly.
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11/8/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points
A Special 40th Anniversary Celebration (Restaurant Daniel, New York City): I wish this had been given more air, but as presented, the wine still echoed previous experiences I have enjoyed, albeit with a touch less subtlety. Aromas of ripe red fruit, licorice and chocolate. Silky mouthfeel, with lush cherry notes, some licorice and black olive, alongside ripe, delicious tannins.
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10/27/2018 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wine & Dine Vol XI (Florhof (Zurich)): Tasted blind as part of a mini Montrose vertical (1996, 2003, 2005, 2009). For me the 2009 out on top, but the 1998 and 2003 were not far behind while the 2005 fell a bit short.
7h decant, and yet initally appeared a bit closed. Despite ~15 years of bottle age very much fruit-forward with marmelady berries, some menthol and sweet spices. Secondary leather aromas gained traction over time.
Tannins still granular and present hence not ideal balance on the palate.
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10/26/2018 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Wine & Dine Vol. XI (Zürich): Mini Montrose vertical 96/03/05/09. A good display of Montrose‘s aristocratic, classic charm. The 96 is fully mature and provides a lot of drinking pleasure even if it‘s not the most complex wine. The 03 is the odd one out, extremely spicy and quite ripe (the others who had it blind guessed Napa) but needs a lot of time. The 05 is completely closed, even after 7 hours in the decanter. The 09 is so intense, ripe and profound but so harmonious and elegant, certainly the one with the highest potential.
TN: Very ripe, highly expressive nose, dark fruit, red fruits, menthol and some black truffles. Same aromatic profile on the intense palate with more forest berries black and reds, more mint/menthol than I experienced in other bottles. Quite spicy apart from the telltale tertiary aromatics. Very smooth tannins and enough freshness to reveal the elegant Bordeaux soul among the new world ripeness and power.
Decanting: Decanted it for 7 hours, the wine was good but it could have needed even more. I would have loved to drink it the next day. Needs more cellar time.
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10/26/2018 - pablopilot Likes this wine: 95 Points
There was this scene in the movie Edward Scissorhands where, after his mad scientist creator died, leaving him unfinished and handless, he was discovered... He looked up at his discoverer and intoned, childlike, "not finished..."
The '03 Montrose is... not finished. Mind you, it is delicious now, beautiful in its own right, just as Edward was. Boisterous, loud, full of plenty of big flavors and scents (rose, rose hips, blackberry syrup, eucalyptus, rosemary and other herbal notes). But not nearly what it so clearly shows the potential of becoming. Those flavors are all in there, but the mix is muddied somewhat by biggish tannin, primarily, and just a general need to resolve, add detail and precision to it's considerable punch-in-the-head impact.
95 is a conservative estimate, where it is at right now more or less. In another 10-15 years, maybe less, who knows, we may be looking at an easy 99 (I don't believe in 100). The '03 Montrose clearly is made in a classic style, built to play the long game. After 15 years since harvest, it seems fairly clear that this is bound to be a winning game.
That said, if you decide to drink it now, why the hell not! It certainly is delicious enough to give plenty of pleasure as it currently stands. We stood for 24 hours then popped/poured; experimenting with more oxidizing service methods might produce an even better result. Though looking at previous notes from people who've tried this, perhaps not so much.
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10/19/2018 - Ericsson wrote: 95 Points
Plus de 2 ans depuis ma dernière bouteille...et le vin a bien progressé.
Passage en carafe de 45 minutes puis bu durant 2 heures et 1/2.
Grenat foncé avec le bord du disque plus clair.
Le nez est marqué d’abord par des arômes de cassis, de fruits rouges, de havane, puis de graphite, d’encre de chine et finalement un soupçon de cuir.
La bouche est super classique pour ce millésime, sans aucune surextraction ou surmaturité, sans sensation de chaleur, même il y a une touche d’acidité.
Les tanins ont commencé à se fondre et on sent une légère astringence en fin de bouche, seul petit point faible de ce vin.
A boire durant les 15 prochaines années.
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9/25/2018 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 96 Points
10 hour decant. Ready to drink but still early window and will improve with more time. Fruit fwd and powerful wine.
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9/20/2018 - kfrench150 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pristine cork with barely a mm of soakage. No bricking or raisining of the colour. Reddish pomegranate purple colour. Lovely refined nose of raspberry, black currant, subtle licorice. Lots and lots of fruit, no pruning or raisining at all. Not at all over the top or hot. Slight herbaceousness adds to the complexity. No perceptible oak at all on the nose. Palate is surprisingly medium bodied for all of the fruit on the nose. Not at all heavy. Very very smooth and almost delicate on the palate. Lovely black and red fruits. Even bodied throughout with a hint of some still unresolved but perfectly ripe tannins on the medium long, dry finish. Classy wine. Kudos!
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9/20/2018 - UFGators Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine shows incredible youthfulness. I fear I popped one too soon. After 3 hours open in decanter this wine has barely budged. This wine is a unique style indicative of the hot vintage. It is fruit forward yet you can definitely feel the edge of the tanins. These tanins will resolve with time and this 2003 will certainly give 1989 a run for its money. I would advise those that have only a few to hold for 5 years. I sacrificed one in the name of science. This wine has tons of potential for aging into a classic.
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9/8/2018 - OmiyaDrinker wrote: 93 Points
Judgement of Singapore (Home (Singapore)): Ripe, bold aromas, kirsch, brooding. Massive tannin but has the acidity to keep it fresh. Needs at least another 5 years to soften out the tannin to then reveal its character. Hints of tobacco, cigar box on the palate. There'll be some magic in this with another 15 years.
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8/20/2018 - Winevestor Likes this wine: 95 Points
We tasted the 1989 versus the 2003. TN for both. Funnily these are both only just hitting their stride and both will be better in 5 / 10 years. Pretty amazing to be saying that for a 30 year old wine (the '89). The '89 is well integrated, red fruit, smooth but still a little singular. It tastes like a 10 year old wine - lots of fruit still. The 2003 is a little more tannic, but still highly drinkable - it will just get better. I don't think the 2003 will be this good in 30 years so I'm giving it a mere 95 compared with the '98 97. However the style and fundamental taste of the wines is amazingly similar - the consistent winemaking. Both have a long - minute finish.
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8/18/2018 - TQ33 Likes this wine: 92 Points
It’s a lovely Montrose. Wine took 2.5 hours to hit its full stride.
Will try in 2019 again.
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7/28/2018 - dchain wrote: 90 Points
From en primeur purchase. Very closed, just a lot of earth, ash and almost a bit tertiary. Perhaps an odd bottle as this is not what others have been describing! Will try again soon.
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7/28/2018 - llink wrote: 95 Points
Blackish red color. Herbs, cassis and a barnyard saddle leather nose. Young palate, deep, menthol, cassis, very tannic with a saline quality. Drying finish. This wine is packed with flavor and seems destined for greatness.
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7/25/2018 - d'Artagnan wrote: 96 Points
En comparaison avec le Cos d'Estournel.
Superbe aussi, plus jeune moins sucré, spectaculaire mais autrement, droit, minéral et très long, voire interminable, mais d’une classe extraordinaire. Quelle finesse et quelle profondeur, alors que tout semble facile, çà se boit tout seul mais il accepte volontiers de danser un balai lascif avec le roastbeef. Un Montrose émouvant. 96+ pts
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7/22/2018 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Saint-Estephe nose dominated by earth, herbal, slight stable aromas around a dark fruit core. That continues on the palate complemented by increasingly intense black truffle notes (with time) and some spices. Velvety tannins, good freshness, well balanced, medium+ aroma intensity. Decanted for about five hours but I had it better in the glass before with a higher aromatic concentration and more black truffles to better balance the astringent character and creating more deepness and excitement. Already good today but a lot more potential some more years of age. If you pop one bottle today I would advise to decant it for ten hours.
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7/14/2018 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine: 94 Points
Maybe not quite yet a "Wow" wine, but it seems destined to get there. Popped and poured, and probably would have been even better with a couple hour decant. The first few bottles of this were more than pleasure, so I had not opened one in a couple of years. But this bottle was pure pleasure, with more potential still on the horizen. With ribeye/frites, and mushroom risotto at La Piquette on Bastille Day.
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6/18/2018 - maaike2 wrote: 95 Points
At Wine dinner FransS: What a "blockbuster"! Incredible rich, warm, fruit, undefined freshness, length. One of the most Spectacular Montrose I tasted. But, let us see what future brings. When this wine develops and secondary notes are going to appear this Montrose could be one of the best ever.
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6/17/2018 - FransS wrote: 96 Points
A tasting at home with friends (At home - Haarlem): Directy after uncorking: fat, vanilla, bit severe, restrained; a day later the wine is a real surprise with a lovely colour, not super deep, showing from start to finish a surprising freshness and totally no 2003-heat.
Black fruit, deep, silky power, still a bit restrained in its youth, in the very long finish the black currents match perfectly with the super ripe tannins; on its way to more points in future.
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6/11/2018 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Weekly tasting group RWP #290: Bordeaux Vertical and Horizontal (@ VD): Beautiful and deep, complex bouquet with mocha, smoke, dark berries and beautifully dosed oak. On the palate smoke, cigar, toast, dark berries and chocolate. Beautiful acidity and a firm amount of sweetness. Full bodied and concentrated wine with powerful and round tannin which promises a future of at least another decade. The wine probably needs more time to show all of its finesse. 94 - 95 for today.
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6/5/2018 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Nose of black cherries, characoal, black fruit... Quite tannic, black fruit, good lenght
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6/2/2018 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Similar to prior note, despite 2 more yrs; delicious, drink or hold
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5/29/2018 - Kaleido Likes this wine: 94 Points
Coravin. Two hour decant.
Huge nose of cassis, liquorice, pepper, spices, cigar box. Ripe and fruit forward, sweet mid palate, pure red fruit; mouth coating, smooth tannins. A little bit of hard edge on the finish. Try in 2-3 years.
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5/17/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Just stunning! The licorice, smoke, espresso, blackberry and cassis perfume almost overwhelms your senses. Full bodied, intense and mouth-filling, the wine coats your palate with, rich dark, opulent layers of fruit. Young and not close to mature, because the fruits are so ripe and the tannins and so polished, you can enjoy this now, or wait a decade.
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5/8/2018 - popopdrops wrote: 94 Points
Fet, deilig, plomme, litt solbær, kakao, sjokolade. Dekantert. Er der. Super!
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4/22/2018 - SergZr wrote: 97 Points
Fresh and fruty. Drink now or during in 20 years.But if now need decantering min 4 hours.
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4/22/2018 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
remarkable!
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4/10/2018 - winebenc wrote: 92 Points
Smooth but not spectacular.
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4/1/2018 - rashcar Likes this wine: 97 Points
Had it at my friend's house last night. Well balanced bottle. Good nose of layers of perfumes, ripe dark fruits and herbs. Finish was mouth coating. Glad I have one bottle in my cellar.
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3/31/2018 - JGA Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is a great superstar left bank Bordeaux I opened it for 3 hours slow ox the nose is unbelievable loaded with dark ripe fruits , herbs , a lot of truffle and earthiness very impressive. the finish was very smooth yet very rich with powerful aroma . I had one bottle only but I’m definitely hunting for more
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3/31/2018 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 94 Points
Third time that I had the opportunity to drink this wine. Again blindly. You detect Bx in the nose but in the palate it is more unspecific. It is dense in colour and taste. It is not sumptuous as the new World but the late palate is for my taste too one-dimensional. I miss the Tension. Drinkable over the next 15-20 years. Maybe I had it too Young again. 94-95
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3/27/2018 - ledocq Likes this wine:
If you don't decant this three hours, you're wasting it.
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3/18/2018 - Wine Trader Likes this wine: 100 Points
One of the best bottles of Bordeaux I've had in the last few years. I keep coming back to it. After much thought, and 3 bottles consumed, I'm ready to give this wine 100 points!
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3/17/2018 - Eric wrote:
2003 Bordeaux at 15 years courtesy of Mark Taylor; 3/17/2018-3/18/2018 (Atlanta, GA): Scorchy and ripe with some vitamin. Absolutely huge, is this Pavie? Or maybe Pichon Lalande? Lovely tobacco notes. Guessed as Cos in the end, but this was Montrose. Ranked 4 out of 6 and the group #2.
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3/7/2018 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
Tasted blind. Decanted for 2h which was not nearly enough as the wine showed its best after three more hours in the decanter/glass. Dark soul, smooth, thick, deep, fresh, layered and so elegant and balanced. Dark fruit, typical left bank, some graphite/pencil, some herbal aromas and the typical bdx secondary aromas with earth, leather, truffles (the latter especially after some hours). A lot of joy. Bright future ahead. 96 with a lot of +++ for the potential with some more years and/or a longer decant.
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3/4/2018 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ami Louis before charmes chambertins Perot-Minot 2006 and 2 bottles of Clos de Tart...
Beautiful round silky but needs a lot more aging
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2/11/2018 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Holy molly Batman!
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2/5/2018 - KenK Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lean dry almost tart red cranberry flavors with a bitter dark chocolate edge. Lots of tannic acid bite. Needs some time to resolve but lots going on underneath. Upside potential
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2/4/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Good Wine with an Exciting Super Bowl (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Small glass, brief note. Lots of ripe fruit, but to me this seemed too ripe and slightly roasted. Others liked this more than I did today.
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1/31/2018 - camachodavalos Likes this wine: 100 Points
Extraordinary. Velvety and smooth. Profound flavored, tobacco and woods
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1/30/2018 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fireworks for January: plethora of top wines with great friends (Black Salt Restaurant, Washington D.C.): Fine perfume on the nose. Color matches the Latour 2003 tasted alongside. This has flavor, depth. The nose shows just a bit of confected fruit. It has raisin. Chris Bublitz preferred it to the Latour 2003. Temperature difference to note: the Montrose was warmer. In any case, it competed admirably with the Latour 2003. A fine wine. Somewhat abrupt on the finish, by comparison, but it conveys a sumptuous tasting experience with plenty of mid palate depth and nuance. 13% alcohol.
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1/28/2018 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 90 Points
Cedar and cigar box nose, dark fruits on a soft tannin palate. Creamy and balanced. OK finish. Nice but I wouldn't pay $200 a bottle for this stuff. Got a couple more bottles in the cellar - time to sell based on all the fawning going on here!
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1/19/2018 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This got a 2hr decant and followed over several more hours. Less flamboyant and more introspective than prior bottles. Vintage character is still there with a forward plush fruit texture atypical of the estate, but otherwise the structure and flavor profile is typical. Smoke and mocha on the nose. Dark fruit profile, big chewy tannins and long finish. Less aromatic, may be closing up a bit but still quite enjoyable now.
No roasted notes at all.
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12/24/2017 - chrishenger@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
Took a bit to open, had the earthly, pencil nose to start. Dark blue fruit on the palate and eventually the nose. Great acidity late palette. A joy with food, but after being in the glass a couple of hours even better. Has a lot left.
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11/23/2017 - Philippe_C wrote: 99 Points
Nice nose of black lead pencil, sous-bois, not very expressive at opening, but gained a lot after 5 hours of aeration!! Very cold black fruit, fresh tannin leading to a sappy aftertaste. This is a vin de garde that has not yet not yet reached full maturity. What is amazing is that this wine took about 5 hours of aeration before it was totally opened up... once it was open it was just amazing wine!!
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11/16/2017 - tcarter Likes this wine: 93 Points
from magnum
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11/14/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
A little more discreet, or quiet than previous bottles, while this lacked some of its showy quality, there was no denying layer after layer of perfectly ripe, earthy fruit, Cuban cigar wrapper, truffle and stone that was found in every sniff. On the palate, the wine is rich, full bodied, deep and impressive. This is drinking great today, and it will only get better over the next several years.
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11/4/2017 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 96 Points
Saturday Bordeaux: Gorgeous licorice, cedar, and rich black currant, deceptively soft but with a lot of supple tannin on the back, very drinkable but with a long life ahead. This is the kind of wine that first made me love Bordeaux more than 20 years ago.
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8/26/2017 - apple1813 wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple with little browning at the edge
Leather, black currant, and ceder wood on the nose
Licorice, forward, full bodied, with chewy tannins, lively acidity and a firm mineral finish
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7/29/2017 - robertek wrote: 96 Points
Compact and massive with an eternity ahead of itself. Yet high drinkability factor already today. This has the potential of another 2-3 points for sure :)
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7/26/2017 - Topper wrote:
This is still a big burly monster. Yes, you can drink it now, if wrestling with a 900 pound gorilla is your idea of fun, but you'd be better off giving it a nice long nap. It'll be great in ten years time.
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7/13/2017 - Fatty Cat wrote: 99 Points
Mid Jul 2017: intense purple red color; creme de cassis, cigarbox, cedar, spices, herbs and a hint of dark chocolate; medium body; satin-like texture; low acidity; fairy-like freshness; very long, mild finish.
Tasted together with a 2005 Leoville-Barton the 2003 Montrose was for me clearly the more noble and smoother wine. Near at perfection.
This bottle was ready to drink, no need to wait any longer. Having that said, there's no need to hurry since the Montrose 2003 has a prolonged preferred drinking window of at least 15-20 years from now (year 2017). Maybe over time he can develop even more aroma/flavor complexity.
In summary, noblesse and smoothness are the best words to describe an absolut outstanding wine monument.
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7/12/2017 - Hypersphere Likes this wine: 93 Points
2h decanting / very good
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7/3/2017 - Michael777 wrote:
What some of the tasters and professional tasters have not yet understood is that there are 2 different qualities of the Montrose 2003, there is the original Montrose 2003 which is convincing of its quality and currently has 98 points for me
Original 2003: Deep ruby rattan, violet reflexes, wider rim brightening, delicate earthy spicy nose, dark berry fruit, finely mined mineral. On the palate solid texture, bitter chocolate, fresh, sweet berries, already shows a great length, very typical Terroirnote, sweet core. Possesses enormous potential,
And then there is the bad quality and unfortunately I have to say how to see the reviews there are very many wrong Montrose 2003
This is judged by me with 91 points, the description of the 2 quality we spare here.
I find one should however really times the producers and salesman strict control because what is sold here around 240 euro is an insolence.
The responsible ones should be truly accountable.
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6/24/2017 - aegerter Likes this wine: 97 Points
I just love this wine!
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5/9/2017 - Mr T wrote:
No 2003 excess. Decanted for about an hour before dinner and while I enjoyed the wine, can't say I got to the wow phase, which was a disappointment. Solid wine...hopefully more fireworks for future bottles
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4/16/2017 - Papies wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for a good 45 minutes.
This is a very classic in style claret devout of any of the issues of 2003 and testament to good wine making ( unlike its neighbour Cos who did not make a good wine) . The wine is at the start of its drinking window and would definitely improve. We would not open another bottle for at least 5 years. Blackcurrants , cassis notes, light touch of earth, cedar and light nots of eucalyptus. The nose is singing but the palate needs more time to evolve further, round and show more. Good acidity and longevity here and a standout forums for all the 2003s we have come across. 94-95 but pls be patient.
Our notes from the 2003 10yr in bottle tasting a few years back - https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=21222&searchId=3109C0CE&UISource=list
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4/16/2017 - CV Griz Fan wrote: 95 Points
This Montrose has a great cassis whiff on the nose. It's definitely a medium bodied blend but there is real substance here. It's got a dense, spicy herbal aspect to the fruit which I like. This is a nice effort. I won on a bid so the price was right too.
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3/26/2017 - assofisso wrote: 94 Points
Turning garnet on the edges. Altough similar in appearence to the 05 this was much more matured, much softer, much lighter. Perhaps more mature then the only 2 years gap would suggest.
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3/25/2017 - rossi.wine wrote: 94 Points
Tasted after the 2005. A bit more discolouration maybe, still very dark core. Sweeter, more concentrated fruit on the nose in comparison, lovely notes of spices, cedar, cocoa, pencil shavings. On the palate dense and sweet, very layered and generous fruit. Soft and rather unobtrusive tannins. For a 2003 great acidity and balance. Maybe slightly drying towards the finish. Very very long. One of the best 2003 red Bordeaux I have had the opportunity to taste, with Las Cases maybe. Unlikely for the very long haul though, drinking very well now. 93-95
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3/23/2017 - kenv Likes this wine: 92 Points
WCC Saint Estephe Blind Tasting (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): Tart black fruit, tannin. Quite backward at this point. Slightly green tannins are a bit of a concern.
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3/20/2017 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Decanted it for 4 hours but that wasn't long enough. The wine opened up in the glass, became softer, more balanced, it was super silky, very dense, intense and powerful. The nose showed lots of black truffle, tobacco, at some degree of black fruits. On the palate are some green aromas, black fruit, dark cherries and again tobacco, earth. It lasted a long 30s+ but here I expected a bit more.
I would definitely wait a few more years or decant it for at least 8 hours (better just open the bottle 24h before drinking?). There is more to come.
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3/12/2017 - djhammond Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine has really transformed in the last 12 months. A year ago, whilst its greatness could be appreciated, it was still too closed to fully enjoy. It has now entered the beginning of its drinking plateau (albeit after 10 hours in the decanter) and is an astounding wine. Incredibly deep aromas of blackcurrent, blackberry, and cedar overwhelm. On the palate there is absolute perfect harmony between the fruit and tannin, and the finish seemed to go on forever, once again in perfect balance. It is almost perfection, full of fruit but not losing any tannic muscularity, reminding you what you are drinking and rightfully living up to its original plaudits as wine of the year. Another couple of years and this should be a 100 point wine.
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3/4/2017 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very dark, black with slightly purple rim.
Intense blackberry and dark spice fragrance. Well balanced and smooth.
Lightly nutty oak, strong ripe cassis flavours, nicely integrated with a little cedar spice. Genuine quality, pure refined flavours. Tannins are big though, ripe but dominant and drying on the finish. Plenty of years ahead, loads of fruit to carry it.
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1/27/2017 - walkerjfw wrote: 96 Points
Second wine of the evening, dinner with Gary and Danielle at Rat's. Seeing all the praise for this bottle, I thought it would be time to check in on it. Double decanted this prior to dinner, about 90 minutes before we drank it - drank over 45 minutes.
Deep ruby/garnet color, no signs of age. Ripe and expressive nose of blackberry, licorice and savory notes. Palate showed dark berries, sweet tobacco, vanilla, sous bois. Rich and full bodied (by Bdx standards...), earth and savory notes through the mid palate. Gorgeous wine all the way through.
Final blend here was 66 Cab/33 Merlot/3 Cab franc/1 petit verdot...I think the merlot content here has really created a plush and expressive wine. Still very young, should drink well for another 20+? Decant was critical here, wine started to show at about 2 hours and continued to improve in the glass...my score probably goes higher in time, would like to have had more time with this 96+
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1/24/2017 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
We decided to nickname this one "Bigfoot." It's tough to get a read on because it's so thick and dense but it pulls that off with a sense of dimension, not merely cranking the concentration dial up to 11, and there's nothing over (or under) ripe about the flavors - after the succession of 12/08/95/10/09, the 2010 is actually the only one that's jammy and out of whack. This will need long aging but it's already impressive and I understand the wows it got at the en primeur tastings, this could very well become a legend.
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1/24/2017 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Chateau Montrose with Mr. Herve Berland (Ripple Restaurant in DC): The roasted fruit has mostly dissipated hence no longer kinky. A slight hint of green which is not unusual in the 03s, keeps the wine fresh and interesting. Beautiful harmonious nose displaying cassis, a hint of plum, green pepper, cedar, milk coffee, eucalyptus, strong lead pencil and earth. Excellent concentration, nicely integrated palate, soft and warm, beautifully layered and surprisingly polished, nice mineral presence and a lovely long silky finish with a hint of cedar and milk coffee at the end. The nose expression is youthful but the palate is warm and round, totally sensual and ready. I believe this will age well due to the excellent fruit concentration. I believe the structure is there but masked by the opulent fruit. Some will disagree. No matter what, it is totally ready to go just like the 03 Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre, Margaux, Latour and etc.
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1/24/2017 - G.H. wrote: 100 Points
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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1/21/2017 - PSPatrick wrote: 92 Points
No formal notes taken. Popped and poured at Elmar’s house, after we had finished the 2001 I brought along for dinner. It took the 2003 a solid two hours before it started to open-up and come into its own. The wine was medium to dark ruby in colour and offered intense violet, forest berries, black currant, some bitter chocolate, some coffee, earthy notes, cedar, spices, black pepper and liquorice on the nose and palate, with medium-plus acidity and tannin and very good length. The medium- to full-bodied wine had good complexity and very good concentration and it was clear that there is more to come with time.
The 2003 and the 2001 shared the earthiness and a mild liquorice note on the backend, but this 2003 was fuller, broader, darker and much more concentrated than the 2001, and will be much longer-lived. That being said, drinking this young, concentrated 2003 was almost palate-tiring, the lighter, elegant 2001 was much more drinkable and would be my strong preference for drinking now. The 2003 clearly needs another seven to ten years in the cellar before it will enter into its optimal drinking window.
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12/31/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich dense broad dark red fruit dominated with nice balance. One of the better 2003 Bordeaux I've had in the past year. Lovely stuff.
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12/27/2016 - etyc Likes this wine:
This was had alongside the 1990 La Chapelle. Some tobacco, earth on the nose. The palate was where this shone - held its own beside the La Chapelle; In fact, this came across (to me) as being fresher and lifted as opposed to the La Chapelle, but at the same time, had similar weight and intensity. Great, and will certainly improve furthur with more bottle age!
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12/27/2016 - Burgnick wrote: 91 Points
Still not a fan of this wine. Prefer 03 cos estournel by a lot. It has some good density but its too modern and extracted for my taste.
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12/26/2016 - etherscreen wrote:
Provided plenty of satisfaction now, but still very young. Hold.
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12/23/2016 - kr522 wrote: 95 Points
very nicely done with depth, a rounded mouth feel and soft integrating tannins.
dark berries, figs, dates, and some earth make for a nice entry that coats the palate and lasts, though if i had one niggle it's a little soft rather than energetic. I think this is hitting it's window of drinkability, and given that some 03s seem to be aging at a fast pace it's probably the right time to be pulling the cork
in my recent experience i'd say better than Mouton and Lafite in 03
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12/10/2016 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
UWS 2016 End of year dinner (@ CdW and KvdK): No formal notes. This wine is beautiful already, but there is still a lot of potential. Good red and dark forest fruits, luxurious oak, some green bell pepper. Waiting until 2024+ will be a good plan for my last bottle. 93 - 94+
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11/29/2016 - olofst wrote: flawed
What a shame, you could notice all the good stuff somewhere behind.
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11/12/2016 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for a couple of hrs, med. ruby, red & dark fruit with flowers & just a hint of tobacco, mod. tannins, long finish; delicious but still young, drink or preferably hold
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11/11/2016 - Lipsman wrote: 91 Points
Subtle aromas of cherry. On the palate licorice, black cherry, smooth but for the leathery tannins, chalky minerality. Saturated flavors yet it is holding back. The alcohol is more prominent than in previous tastings.
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11/3/2016 - solace wrote: 93 Points
Deep purple with ruby rim. Fleshy plums, hint of sweet blueberry, tobacco leaf and cigar box. Opulent nose. Needed a bit of air to gain weight. Slightly dumb at this phase on palate. Acid and earth is blocking the fruit... Finely knitted tannin that isnt yielding the fruit save on finish where there's a flourish of black fruit and vanillin tannin that goes on and on at the back. From a half. Pity to drink now but tremendous potential. Hold.
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10/30/2016 - Barry Rothof wrote: 94 Points
@ Restaurant Vineum in Rotterdam: Earth, black fruit and tobacco aromas. The palate has become more refined then a few years ago with juicy tannins, wonderful complex earth and fruit concentration on the powerful finish.
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10/30/2016 - Smart Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dark red, aroma of fruits after being popped. Silky and full of blackberries with long finish. You won't regret if drinking it now.
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10/14/2016 - dvansteenderen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Small tasting glass @ VINEUM during service, so a brief note. What a delicious Montrose, very very good for the vintage! Sweet spices and ripe.
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10/14/2016 - Burgaddict wrote:
Leiden in Rotterdam at Vineum: Great Montrose. Lovely nose with dark fruit, graphite, earth, eucalyptus. Silky taste, concentrated fruit, soft tannins. Very fine, exquisite Bordeaux.
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10/1/2016 - SonnyChiba wrote: 96 Points
Really enjoyed this one. Was pretty good right upon opening but decanted and drank over next few hours. Not a lot of change. Beautiful nose, deep, with red fruit, mineral, little tobacco. Silky smooth on the palate, not overly extracted or rich given the hot vintage. Complex, balanced, and very elegant. Delicious right now, and likely will stay. One of the better wines I have had recently. Will seek out more of these.
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9/29/2016 - kenv Likes this wine: 94 Points
WCC Blind Tasting of Red Bordeaux 2000-2009 (Home of Chef Andy Plummer, East Greenbush, NY): Black fruit nose. A huge wine with great balance. Quite young and tannic, but with great harmony. In my top 3. Group WOTN.
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9/28/2016 - bbmd Likes this wine: 99 Points
Un nez très classe, de fruit noir mûr, note boite à cigare, épice, fond tabac blond, fumé. La bouche est à nouveau robuste, c'est puissant mais fin, tanins soyeux, denses, précis, whaouh, sur le fruit noir et rouge mûr, note épice puis boite à cigare, pointe encre qui donne de la profondeur, fond tabac, fumé très classe, très distingué. La finale est précise, dense et très longue persistance de fruit noir et rouge mûr, de tabac, de boite à cigare, puis poivron rouge grillé et fond fumé. Très beau vin
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9/17/2016 - acyso wrote: 85 Points
Make Bordeaux Great Again: The HDH Aubrey McClendon auction (Chicago, IL): An example of a bottle that smells much, much better than it tastes. The nose is lovely, with lots of sweet fruit and some of that signature Montrose barnyard (but it's not over-the-top here). The palate's attack is quite promising, with some sweet black plums, but then it hollows out substantially and both the earth and fruit just drop out from under you. While this wine doesn't show much overripeness or heat, the thinning palate gives me a bit of concern. The tannins are a touch bitter. I'm certainly aware of the contradictory note I wrote a few months ago on this same wine; I'm of the belief that the difference can either be chalked up to a different ambiance (this bottle was served as a late afternoon sipper versus a wine at a dinner), or simply bottle variation.
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9/10/2016 - Dehrmann wrote: flawed
Corked! 11madison
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8/20/2016 - Donjcorleone Likes this wine: 97 Points
Opened and poured into a decanter and drank over the course of hours 3 and 4. The nose while restrained still offered up aromas of blackberries, plums, tobacco and truffle which leads way to huge, ripe red and black fruited multi-dimensional wine that is both powerful and refined and lingers on the long finish. Still quite youthful, to be revisited in 2020 but 97+ for now.
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8/20/2016 - aegerter Likes this wine: 98 Points
2003 was a hot vintage and not generally well received, but this is simply awsome! Perfect balance and richness.
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8/12/2016 - tbabes wrote: 89 Points
The fill was into the neck and the cork was pristine. A darkly purple core, turning to red at the rim. Restrained on the nose, with primary and reticent notes of dark black fruits, roasted meat, and hints of cedar. Medium bodied, but a bit flat on the palate; lacking in depth and texture. A bit short on the finish. Quite disappointing; there were no signs of heat damage, but I suspect this was a bad bottle.
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8/4/2016 - whits Likes this wine: 94 Points
It was difficult to decide to pop this open, but I did, then saved for the next day and decanted for a few hours, this is a fatter Montrose, leaning towards the ripe and rich spectrum of claret, sort of like a top shelf red wine from a warm climate, extremely well made, the aromas of dried cherries, berry compote, tobacco leaf and meats, goes into spiced vanilla bean, dark berry, chocolate, cinnamon and mineral on the palate, complex, fleshy, in the drinking window, however this remains young, and will need another five years to show more traces of maturity
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7/28/2016 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
A swathe of European 2003s (Chicago, IL): A brilliant Montrose. This is currently better than the 2005. It shows plenty of that Montrosian earthiness, coupled with some approachable fruit as well, rendering this a much more balanced drink than the 2005 (which is shut down and full of nothing but earth at the moment). There are nascent secondary characteristics developing, and I'd be optimistic about the future of this wine. While it's enjoyable now thanks to the fruit balancing out the stereotypically sterner nature of Montrose, this is certainly a great candidate for aging.
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7/14/2016 - William Kelley Likes this wine: 94 Points
The 2003 Montrose is certainly marked by the warm vintage, though its ripe bouquet of sweet cassis, tar, subtle tobacco and truffle currently shows no overt signs of torrefaction. On the palate the wine is quite open, rich and plush, with refined tannins and comparatively low but correct acidity. This is a lovely wine in its rich, ripe style, but those who like a bit more energy in their claret will want to gravitate towards the ’00, ’05 and ’08 rather than the ’03.
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6/30/2016 - adaptation Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 6hrs, had a few sips in between, very nice. Evolution was great, deep red/purple . some tannins but smooth, very complex , has a lot of life ahead of it. Full bodied, rich , just wonderful, black fruits to the taste. Wow!
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6/18/2016 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank out of a magnum the only Bordeaux which could compete as a pirate in an high end California CabSauv tasting.
Great medley of black fruits, cassis, tobacco and some truffles. Great structure, nicely integrated tannins and good acidity are indicating a long live.
Had the wine 8 days later (sealed in a little glass bottle). Almost as fresh as on day one with even more truffles on the nose.
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6/4/2016 - Jamie Manley wrote: 99 Points
Note to self, do not open any more of your big 03s for at least another 5 years. While thoroughly enjoyable, this is nowhere close to being ready; and I purposely opened this particular bottle as it was the only retail wine store display bottle that I owned. All my others have been stored perfectly. I figured that this bottle may be a bit further down the road. Nope. Rant over, this is a monster of a Bordeaux. A little shy and sinewy on the nose, one still gets notes of charcoal, massive red and black fruit, earth, and some toasty oak. On the palate, this puppy sings and it will hit triple digits one day...many days from now. This wine overwhelms your taste buds with a cascade akin to Angel Falls. Layer after layer of deep dark fruit, clay, cassis, oak, tobacco, graphite, and a hint of pencil. The texture, mouth feel, and balance are exquisite - really in a different league. The color is gorgeous Stanford crimson ( sorry Harvard fans, couldn't resist) with no sign of age at all. Audouzed 10 hours in advance of service. 99 Pts.
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5/24/2016 - RayOB Likes this wine: 95 Points
67 Pall Mall
Nose of cassis, tobacco, earth and spice. Rich complex smooth palate with a long length. The 2003's are showing beautifully.
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5/2/2016 - Paul D Likes this wine:
At Le Bistro du Sommelier, Bordeaux - €100 off the list. No formal note. This took time to unfurl but when it did it showed cedary red fruit, a touch of savour and earth, very sophisticated tannins, generously layered but with balancing acidity and a long finish. Delicious and, on this showing, ready.
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5/2/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
The nose, with its truffle, tobacco, spice box, blackberry, cassis, cigar wrapper and dark cherry nose could not get any better. But the perfume is only part of the show. The main event is on the palate, where this exotic, decadent wine really shows its stuff. Fat, rich and intense, there is intense concentration, silky, tannins and a mouth filling, powerful, yet regal, supple finish that sticks with you for at least one full minute!
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4/22/2016 - Ericsson wrote: 94 Points
Bordal à Bernex (Pingus, Grange, Mouline, Chambertin, Montrose) (Chez moi): Belle couleur bordeaux, brillante.
1er nez sur des notes végétales, cassis, tabac, havane après 90 minutes dans le verre.
En bouche, d'abord très retenu, puis beaucoup de complexité, de rondeur, de charme et de longueur.
Sans doute le meilleur potentiel.
Garder.
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3/20/2016 - Kris G Does not like this wine: 88 Points
unbalanced, way downhill, didn't perform even close to the level it showed a couple of years ago, very poor PQR
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3/12/2016 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 97 Points
6 hour decant. Drank blind vs. 2004 Unico and 2012 Pahlmeyer Blend. Very powerful and earthy. My favorite of the night of 4 Cab blends + Unico.
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3/12/2016 - Miceri Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark red; pleasant fruity nose, ripe, some pepper, strawberry; silky well-balanced attack, lots of fruit, tannic bite; better than 02 tasted yesterday (more fruit, sweetness and power), but not that much better (price tag)
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1/19/2016 - MWiking wrote: 95 Points
Fruktigt och biffigt vin med mycket härliga gröna cab toner, Cassis, höstskog, känns som detta vin sitter på massa mer att ge med lite tid.
direkt från flaskan, tror det kunde gett oss ändå mer med lite tid i en dekander. 95-96
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1/15/2016 - John Pauillac Likes this wine: 98 Points
The wine showed up after a few hours ventilation in the decanter at the top level.
Great complex bouquet, great young and unused paint, and on the palate stunningly powerful, aristocratic, elegant.
Leaving as the palate and neverending. No words can describe, enjoy it.
This is a wine for a century, the Montrose of 2003.
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1/12/2016 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with Herve Berland. 2nd to last among the 6 Montrose we tried.
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12/30/2015 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 Points
Vin puissant et profond, encore très jeune, tannique, grand vin encore bien primaire, à revoir dans 5 ans. 94+ pts
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12/26/2015 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 93 Points
Unlike exactly 12 months ago, when the wine was showing spectacularly with only 1h slow oxidization, this is another 03 that has closed down a bit now (like the 03 Barton recently). While definitively enjoyable with only 1h slow ox, the wine feels a bit tight. Especially on the nose the depth of this Montrose vintage is however still coming through clearly. After about 1h in the decanter at the restaurant the tightness on the palate relaxed with more tobacco coming through in addition to dark fruit and wood spices but the wine is by far not showing as well as a year ago. Fine to medium tannins are round and non intrusive. Medium length today. Hold. 93++
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12/7/2015 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Weekly tasting group #195; St. Estephe (@ VD): The color is blood red and shows the first signs of development. In the bouquet beautiful and ripe dark forest fruits. Round and with perfectly integrated oak in the background. On the palate dark berry fruits, cocoa, chocolate, smoky oak, some bell pepper and spiciness. Beautiful acidity, round and still powerful tannin and pleasant bitterness. Truly great wine, possibly holding back a bit tonight. Around 2020+ this will certainly be great!
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11/17/2015 - AHVinoFile Likes this wine: 98 Points
[Dinner with G&P W & CW at Aux Batifolles, Melbourne; decanted 2 hrs prior] Dense dark collor, purple rim. Tight blackcurrant blackberry bouquet with notions of warm earth, cassis, kirsch, espresso, tobacco, pepper, spice, cedar & smoke. Full, powerful, profound & intense, dense & very concentrated, supple & opulent, multi-layered core of black fruits, bolstered by & in superb balance with substantial dusty tannins, powdery extracts & abundant fine acidity; even at 12 years of age, very little development can be detected; masculine, powerful & rich; vibrant, energetic & flamboyant not without finesse, grace & charm. Long, rich & firm finish. (97.5)
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11/7/2015 - dhlau Likes this wine: 92 Points
A great St Estephe. Drinking well now but still has years ahead. Thick in the mouth feel with balanced tannins and mid palate finish.
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10/29/2015 - BradE wrote:
I liked this more than I expected to. Not overly hot/ripe as some 03's can be.
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10/22/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Chicago Wine Flock..."Wines Bob G Generously Shared" (Lincoln Park, Chicago IL): Tasted double blind in what turned out to be 2000-2003 Bordeaux flight. Forward and lush, without seeming overripe. Black fruit with some green pepper and tobacco hints. Good tannins, short on acid. I recall tasting this en primeur in Bordeaux in 2004 and finding it excessive, so like that it has softened nicely. I would have expected greater concentration from Montrose in this vintage.
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9/21/2015 - melzar wrote: 95 Points
A touch of TCA mares this wine,but there is so much good stuff going on here that I'll try to taste past it. Love to try a good bottle of this stuff. Elegant Claret with no rusticity, and showing no ill effects from this torrid vintage. Probably a better wine with more upside than the highly regarded neighbor Cos d' Estournel, but not quite as friendly to drink today. Well balanced with some unresolved tannins. good acidity and a good finish.
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8/22/2015 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark, deep red/black.
Lovely bright sherbet and cassis, tobacco leaf complexity and a little cedar.
Medium weight, strong but ripe tannins, ripe blackberries, plum, cassis, good acidity. Quite a refined, long, well balanced palate. Delicious drinking, and quite a few years ahead.
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7/9/2015 - conviction buy wrote: 91 Points
Fragrant aroma of cassis, leather in a deep red hue. Oak quite forward in a thick mouth feel, and tannin a little dusty, there is lasting fruit flavor from mid palate and feels powerful. Sufficiently complex but too conc for any finesse, maybe time will tell.
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6/18/2015 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 94 Points
A tremendous wine, ripe but no heat showing despite the vintage. Aromas of red fruit, licorice and chocolate. Silky and seamless on the palate: lush notes of raspberry, currants, licorice and black olive, finishing elegantly with ripe, delicious tannins.
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6/11/2015 - Burgnick wrote: 93 Points
The wine did not fully open up even with a 4 hour decanting. The nose had big dark currants, ink, tobacco, and cassis. It was a Bordeaux made in a modern, big and powerful style. It is a Parker like big and heavy handed ripe Bordeaux. The layers indeed opened up with more time. And the palate was thick, powerful and long. However, it does not have the finesse of a classical left bank Bordeaux. It is still a baby now. It will last for the next 10-30 years.
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5/24/2015 - soyhead wrote:
Nose - roasty, charcoal, mostly oak on the nose
Mouth - big berry fruit, yet sleek, mouthcoating tannins, pencil lead, graphite. Nice but somewhat unyielding.
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5/10/2015 - vindictive wrote:
Someone said "corpulent" in describing this wine and that seems right to me - sort of like a fat golfer. It represents what has changed (some might say 'gone wrong) in Bordeaux. Whether you like this wine depends on what you think "Bordeaux" means. Plenty of material, very extracted, oaky and clumsy? The wine does not have the requisite structure to age well and it is not a good compliment to food. Old Montrose is distinctive demonstrating St Estephe at its best. It often shines with 50 years of bottle age. This wine is nothing like that. The person serving this wine proudly told us that Robert Parker rated it a '99' -res ipsa loquitur.
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5/3/2015 - LWI wrote: 90 Points
31 Vintages of Château Montrose: 1928-2010; 5/2/2015-5/3/2015: Big black current smell, hedonistic, big bodied, almost corpulent. End a bit abrupt, lacks structure.
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4/24/2015 - MWiking wrote: 96 Points
stor näsa, mycket cabdoft, grönt, lite stall, vinbär, tobak höstskog och ett härligt djup.
smaken är köttig, gröna stjälkiga toner ganska mjukt med en del taniner kvar, underbar kropp & Syran är verkligen där. Solmogen frukt, tobkak och ett härligt djup och bra längd i vinet. Jag tycker att ett vin som detta behöver mer tid, denna flaska kom upp sent på kvällen och dekanterades väldigt snabbt. et hade nog varit ändå bättre om det fått stå en stund till. Dock ett helt lysande vin. Montrose är alltid bra! 95-97
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4/23/2015 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Har skrivit om det så många gånger tidigare så att se mina tidigare noteringar 2014-11-12
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4/23/2015 - Ramberg wrote: 95 Points
Nose with leather, stones, cherries, blue fruit, green herbs and vedgetables, chocolate, some solvent/alcohol present.
Palate shows big fat fruit, with silky fine tannins, dust, leather, some tar, dry wood and high acidity.
This is still young and very fine, with excellent balance and structure, especially given the vintage.
I liked this allot!
(94 – 96)
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4/17/2015 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Ett riktigt bra vin.
Se mina noteringar 2014-11-12
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2/28/2015 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Not moved at this stage but the potential was looking right at me. It reminds me of the 2003 Pontet Canet's before they starting unfolding. Hiding behind all the fruit and oak was a beautiful potion in the making that needs some foresight.
Right now: Alcoholic nose, lots of red fruit, noticeable oak, long, long, long finish...Not ready. Avoid temptation for 5 to 25 years...
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2/15/2015 - MarkMich wrote: 95 Points
Great wine and drinking beautifully now. I love Montrose on the nose with it's classic earth and pencil shavings. Lush dark fruit, hints of cocoa and gravel on the palate. Balanced with fine tannins. It will be interesting to see if this wine lasts another 15 years
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2/7/2015 - ludwigbpm wrote: 95 Points
Très grand Bordeaux dans le millésime. Riche et décadent mais à la fois sérieux et autoritaire. Bien entendu ce n'est pas le Montrose le plus frais, mais il est réellement équilibré. La finale est incroyable, sur des notes chocolatées et de mûres.
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1/30/2015 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 Points
Dégustation Henschke : Mount Edelstone Shiraz et Hill of Grace Shiraz: Un grand Bordeaux puissant, mais fin et élégant, aux tanins dodus, superbe. Il avait heureusement reçu beaucoup d'aération de sorte qu'ils nous paraissait à point, mais je suis persuadé que le meilleur reste à venir. Superbe. 94+ pts
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1/27/2015 - JJA Likes this wine: 97 Points
Same commentary as my note back in 2007. But the wine is aging beautifully and has improved since then. It is more luscious and smoother than my last bottle. This is an outstanding wine. Enjoy!
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1/19/2015 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Return to San Antonio II (Barbaro): Popped and poured, still expressive from the beginning. Dark and smoky, with a plum palate, but lush seamless fruit. A long finish adding some coffee notes. Doesn't seem advanced at all compared to many ‘03’s. Tannic, but nothing compared to the Barolo’s. I was holding mine for longer but maybe I should open a bottle next year. 93-94
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1/13/2015 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 94 Points
50+5+15+17+7
Had it together with me friend thomas in Johannes at Amsterdam. By the way great restaurant with perfect service. the nose is a sensation: etheric, mint, eucalyptic,dark berries especially black currant. in the palate not that much expressive, the finish is middlelong, you feelthe lack of acidity to make it a real big wine, in my opinion drink it in the next 5-7 years, the tannins are too weak ti give him a lot of more potential, compared to leoville poyferre from the same vintage clearly second winner
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12/30/2014 - rdsboca Likes this wine: 88 Points
We killed a baby. Will be better in a decade. A bit over oaked right now which overwhelmed really beautiful fruit. Amazing structure. Too hard to judge right now.
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12/30/2014 - Jozefs wrote: 95 Points
As others have noticed, this is drinking really well now. I wouldn't take the risk of ageing this many more years.
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12/30/2014 - fatfishzsy Likes this wine: 95 Points
有足够复杂度，香气强有力，这是一支男性的酒啊，现在喝真的早了，酸度支撑的也很好，入口够浓郁
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12/26/2014 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 96 Points
Having read Harley's note below, only slow ox'ed for about one hour and took to restaurant. This was superb from the very first glass and did not really move much over the course of a fantastic dinner at Italian restaurant Al-che-cciano in Hokkaido/Japan. Hard to believe this is the super hot 2003 vintage as what you get is a medium bodied Bdx with everything in balance and harmony. Nose of forest floor and some earthy notes. Berries and other dark fruit on the palate with some emerging notes of tobbacco. Perfectly integrated fine tannins. Long finish. What is there not to like here... Wonder if it will improve from here, could develop more complexity and a touch more length, but drinking so well now...
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12/26/2014 - ilee Likes this wine: 97 Points
Mindful that RP gave this wine 99 points some months ago, I tried not to be influenced. But still, I found much to like about this wine, and precious little to complain about. There are two ways for wine (and people?) to achieve perfection -- either by being stunningly amazing, or by being so quietly, elegantly and beautifully free of any faults. I think this wine certainly has elements of the former, but its performance in the latter is what impresses me. Beautiful mineral nose that is true to its geological place; vibrant, deep and complex flavors; and just that perfect balance of weight, tannin and alcohol that has you polishing off half a bottle even before you know it. I am going to take off a few points for youthfulness, but really, it's very enjoyable to drink already.
PS: Remaining third of the bottle is delicious the next night, with no trace of oxidation, but is noticeably more open, expressive not to mention heavier bodied. One of those wines that need to be decanted well in advance if you want to catch it at its best
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12/20/2014 - Dbrane wrote:
If tasted blind I won't be able to guess a 2003. It's not overripe nor full-bodied like some '03s. In fact it was very elegant and very moreish. An achievement for Montrose in this vintage though it did not reach the highs of great vintages.
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12/18/2014 - Harley1199 wrote:
Judgment of Madrid, time for aficionados plus a late dinner (Vila Viniteca - Madrid): Decanted for more than an hour. That wasn't a good idea.
A delicate, complicate vintage even, that shows evident signs of maturity, then air didn't help.
Very evolved colour, aromas of bouillon cube and cooked meat and really nice on the palate with acidity and strength enough to go ahead.
Our sommelier told the wine was almost perfect when he opened the bottle.
Third red of the nite.
Decantada por más de una hora. No fue una buena idea.
Una añada delicada, complicada incluso, que muestra evidentes signos de madurez, así que el aire no ayudó.
De color muy evolucionado, aromas a sopicaldo y a carne estofada y en boca muy rica con acidez y fuerza suficiente para salir adelante.
Nuestro sommelier nos dijo que la botella al ser abierta estaba casi perfecta.
En tercera posición entre los tintos.
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12/18/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Still showing a lot of color, smoke, licorice, truffle, forest floor, fresh herbs, leafs, cigar wrapper, Asian spice and cedar chest make a compelling perfume. On the palate, the wine is powerful, dense and mouth filling, yet equally balanced, supple and rich. Everything is exactly where it should be. This is not a candidate for 50 years of aging like 1989 or 1990, but in its own way, it’s close to the same level of quality. The finish remained alive for more than 60 seconds. Bravo! This could be the wine of the vintage! The wine was produced from a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
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11/28/2014 - Cheungtp Likes this wine: 96 Points
Always a joy drinking this wonderful Montrose. No sign of over ripeness or cooked flavor, St Estephe got thru the 2003 hot vintage well and produced high quality wines indeed. Dark purple in color, seductive bouquet of dark cherry, floral, graphite, cigar and fresh mint. This bottle appears just a touch lighter than the previous one, but still excellent, with great concentration and richness, velvety texture followed by juicy fruits, coffee and mushroom. Long finish as usual and truly enjoyable. However, this time, it comes up against a true star, the 2003 Lafite Rothschild. No competition needed, just pricelss memory of drinking two splendid wines.
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11/12/2014 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
62 procent cabernet sauvignon, 34 procent merlot, 3 procent cabernet franc, 1 procent petit verdot.
En intensiv doft med frukt av svarta vinbär och blåbär, lite rostade kaffetoner, mineral, läder, kubansktobak och äntligen början till mognadstoner med både stall och höstskog.
En otroligt koncentrerad smak med lager på lager av komplexitet, elegans och otroligt lång eftersmak.
Trots att det är en 2003:a och höga poäng av Parker så har det inte alls den här syltiga, kokta frukten utan detta är ett kraftfullt vin men ända väldigt fräscht och elegant. Har druckit det flera gånger under de senaste 3-4 åren och det blir bara bättre och bättre.
En otroligt bra Bordeaux från 2003 hur otroligt det än låter.
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11/12/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 95 Points
Wines @ John's (West Hartford, CT): I would be hard pressed to pick this as a 2003 wine, as there is so much freshness to the corpulent fruit. Cassis, plums, violets and stones. All about potential here, as the structure needs to resolve a bit more and the secondary flavors need to evolve. A powerful wine with great poise.
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11/6/2014 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
Parker recently upgraded this so I had to take a look at one of my bottles. Indeed a pleasant surprise. In the past I found it a bit monolithic and hot. This is now, 10y of age, much better. Expressive nose of forest floor, blue fruit and secondary aroma with a noticeable barnyard touch. On the palate still fruity and dense but much more tame than before. If you like Napa structure/sweetness but Bordeaux aromas, this is your bottle. Decant before drinking. 96-97
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10/31/2014 - pavel_p wrote:
Cabernet Sauvignon at C's: Again tried to have a sip from what was left in the bottle but this wine has a fair bit of sediment so could not really make a fair assessment. Did not seem overripe or overly big despite the vintage. NR
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10/22/2014 - Nicholas81 wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic wine. Opened an hour before consumption. Nose was of sous bois, cassis and red fruits. Palate was extremely elegant and refined with very fine tannins. Wine exhibited secondary aromas and flavors of earthiness and cigar box. Long and lingering aftertaste.
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9/27/2014 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 90 Points
Paris Tasting in Zwolle (again... at last) (De Librije - Zwolle): Kleur: Robijnrood, hele lichte verkleuring aan de rand Aroma / bouquet: Eerste indruk: gebrand aroma, zwaar, wat tabak, minder verfijning en minder complexiteit dan verwacht. Smaak / Afdronk: De smaak van deze wijn is meer uitgesproken dan het aroma, mooie frisse zuren, krachtige tannines met een heel subtiel groen karakter. In de afdronk wordt de wijn wat hoekig en drogend in de mond. Algemeen / potentieel: Niet helemaal zuiver. Geen slechte wijn, maar niet conform verwachtingen. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Smaak / Afdronk: 16 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 90/100
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Color: Ruby, very slight discoloration on the edge Aroma / bouquet: First impression: burnt aroma, heavy, some tobacco, less refinement and less complexity than expected. Taste / Finish: The flavor of this wine is more pronounced than the aroma, lovely fresh acidity and powerful tannins with a subtle green character. In the aftertaste the wine some angular and drying in the mouth. General / potential: Not quite pure. Not a bad wine, but not as expected. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Taste / Finish: 16 + General / potential: 8 = 90/100
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9/25/2014 - Lipsman Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking super smooth, medium/full bodied, completely balanced and spherical in taste with nothing sticking out. An elegant wine that has not developed any secondary complexity, but is absolutely delicious to drink now. This should rate higher with some age.
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8/3/2014 - Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine wrote:
This bottle was completely closed. No nose not much of anything. So much for the people that say the 03's are early maturing. Far from ready
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7/28/2014 - Barry Rothof wrote: 93 Points
ON THE PATIO @ OEGSTGEEST: A wine with smooth tannin, great fruit concentration, black tea and earth. A wine of power, concentration and enormous texture as well as longevity – this was deep and big.
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7/26/2014 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Willpower failed and I had to try this wine for the first time to see where it was. Decanted for 3 hours, and it needed it. Thin film starting to form on bottle and tiny amounts of lose sediment. The color is showing a little age at the rim, but the wine on the palate is still clearly youthful. More red fruits than I expected with black and blue fruits underneath. Some spice, cedar, acidity and still firm and slightly course tannins. A 30 second finish that you feel will lengthen as the wine matures. There is a lot going on with this wine but it will be a couple more years before I come back to it.
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6/27/2014 - VoteferPedro wrote: 94 Points
Moderate amount of sediment and decanted for two hours
Classic deep cedar aromas and juicy currant and cassis flavor on the palate. This is a fairly complete package of what one hopes for in a modern bordeaux. This was excellent as is but did not evolve much over 4 hours and that suggests significant youth. It was wine of the night for my tasting group.
I feel this has a good 20 years of life in it but if you want to enjoy it now, decant it for several hours
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6/19/2014 - Mike V wrote: 95 Points
Wow closed for an hour but quite a wine. Very dark dark blackberry expresso with substantial tannin. Coats the mouth and goes on forever. Will get better.
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5/18/2014 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Slightly closed to start but this one keeps opening up and grows on you all evening. Opulent aromas of dark fruit , tobacco, coffee.
Lots of tannins still but a fabulous balance. Long warm palate but not with heat. Lay down for another 10y or so, but maybe try next one in 5. There's more to get out of this bottle for the patient wine lover.
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5/16/2014 - Lilja Likes this wine:
Didn't try enough, so won't rate.
A lot more open than the 2008 Montrose tried a few weeks ago. Here's plenty of leather, cedar and blackcurrants.
Starts of fairly harsh, but after a few hours in the decanter it's a lot smoother and pleasant. Great intensity and great length.
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5/8/2014 - Lord Rayas wrote: 95 Points
more expressive than a few years ago. ripe and opulent. but nowhere near the complexity of 89,90 yet. good potential.
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5/5/2014 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 91 Points
Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, St. Estephe (Rodwell House): Mid to deep ruby, the wine is open and attractive with aromas of blackcurrant towards cassis, marinated black cherries, spice and wood char. Feels like a warmer year with a touch of prune and orange peel.
Full-bodied and broad in the mid-palate, filled with ripe black fruits, spices and oak notes. Quite an ambitious, powerful wine with a rich texture and gravelly tannins. The length is persistent, but I find the wine big and bold and not that "Bordeaux-like", almost slightly out of focus. There is a warmth and open-knit about the wine, yet it all holds itself in balance. Tricky to call but perhaps it needs time to show itself and for the structure to build around the fruit core.
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4/20/2014 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Otroligt bra vin!!!
Se tidigare noteringar 2013-01-05
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3/29/2014 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
Very rich, opulent and bold, but still far off a napa cab. Quite an elegance with the tannins still having to mellow out... Great future ahead
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3/23/2014 - stealthman_1 wrote: 95 Points
Very large and chewy. Not as complex as the '90 was at this stage. Very enjoyable, but was overshadowed by the '92 Dominus this was drank against. Excellently balanced, a bit jammy, my wife guessed Bordeaux, but she thought it had a lot of California in it. From 375. Case in wood left.
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3/15/2014 - ilee Likes this wine: 97 Points
Dinner at home with Mrs L, PH, VK and Ms C (At home): Decanted for 2 hours. This is one of those wines that does everything right. Pungent perfumed nose, rich dark berry flavors, plush mouthfeel, rounded tannins, faultless performance. I particularly liked the sweet hints of incense bobbing up occasionally amidst the stony, smoky endless waves of dark fruit. Just when you start to think this wine is already very enjoyable, the ever-present (though hardly obtrusive) tannins remind you that you've just popped the cork on a juvenile. For those of you friends out there who have a few bottles of this and want to try one for yourself by all means do so, but the majority of your bottles should be left for the 2030's when it will be stupendous. I've decided that if HK is underwater by then, I'll live on a little boat with a small stash of this wine safely stowed below deck...
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3/13/2014 - damo2576 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark purple, brown hue. Developed nose, plums, tobacco some leather and spice. Medium + tannins and medium + finish. Secondary flavours starting to come out, tasted blind, obviously left bank Bordeaux but did not think would be as old as this. Think needs couple more years to integrate.
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12/24/2013 - Goldans Likes this wine: 94 Points
The wine looks inky colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Forest floor, Espresso, Cedar, Black Pepper, and Tobacco.
The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long at least for 45s
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12/15/2013 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Occasional tasting group (@ My place Bordeaux 2002 plus some other nice wines.): Consistent with previous notes. Exclusive dark cassis juice and oak with cigar, cedar, smoke, earth etc. Same on the palate. Great complexity and length. In this stage it is also a bit herbaceous and showing some bell pepper. 96+ for tonight and around 2020 probably a few points more.
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12/15/2013 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
EWG Conrad's: Big, purple color, black fruit, very big, one dimensional. Didn't get much out of the nose, but others found it very expressive.
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11/21/2013 - JulianSkeels wrote: 94 Points
Came across as very young. Drank over 2 weeks, but never found a 'sweet spot' for me - needs another 10yrs at least in the cellar. Found it difficult to drink much at a time - tiring almost - not due to the concentration rather lack of acidity. A good wine, and I'm sure I will rate it 2-3pts higher in the future, but I would still much rather take 2 cases of the 96 Montrose over this.
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11/18/2013 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 95 Points
Chateau Montrose is as well equipped as any other classed growth to deal with extreme heat, given the clay in the soil, which holds water and the proximity of the river. This is why, quite possibly Montrose is the wine of the vintage in 2003. It is more evolved than the 2005, with classic left bank notes of berries and cedar. It is still tannic but already gives a lot of pleasure. It is full bodied, very rich and concentrated without being unbalanced. It is mouthfilling, setting all the senses alight. It is certainly the best 2003 Bordeaux I have tasted.
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11/12/2013 - Yagil wrote: 95 Points
Great 2003 Bordeaux (Wine Road Tel-Aviv): nose: rich earthy and ripe dark fruits with chocolate notes
palate: rich, powerful, full bodied, grip tannins, excellent complexity, long quality finish
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11/3/2013 - Grinner wrote: 94 Points
17th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (The Lyon's Tree House): Wow! Another great wine in this flight. Cigars, stone, mocha, tar all competing with the black fruit for attention. Asian spice more obvious on day 2 and so were the tannins, but they are supple and the score didn't drop IMHO: 94.
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10/28/2013 - Lipsman Likes this wine: 98 Points
Muy rico suave! This wine is liquid velvet. Tons of fruit, perfectly balanced, drinking so well now it will be hard to keep corks in the rest of my bottles, but... this will develop secondary aromas and flavors becoming a multi-dimensional wonder if given some time. Well worth holding, but if you have a few bottles, do open one to savor it. Try again in 2018.
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10/11/2013 - Strikermax wrote: 96 Points
In de neus zwoel, zoetig fruit, tabak, drop. In de mond goede concentratie en balans, voldoende zuren. Stevige tannines.
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10/11/2013 - Zweder Likes this wine: 96 Points
Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2003 plus some extras.: Beautiful bouquet with cassis, graphite, licorice, smoke, tobacco and exclusive oak. Same on the palate with a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. Concentrated black forest fruits, firm and round tannin and beautiful bitterness. Tasted this wine blind beside Cos, Montrose was the winner by far tonight. Great wine, early maturity now and a future well past 2020.
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9/22/2013 - comfycat wrote: 93 Points
long after taste, balance structure and soft tannin, still can age for another 3 to 5 years
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8/3/2013 - Cheungtp Likes this wine: 97 Points
It's with great pleasure and gratitude to my best buddy DP that we get to drink this splendid 2003 Montrose again. Young? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely! This gem is simply brilliant and lovely. Opaque inky colored, attractive bouquet of creamy dark cherry, earth, graphite, cigar and a hint of menthol. On the palate, wow, pure, velvety, full bodied, loaded with black and red fruits, coffee, cocoa, the aromas spread thru the entire palate with so much ease. Smooth, chewy tannins, and a great long, satisfying finish. The claret is loaded with personality, masculinity and elegance blended perfectly.
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7/26/2013 - LIE-user Likes this wine: 98 Points
In the nose very tight. Minerality. It really shows it's potential.
In the mouth it puts enormous pressure and tension on your gustatory sensors. No passing by here. The wine is erecting like a giant infront of you "here I am!". You feel the heat of the summer 2003. Nonetheless it also has very sophisticated structures and very wide landscape of elaborated flavors.
This really has the potential to write wine history when it reaches it's full maturity and in my humble opinion could par with the 1990 and reach 100/100.
For us it was the perfect start on a Friday evening to start a hot summer weekend.
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7/14/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
Montrose, Bevan, Champagne, Lopez, Castelgiacondo++ (Jane & loren's home): So after a few fast ageing 03's, I thought I would check in on these as I had not had one yet. No worries here. This is drinking well now, but still has a way to go before peak. Slow-oxed for 6 hours. Purple in color. The nose is Bordeaux; cassis, some kirsch, bit of cedar with an under layer of fresh tobacco/earthiness. On the palate, this is awesome. Delicious. Complex yet tightly layered. Cassis, black raspberries, firm tannins, some oak. Long, long finish. Will improve, but I ma glad to have opened one bottle now.
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7/3/2013 - Kriz wrote: 96 Points
Château Montrose / Tronquoy-Lalande tasting; 7/2/2013-7/3/2013 (Ciel Bleu (**) Amsterdam Okura hotel): WOTN. Stunning! Beautifully balanced on both nose and palate. Tannic, still very young, black and red fruit, wood. But most of all: balance. And for such a warm year as 2003 was, this wine has freshness which holds it all together and makes it easy to drink and to pair with food. Very very good.
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6/15/2013 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Helt fantastiskt vin! Men nu har det inte samma kraftfulla frukt längre. Börjar sluta sig lite. Nu skall man nog spara resten av flaskorna några år
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6/10/2013 - pekingunther wrote: 93 Points
From DM - This wine has a long long way to go. It is really a baby, but even at this stage (as quiet eloquently said by Iain Seow "This is a beautiful wine"). It has a lovely tannic structure and lots of lush fruit that is not overpowering but very prevalent. Obviously a Cab dominant wine, but with some of the softness of a blend built in there. Looking forward to the next DM on Jade's 21st :-)
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5/18/2013 - Cheungtp Likes this wine: 97 Points
Birthday dinner gathering with 2003 wines (Hong Kong): This wine is simply beautiful. Great profile, dark ruby with no ageing sign at all, long legs. Bouquet is seductive and complex, layers of dark/red fruits, cassis, earth, stone and cigar. Rich, dense, concentrated mouth feel with juicy fruits, licorice, minerals and hint of oak. Jeff Leve once said you can drink or eat it, if you try a bottle of this, you'd know why. Delicious tannins, round, subtle, complimented by a long long finish filled with jam and tobacco leaf. The best is still to come for the 2003 Montrose. Stunning!
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5/16/2013 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Expressive nose of dark and dried fruits with smoke and earthy tones. Big and dense entry with strong but ripe tannins. Clearly with a southern touch. A very "fruity/modern" Version of a St.Estephe but without being too hot or to jammy. Freshness could be higher though. Everybody on the table liked it.
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5/9/2013 - Miceri Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark red; concentrated fruity nose; very concentrated, good fruit
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5/7/2013 - igaf wrote:
Deep garnet, barely showing any age. Complex, dark-toned nose with plums, some prunes, spice, raspberries, balsamico. Med+ body. Interesting, but very dark and oaky palate. Concentrated, quite tannic, hiding the fruit. Spicy finish. Tannic, oaky aftertaste with traces of black fruit, quite long, slightly bitter.
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5/2/2013 - Melli wrote: 98 Points
Wine of the night in New World vs Old World tasting. Amazing wine that "drank" a lot older. Might have guesses 1986 or 1989.
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3/7/2013 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Se tidigare noteringar. Precis lika fantastiskt denna gång!
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2/24/2013 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Return to San Anontio (Ducru Vertical); 2/21/2013-2/24/2013 (Monty): My blind, slow ox for 6hrs. This was a dark brooding Bdx. Nose was a little shy, but showed dark fruit, smoke/tar, and mocha. Quite complex on the nose. Palate with liquor-like blackberry and plum, but coarse tannins and the faintest hint of green/mint. Merlot profile, with a hint of maturity with some tobacco character. Finish was long and seamless with the palate, with repeating dark fruit, earth and tar notes. This was a massively structured and fruity wine, though I'm not sure it has the elegance of '90--more massive and masculine. Bigger scaled than '89 and '96 too, and in my limited experience, no real comparable vintage of Montrose. The more experienced Bdx palates nailed this as '03 St Estephe, but missed the producer. 94-95
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2/17/2013 - Rubinstein wrote: 98 Points
What a Wine, tasted side by side with cos 2003, What a sunday afternoon. Cos more feminine and seductive. Monty more power and potential. Both wondefull Wines. St. Estephe should be proud. Empressive freshness and balance.
98+
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2/14/2013 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tasted blind. Beautiful nose of dark berries, black currant/cassis, earth/graphite and some spices and cedar. Full-bodied and very dense, medium+ tannins and a medium acidity add some grip. Very long. This is still pretty young, but already surprisingly accessible for such a big Montrose.
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2/9/2013 - Morg Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes before dinner. Leather, cedar, vanilla on the nose. Velvety tannins, excellent balance and mouthfeel. An incredible wine that's likely to get even better. Those popping a cork now will not be disappointed though.
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1/24/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Tobacco, cedar chest, cassis, forest floor, espresso and cigar box aromas make their way to the perfume. On the palate, the wine is all about power matched with grace and elegance. Long and intense, with sweet, roasted berries, slightly dusty tannins and cassis in the finish. Drink this now, or age it for years.
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1/14/2013 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Weekly tasting group #058; Bordeaux left bank 2001, 2002 and 2003. (@ VD): Beautiful and classical bouquet which is still a bit locked, but shows beautiful and ripe dark forest fruits, beautiful and exclusive oak as well as some lavender. On the palate ripe dark forest fruits as well, some good chocolate, beautiful oak, a beautiful balance between acidity and sweetness, soft bitterness and powerful tannin. Showing its potential, but also still very tight and not ready yet. It is best to wait until the early 2020’s at least and it will certainly drink nicely until at least the end of that decade. I have one bottle left, so I hope I have the patience to wait another decade. 96+ for tonight.
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1/10/2013 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
Wineflock - 2003 Bordeaux (Kenny's): My #3, Group #7 - Full opaque purple/black. Big stewey nose of prune and black spice. Nice big juicy black fruit with hints of chocolate on the palate and a nice long finish. I like this one more than the group...
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1/5/2013 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 97 Points
Helt fantastisk och intensiv doft med mineraler , svarta vinbär, tobak, mörk frukt, rök och aningen menthol och peppar. Helt magnifik smak som bara exploderar i munnen. Lager på lager av elegant frukt och samtidigt tanniner med tryck men elegant silkiga. En eftersmak som bara fortsätter och fortsätter. Detta är fortfarande ett ungt vin men helt magnifikt. Ett av de bästa unga Bordeaux jag druckit. Bra mycket bättre än både -82 , -86 och -96 som jag tidigare druckit med stor glädje. Kommer med åren definitivt att vara i nivå med årgång 1990. Verkligen ett stort vin. Helt magiskt!
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11/23/2012 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
Souper Bordeaux 2000-2003
Joli nez de fruit noir, un peu de vanille, de cèdre. Bouche ronde, plus exotique, très 2003, un peu de chaleur en finale. Très beau vin, mais il me semble un tantinet …péripatéticienne! 92-93 pts. À l'évolution, j’avoue hésiter, j’ai l’impression de l’avoir sous-évalué.
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11/1/2012 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
The 03 Bordeaux dinner at RIS in DC (RIS Restaurant, Washington DC): Wine No. 8 - Jammy, subtle, green, eucalyptus. Another big scale wine with opulent fruit. Guessed Angelus.
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10/29/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
2003 Chateau Montrose hooks you with the first sniff of its exotic, liqueur aromas complicated by wet earth, incense, blackberry jam, cassis, cedar wood, tobacco and truffle. This is so rich, you can drink it or eat it. The ripe tannins are incredibly silky and lush. The expansive, palate coating finish gets better and better as it remains on your palate for over 60 seconds. This is worth buying today. While it’s not cheap, few wines are this good.
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10/20/2012 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Adding in older tasting notes - I remember this being an absolute show stopper, big fruit, incredible nose, very ripe but good. Needed even more time
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9/22/2012 - jkoenen wrote: 90 Points
Cos-Montrose Battle (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): Nose of vegetable soup and ripe red fruits. Elegant and fresh nose. Seems reticent at the moment, lacks definition and complexity. Some burned flavours, too. Tasty but not remarkable. 17,5/20
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9/14/2012 - octopussy wrote: 97 Points
Drunk at a rather cool temperature. Rather dark and slightly oily Bordeaux red. In the nose, this is absolutely fantastic with a lot of warmth, warm and wet earth, prunes, some cassis, power and elegance. On the palate, while it still has some edges, it's quite accessible, shows a lot of class, depth and layers of fine minerality. Wonderful.
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8/27/2012 - Employee500 wrote: 95 Points
Terrific right now...Open and expressive wine, very appealing. Blackcurrant and cassis, expresso.
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8/25/2012 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful bouquet with exclusive oak, cedar and sweet spices. The wine is still reticent and classical and needs probably another decade to reveal what it has in store… So around 2020…..or later.
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7/1/2012 - Pinot Evil wrote: 96 Points
Beautifully subtle allowing all the pepper, casis and dark fruits to be enjoyed. Nicely balanced with a lasting finish.
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5/26/2012 - llink wrote:
Pepper, funk, cassis and some oak char on the expressive nose. Really rich and deep on the palate. Still youthful but not fierce or tannic in any way. It has a balance that belies its power and should the components stay in harmony this will live up to its early promise. Well done
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5/26/2012 - p020371 wrote:
Fantastic wine
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5/12/2012 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful bouquet! Luxurious oak, dark cassis, and a discriminating bit of pepper. On the palate beautiful cassis, cedar, luxurious oak, a touch of sweetness and beautiful bitterness. There also is that bit of white pepper and green bell pepper, which reminds of cabernet franc again. Beautiful freshness. This is still a baby and needs at least another 5 - 8 years of cellaring. 95 for now and several points to gain.
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5/6/2012 - Melli wrote: 96 Points
Exceptional wine. Very pleasant now with no worries for a couple decades.
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5/3/2012 - Biglama wrote: 94 Points
rode kleur, veel rijpheid, fruitig, dikke geuren, houtgebruik, intens, licht klassiek, kersen, smaak is breed en intens, veel inhoud, makkelijk drinkbaar, rijpe zachte tannines, heeft nog een mooie toekomst
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4/29/2012 - The Vinsider wrote: 95 Points
Doug brought this. What a wine! Though still a baby. Firm, focused blackberry, candied cherry, tobacco leaf, sweet mint. Oak in perfect harmony, tannins softening nicely, good acid framework holding everything together. Still needs time but, wow.
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3/20/2012 - jackspsp wrote: 100 Points
WOTN of the night, amazing what magic 6 hours' decant can bring about. Velvety tannin, wonderfully rich but not over-extracted at all.
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2/24/2012 - Eric wrote:
Stupidly young. Very pure, deep, brooding, very clean, and shockingly mineral. This wine has decades stretching out ahead of it. Insane future.
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2/20/2012 - FakeAccount wrote: 95 Points
Young as hell. Decanted over 72 hours... wait another 10 years.
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12/8/2011 - traxxx wrote: 94 Points
7 hour decant with huge red fruit flavors dominating with light chocolate on the finish. Firm tannins throughout but not overpowering. Next day the earthiness started to show. Red fruits still there on nose and palate combined with moist earth and cocoa. Long 30 second finish with smooth tannins. Think this has many years to go but drinking fantastic now if allowed to open in a decanter. Great wine!
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11/25/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 92 Points
Chateau Montrose vertical (Tower Club): Alcohol :: 13%
The nose is sweet and seductive the complex aromas of mocha, blackcurrant liquor, perfume violet and lily, graphite, smoke meat and tobacco leaf. 2003 is a really hot year hence some of the wines suffered from high alcohol and lack of freshness. However, this is not the case for Montrose. The 2003 has massive concentration of succulent sweet ripe fruits but has this incredible purity and freshness for the lift and definition. The palate is superb intense, powerful but well rounded and lush. The tannin here is massive but it is sweet and polished that expand across the palate with incredible grip and dimension. The finish is a bit disjointed and turned a little bit softer than 05 & 09 which also display charming sweetness of dark fruits and mocha like aftertaste. This will need decade in the bottle to develop. 92-94+?
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11/1/2011 - Harrypotter wrote:
Initially the low concentration of Brett was masking much of the wines identity and purity(showing mainly tobacco aromas). After 4 hours of decant the brett aromas almost receded entirely, showing pure red cherry with a touch of ripe strawberry with a heavy dose of heavy toast barrel charr. On the palate following the decant this wine is thick and unctuous. With ripe cherry flavors, a lively balanced acidity and plenty of tannin to age. 95+
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10/27/2011 - Jozefs wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful red and dark fruit-aromas (intermingled with sweet spices) on the nose, especially on the second day. Much more balanced on the palate now than a few years ago, but it is still early days... the searing acidity still dominates the sweet and sour fruit, but you feel the power and this will surely become something special with additional bottle age (7 years?). Not overpowered by alcohol or heat in any way; tastes classical, but a bit fruitier than in most years. What's wrong with that? Nothing! If you drink it now, do it for the science... and because it is just very tasty in a primary kind of way.
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10/3/2011 - Shorepower wrote:
På magnum Köttig, det är det första jag tänker. Svarta vinbär, jordighet. ;Moget, ändå balanserad, mycket kraft och tanniner men ändå elegant. Vinet kan säkert ligga längre men för mig så var det perfekt att dricka nu.
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10/2/2011 - Kris G wrote: 96 Points
impressive and complex aftertaste, already very open and full of flavor, and will improve with time, best Montrose I have tasted in my life
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9/1/2011 - Wine_lvr wrote: 92 Points
Montrose Vertical Tasting 1989 - 2005 (Work in Progress) (Switzerland): 3 hour decanted bottle, tasted blind: Very dark red almost black in color. Nose of rubber, leather and dark berries. The wine is still very tarty, dry and is loaded with tannins (will they ever go away?). Below the tannins one can taste notes of black burrant, black berries, pepper. Sure this wine has an enormous potential, but at this stage it was just no fun to drink. Wait until 2020 or decant for more than 3 hours.
Note on decanting: Suggest > 3 hours as the same wine in the glass next to it was decanted for 3 hours and was equally backward as the just opened bottle.
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9/1/2011 - Wine_lvr wrote: 92 Points
Montrose Vertical Tasting 1989 - 2005 (Work in Progress) (Switzerland): Tasted blind: Very dark red almost black in color. Nose of leather and dark berries. As the decanted Montrose 2003 this wine is also very tarty, dry and is loaded with tannins. Notes of black burrant, black berries, pepper. Strangely enought this bottle was a hint more balanced as the 3 hour decanted bottle. So this wine just needs patience! Wait until 2020 and hope the fruit will outlast the dry tannins.
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7/28/2011 - kenv Likes this wine: 92 Points
WCC 2003-2005 Red Bordeaux Blind (Yono's Restaurant, Albany, NY): Bright red fruit nose. Doesn't smell like any other wine here. Very tasty up front, but a short tannic finish. Not in a good place now.
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7/13/2011 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Trip’s farewell dinner! (Cities restaurant - Washington D.C.): Great showing, ripe, intense, some ash perhaps?
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6/17/2011 - ews3 wrote: 92 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 4th Annual; 6/17/2011-6/18/2011 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): solid fruit profile and a step ahead of the poyferre
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5/12/2011 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 89 Points
Well I can honestly say, this is not an over-ripe, over-oaked spoof bomb. Can you tell I'm a little jaded? My first thoughts for modern Bordeaux is how bad it isn't. Presently this wine doesn't offer a lot of pleasure; I would put it in the fast asleep camp( or worse). It reminds me a little of the 1989, although that wine maybe had, at least, a more approachable fruit profile. So today the wine is muted on the nose, but it still smelled of proper claret, has a nice dark fruit profile, a little earthiness and plenty of austere tannins. It comes across rather lean and middling. Is the goal to make a wine that is really rather undrinkable for 25 or so years with hope it will blossom into something that is amazing? Have I been led to believe that this is perfectly acceptable? Is it? I don't know. I am shocked at how many people gush over this wine today. I don't have a problem drinking this wine today to cure a little curiosity or assuage a little doubt, but really this needs a lot of time. The big question is will time help or will the wine dry out and miss the fruit completely. I will hold out hope and reservedly give the wine the possibility of positive improvement in the bottle.
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5/4/2011 - jc-mmb wrote: 94 Points
not blind to me, but was to others. what a difference 18 mnths makes. this has clearly gained weight and everything else. color was beautiful dark garnett. nnose of dark fruits, pencil, some barnyard earthiness and sweetness. palate has really improived. nice lush coating. full of dark fruits, chocolate, spice and lead. finsih has really improved and fleshed out. not quite at peak yet, but this puppy seems to be improving exponentially.
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4/29/2011 - dxpian wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful purple color that is vibrant and opaque. Opens with an herbal note with some steak and black pepper in the bouquet, leading to amroas of black currant, blackberry, dark cherry and licorice with pencil shavings, vanilla extract, mint, coffee and tobacco. Full-bodied and rich, this wine shows great concentration with blackberry, ripe cherry and plum on the attack. Tannic mid-palate, velvety and chewy, with medium-high acidity, forming a solid structural support for the fruit. Long and balanced finish with layers of fruit coming in waves of refreshed concentration leaving hints of vanilla, cedar, leather and Chinese herb. Very big wine, but balanced and well-contained. Best after 2013.
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4/2/2011 - FransS wrote: 96 Points
Deep garnet/ruby colour, ripening red and black fruit and puppy fat and again puppy fat.
When you have countered these elements an army of very ripe tannins attacks your papillas.
It is a war you wanna lose, because at the end, let's say about 5 tot 10 years every taster
will win the battle with the 2003 Montrose. At the moment it is a fantastic fight withe a giant wine.
I'am not giving now the (informal) 100 points Parker did recently, but I think, in future, this wine
will gain more points.
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2/17/2011 - Ary Likes this wine: 96 Points
At Rest Beddington AMS tasting Montrose (1982, 1990, 1995 and 2003). Deep purple/ black colour. A fantastic nose with thick, ripe red fruits as plums and cherries. Herbs, spicy and sweetness. Full bodied and lush in the mouth, with thick ripe fruits. High concentration but very fine and elegant. Great wine.
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11/12/2010 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very dark, inky.
Gorgeous and deep. Black berries, mulberry, ink, fragrant with no hard edges.
Smooth, rich and youthfull. Plums, blackberries, essence of cassis, firmish close with big but fine tannins. Lacks slightly on complexity but a delicious drink regardless.
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8/26/2010 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 Points
Horizontale Bordeaux 2003: Nez sur le café, le cassis et les cerises. La bouche est ronde, veloutée, large. Il a un style viril mais civilisé, qui me fait reconnaître St-Estèphe et Montrose. Savoureux, long et parfaitement équilibré, un grand vin en devenir, déjà très agréable. 94 pts
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8/23/2010 - taipanli wrote:
Far too young. Still in development. Tannins still dominate but structure is clearly present. Not an unpleasant drink at this stage but this needs at least another 5 years. No score.
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8/22/2010 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
My 1st time with Montrose 2003.
Opened it 10 hrs before testing/tasting along with Pape Clement 2003 ( 93-94/100 ) and Catena Zapata 2006 ( 95-96/100) and Rene Engel 2003 : Clos de Vougeot ( 92-93/100 WOTN )
2003 Montrose is widely opened today. Good deep, very elegant and silky in nosing. Layer upon layer, dramatic, hard to believe it's from 2003 vintage. Balance is superb, full elegant body, texture is seamless, structure is perfect, with the very snooth and very long-linger finished.
The best Montrose I've ever had, better than my favorite 1989 and seems thriller than the profound 2005. Don't miss !!!
Drink now - 2035............................98-99+/100................................
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7/18/2010 - gsquireh wrote: 98 Points
This full-bodied, deep, rich, dark purple colored wine blesses us with a wonderful nose of cassis, cedar, blackberry, plum and tobacco spice. Delicious, balanced, perfectly structured, the sweet tannins will live a long life in this long finishing beauty.Drank the first of fifteen and I am glad that I did. The other 2003's will have a standard to live up to.
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4/12/2010 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 96 Points
Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, St. Estephe (Rodwell House): [Tasted Blind] Deep ruby with a wide orange rim.
The aromas have an initial volatile flicker but display toasty oak, coffee beans, intense ripe black fruits and dark chocolate (80%).
The entry is big, gutsy and richly textured with a core of blackcurrants, dark chocolate and blackberries alongside some fresh spices of oak infusion.
Super complex, and full-bodied, the tannins have a furry texture but a density to them that shows a well-structured wine; a soft to lively acidity. Clearly a warmer vintage, the wine shows extract and, to an extent, builds the tannins to feel a little brutish at times. A superlative wine this shows multi-layers of a top growth (super second?). Fantastic, persistent length.
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3/19/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
The OC Blind Crew (Kimera--Irvine, CA): Juicy, dark but still lean in tone with cherry, spice box and what seemed to me like the tell-tale herbal note of bordeaux. Nice long finish and a nice wine.
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2/12/2010 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Wineflock - Quilceda Creek Intro/Retro (Home): Group #10, My #6 - Full deep red color. Big bright candied red fruit nose. Bright with dusty cedar and tobacco notes. Nice balanced rich red/black fruit with cigar box notes on the palate. Long round tannic finish.
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1/23/2010 - pian0_player wrote: 94 Points
Beautiful wine, although not as impressive as I had hoped. Dark core of Blackberry, cola, and mineral. Layered and complex, powerful wine. Nice wet earth notes. Drinking well now, but should develop further. It is a backward wine that falls a bit short on the palate. It does have a beautiful long finish though. decanted for four hours.
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11/14/2009 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 91 Points
Paris Tasting in Zwolle (De Librije - Zwolle): 2003 Château Montrose (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe) Kleur: Diep robijntood, veel concentratie. Aroma / bouquet: Subtiele neus, heeft alles maar vraagt om inspanning om zich volledig te presenteren, donker fruit. Smaak / Afdronk: Krachtige aanzet, wijn heeft duidelijk nog tijd nodig. Krachtige zuren, uitgesproken tannines. Veel structuur, maar op dit moment nog meer een eet-wijn. Algemeen / potentieel: Vrij jong, veel ontwikkelingspotentieel. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 12 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 7 = 91/100
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10/18/2009 - bibendumrrb wrote:
Very good -- needs to sit a few more years.
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10/14/2009 - Alex H wrote: 92 Points
Canadian Tbone meets montrose; 10/13/2009-10/15/2009: At first taste, this was flat and sourish but after an hour in the decanter...the pedigree showed! My goodness...this opened up to show glimpses of its glory to be. Smoky barnyardish with green capsicums but hot stone minerality showed with very well ripened black fruits. Excellent structure that is perfectly soft though firm. The fruit has depth and length yet the tannins give it the right stucuture and rigidity wihtout making this any ole hot 03 vintage tramp of an easy going wine. This has the boobs as well as the brains and class to answer the toughest Q&A question on the economy and market trends. Very enjoyable to be in the company of. In fact, the aromas grow on u like a drug addict would to the highest grade of aromatic pipe smoking.Excellent and sexy texture and a lingering mouth watering finish. Very accessible with decanting now but I see lots of life in this wine.
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6/15/2009 - ken-yyz wrote: 89 Points
Disappointing given the expectations. In a vertical of older Montrose, this came across as being very monolithic and simple. Not very bordeaux like.
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3/28/2009 - sfqwino wrote: 96 Points
Oh my goodness. This wine is gorgeous.
Delicious ripe berries and dark fruits, graphite, cedar oak, some nice spices. Great intensity and power, yet very balanced, elegant and silky. The complex flavours harmoniously build upon one another into a very long mineraly finish. Really well made and in a league of its own. Very delicious now, but this wine has a long promising life ahead. One of the best 2003 Bordeaux tasted to date.
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3/28/2009 - Alex H wrote: 93 Points
Thematic tasting of Bordeaux 2003 (Crystal Wines): Oh my..my my... big elegant nose of blackberry , blueberries, green capsicums, smoke, sweet berry liquer, mocha and framed by vanilla oak and lifted by animalistic notes. What is interesting is you get more and more exotic spices with airing. This wines explodes with one big green bell pepper! bomb...that smokes out to a dense conundrum of beautifully ripened dark and red fruits. Delicious and approachable with faultless finesse. Excellently structured wine that carries the front to the finish in one perfect flowing train of flavours. The finish is just amazingly lengthy for ...30s ..40s...a min...and i can still taste the last bits of mocha notes waning away gently on a bed of thick juicy tannins. Awe-struck bec ause this still has so much more potential going for it.
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2/28/2009 - blanquito wrote: 92 Points
This was served blind- I guessed a 2005 Left Bank (Leoville Poyferre), as it didn't have the tell-tale praline so many 2003's possess (others guessed the 2003 Pavie if that says anything!). This wine was clearly young but not hard at all. The fruit was primary but evident. If I had to call the style, I would have said a really high quality Cali syrah, as the fruit was spicy and exotic, not akin to Cab/Merlot in profile. Some called it a "monster"--I thought its weight was only moderate (concentration of fruit, mouth-feel, structure and length), but that will undoubtedly change with 10-15 years in the bottle. It was definitely very pure and clean (no brett or funk), and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't wowed after all the great wines in the line-up. Perhaps it was a bit inscrutable after tasting so many mature Bordeaux. This bottle was double decanted 13 hours prior to drinking.
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1/25/2009 - jc-mmb wrote: 90 Points
young, even with decanting. some barnyard notes but not overwhelming. fruit is there but certainly not showing its stuff yet. mouthfeel is slightly astringent but again the fruit and earth are there. quite a bit of tannins still overwhelm to some degree. this will get a lot better with time.
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1/20/2009 - beachbum wrote: 88 Points
Montrose Vertical Blind
1 hour decant - no where near long enough
purple margerine container nose - did nothing for me
not the same Montrose complexity - like a 98 beaucastle, why do people like this?
no bordeaux characteristics at all
tannins ripped my mouth
i really did not get the high 98+ parker rating - mine may be up for sale if after 10 more years there is no change
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12/28/2008 - jsebiri wrote:
solid juice , lots of nice fruit .....very good bottle of wine didnt let breath much 90-92 points
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9/12/2008 - Paul D wrote:
UK Wine Pages - Chateau Montrose Vertical (Le Colombier, Kensington, London.): Very open, ripe nose, fresh cassis and bilberry fruit, oak, but also attractive floral notes. Very concentrated on the palate with lots of ripe, mouth coating tannins, bright, vibrant fruit, fresh, linear acidity and a very long, balanced finish. Surprisingly approachable now this has also got all it needs to make old bones. ***(**).
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7/19/2008 - jonphillips wrote:
Too Young!!!
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5/25/2008 - redpine42 wrote: 90 Points
Barnyard flavors and smells, lots of tannins not well structured wine. Very disappointing after having the 2003 Paive a couple of weeks ago.
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3/26/2008 - gregsp wrote: 95 Points
Great earthy / barnyard nose, with full, complex structure on the palate, but this needs several more years before its really ready.
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1/5/2008 - yuan wrote: 96 Points
months after last time,hint of dark chocolate,strong finish.very nice indeed!
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12/10/2007 - zimmy07 wrote: 91 Points
Blueberry, spice and toasty oak. A very inviting mid palate building with some structure. However, end abruptly and somewhat lacking on the finish. Still very young
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12/8/2007 - psmith wrote:
Drank over two days. Ripe blackberry and cherry fruits with a graphite and char character. Really young and hard to read on the palate - firm, agressive tannins. Some alcohol evident. Clearly a good wine, but not surprisingly needs time.
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11/27/2007 - Goldstone wrote: 92 Points
Ch. Montrose Dinner (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): Dense, alluring purple colour. Gorgeous welcoming nose of oak, good fruit and classic Bordeaux aromas but surprisingly forward for its age. Like the 2004. it has an interesting Californian way about it but remaining classically Bordeaux. On the mouth.....wow...tons of lovely fruit and already beautifully poised between fruit, tannin and oak. Lots of grip and rather closed, especially in terms of its potential length, but is already showing sufficient hints of its future greatness to mark high.
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11/19/2007 - Art_Vandelay wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby core with a narrow rim. Youthful nose with exotic black fruits, smoke and expresso coffee. Super-dense palate with powerful, chewy tannins, low acidity and impressive length. Everything is in place. What was Clive Coates on about?
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11/11/2007 - Jason R. wrote: 96 Points
Very Good
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8/7/2007 - Siggy wrote: 96 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Steaks & Montrose (Dave's House): Very ripe and jammy, with intense flavors of crushed blackberries, minerals, and coffee. Delicious and primal. The power of the fruit holds the fierce tannins in check, at least for now. Obviously way too young, but this looks to be a stunning Montrose. WOTF for me.
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8/7/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 95 Points
Another Tuesday Night in Minneapolis (Montrose 82, 86, 89, 90, 95, 01, 03, 04): Decanted about two hours before serving. I'm not usually a fan of young wines, but this showed amazingly well. The nose offers an intense blend of red and black fruits that dominate any possible secondary characteristics at this point. A bit jazzy on the palate with bright fruit displaying amazing concentration and flavor. Perfect balance. Awesome length on the finish. I can only imagine how good this will be when fully mature.
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6/27/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Very lush, powerfull and concentrated. The mouth feel is opulent. Floral aromas, wood and red with black fruits. This is a knockout
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6/8/2007 - jamiekutch wrote:
This was fantastic. Clearly great already this was stuffed with everything good. Exceptionally well structured with delicious fruit this paired with our Porter House to a T. A great glimpse into a future legend that clearly tastes like great Bordeaux.
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5/26/2007 - JJA wrote: 95 Points
This is really terrific. Beautiful aroma of brown sugar, dark cherries and plum. Very approachable right out of the bottle, albeit hot. Remarkable for such a young wine. Full bodied, coats the mouth. Chewy, big and bold. Sumptuous. Wow. This is great. Even my picky wife loved it. Time to stock up.
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5/13/2007 - kushned wrote: 95 Points
Great and will be extraordinary in time..
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3/10/2007 - godx wrote: 91 Points
Day 2: Bottle emptied halfway and re-corked and left for 24hrs. Dark ruby red in colour. Nose gave an initial blast of dark fruit with cinnamon and chocolate. Tannins have mellowed a little, but still palate gripping. Very smooth and silky wine. Flavours of cherries, pepper and cigar smoke. Lengthy finish bringing mocha and cedar box. At first sweet flavours prevailed, but then gets more earthy on the mid palate and finish. Seems to have lost its complexity overnight. More simplistic and less flavorful tonight.
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3/9/2007 - godx wrote: 93 Points
Day 1: Opened and served right away. Nice dark ruby red in colour. Initially, a powerful blast of manure, wet vegetation and mold came from the glass. These overpowering scents blew off, giving aromas of barnyard floor (dirt, manure, hay, wood) with underlying smells of dark cherries and popcorn. Very interesting and complex nose. Gigantic mouth feel. Again, tons of firm, palate gripping tannins. Flavours of mocha, cherries, cedar box and green vegetables. Like the Pavie, the loads of tannins made it difficult to discriminate all the different flavours. This wine has tremendous complexity and sophistication. 2+ minute finish of cherries and tobacco. Flawlessly integrated from start to finish. Structured and extremely intricate. When this wine peaks, it will be close to perfect.
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1/28/2007 - yuan wrote: 95 Points
very black red,nose of delight fruits,hints of cedar,cigar,dark chocolate,medium-full bodied now,so so so silky in mouth with good acidity,lots of cherries,extremly elegant wine.now it is a little bit shy and gentle now,give her more years,I am convinced it will get super.not as spice as lafite,but more approachble.excellent,much more potential than 2002.I give it 92 now,but must be over 95 years later.
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1/8/2007 - llink wrote:
Deep purple color. Ripe fruit aromas wafted from the bottle right after uncorking. Popped and poured over a 3 hour period, watching the Buckeyes unravel on national TV.
The nose is a rich mixture of blackberries, gravel, a bit of menthol/licorice and oak notes. The palate is incredibly large framed, with deep densely packed flavors and a sweet, tart, lush mouth feel. This is very tightly wound and tannic, but the tannins are so fine and buttress a finish that goes on for 45 secs. This has so much evolution in front of it, but it was surprisingly pleasant to drink tonight, paired with a grilled tri-tip.
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12/24/2006 - 82bordeaux wrote: 96 Points
Black to the rim. Classic Bordeaux notes of cassis, toasty oak, violets. Very long on the finish but surprisingly light on it's feet. This will be the last one I try for 10 years though. It is a can't miss classic.
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11/29/2006 - MRichman wrote:
2003 Bordeaux Horizontal at Post House, NYC
Deep, dense, juicy, smooth. Some olive. Dark notes but not roasted. Huge. My #3 of the night.
A
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11/2/2006 - JScott wrote: 93 Points
Opened at Winos '03 Bordeaux, needs time and air. Dense, rich.
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10/8/2006 - gorm wrote: 96 Points
Deep purple red. Very intense nose of blackcurrant, other dark berries and some earth. Extremely intense with a big big structure. Impressive, but will need a lot of time to be truly pleasurable. Rating: 96+
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6/24/2006 - JasonD wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for approx 4 hours and drank over the next 3. The nose was dominates by sweet cherries, followed by rasberry, and licorace. This is the 3rd time I have tried this wine and this bottle did not show the monster tannins of the last two. While they were there they matched the ny strips wonderfully.
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6/3/2006 - dbkitc wrote:
Very dark garnet – thick. Wow, this is a typical Bordeaux nose on steroids – cedar, red fruits, cassis, smoke with a piercing eau-de-vie intensity (though not at all alcoholic or out of balance). Putting your nose in the glass is like looking at a beautiful lamp and turning on the light. The nose literally sparkles with intensity. This wine is a big step over the other ‘03’s tasted tonight (hard to believe) – Mr. Parker nailed this one. This is going to be monumental, with time. Classic flavor profile, no non-traditional flavors just great intensity. A classy effort that should not be touched until 2020. (19++)
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6/2/2006 - jrufusj wrote:
TTG#8: Old Barolo and Young Bordeaux (Shunju in Tokyo): A bit more gentle than the Latour, but equally dark and also mighty damn dense. Perhaps a bit of herbal character and clay to go with the deep dense black fruit, licorice, and structure. Good intensity, very rich mouthfeel, and seems in balance, but – as I said above – Bordeaux this young is wasted on me.
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2/13/2006 - madeiradog wrote: 95 Points
Montrose Vertical and Others Dinner (Afghan Kabob): Opened and decanted for 8 hours and it was still singing when we finished the last drop. The nose is fantastic - moving in all directions from leather, chocolate, smores and spice. Super long finish with good tannic backbone and the right balance. No heat at all in the finish. I have only tasted a few of the greater older bordeaux's and the flavor profile is that of a young superstar. This can only get better and better.
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1/23/2006 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very deep violet color with hints of blackcurrant and licorice, some fresh new leather as well (not a hint of brett), with silky tannins and great palate presence, and a very long finish. A wine for the ages.
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12/24/2005 - Jozefs wrote: 96 Points
Opened at 16:19 CET and poured a glass. Nose dominated by graffite and animal blood. Some spices. No noticeable alcohol. Texture of palate is almost sirupy: it coats the moath and is thick and mouthfilling. Suprisingly restrained and balanced for a 2003 (not at all like the Troplong Mondot I had recently) and recogniseable as Montrose: graffite, meat, animal blood, tar... This bodes well for later this evening.
22:00 - Not much evolvement, but some black fruit is shining through on the palate. Still chewy and mouthfilling, very structured. Putting this away until the next day.
Next day (evening): Still not much evolvement (certainly no oxidation or degradation). The fruit is slightly more prominent, especially black cherries and berries. All the rest is still there... balanced and restrained.
The third day (evening): I used a different glass for my last taste (Riedel Vinum Extreme Pinot Noire - Nebbiolo instead of my usual Vinum Bourgogne). I'm now getting more on the nose, apart from the blood and graffite that are still present after three days. Now also dust, black coffee, a hint of chocolate and impressions of black fruit and fruit syrup. On the palate still no signs of detoriation. This remains a balanced, structured wine in need of several years of aging. The palate is dominated by graffite, meat, animal blood, tar, with additional notes of black fruit and it syrup, black coffee, and a very slight hint of liquorice.
In conclusion: this is a great wine in the making and if the Montrose tradition holds it won't be ready before 2015 at the earliest (if well stored). I'm upping my score to 96+.
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3/30/2004 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Bordeaux "en Primeur" Tasting and Rhone side visit; 3/29/2004-4/2/2004 (France): En Primeur tasting. Very ripe, powerful and firmly structured. Massively backward and brooding. I expect this will need at least a decade to provide pleasure, possibly longer, but the structure is certainly there to achieve balance someday. My friends enjoyed this much more than I did today.
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