Cork in good condition. No bricking. Full bodied. Tannins fully resolved. Aromas of graphite and cedar. Flavors of dark fruit, tobacco, and gunpowder. Long finish. Fully mature, drink now. A characteristic Bordeaux from a less than stellar vintage.
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1997 Bordeaux wine was another in the series (1957, 1967, 1977, 1987) of rather poor vintages ending with the scary number 7. But this well aged bottle of Montrose is another example that great châteaus often bring something very juicy, classic and elegant into the bottle even in those years! Ripe blackberries, cassis, cigar, graphite and gunpowder in the nose and on the (medium intense and long) palate. BoW 18/20
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PnP. Nice nose initially, but fell apart completely after 90 minutes. IMO, Montrose is one of the most overrated Bordeaux along with Pontet Canet and Leoville Poyferre. Those wines are for investors who blindly follow Parker (which makes perfect sense actually), not for drinkers like me.
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Mess of a year, hell of a wine. This is as good as it's going to get. Bouquet meets you as soon as the cork is pulled, and maintains after decanting. Fully resolved tannins. It's elegant, svelte and lithe; and a complete delight.
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Une petite bouteille à déguster tranquillement avec les gnocchis maison à la roquette/ricotta et zeste de citron avec mozz di buffala,tomate cerise et huile de basilic. Un nez superbe qui annonce un Bordeaux avec une belle fraicheur. J'aime de plus en plus les vieux Bordeaux avec une teneur en alcool moindre que maintenant. Plus accessible à mon avis.. Beaucoup de fruits compotés rouge, tabac blond, un petit boisé à peine goûté. Côté 89.9 sur CT ?? Nann...beaucoup mieux que ça à mon avis. 93 et il est sur son plateau...pente à peine descendante.. Ne pas se priver de le boire maintenant plus frais que chaud !!!
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Last tasted 6 years ago. Looking back on my note it looks pretty consistent with my new note. Major changes: (1) the nose now has much more lacquered wood, some noticeable graphite and also - sadly - some alcohol coming through; (2) my comment back then about muted tannins seems strange because there's plenty of tannin to keep this going. Unfortunately I'm not sure the depth of fruit will keep going for much longer. Still very pleasurable, but I have to agree with other reviewers that the palate is on the light and short side (and on the decline). Despite still having a delightful nose, this wine's best years are behind it. 13%, $55 back in the day at Trader Joe's.
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A great maturing Bdx nose on this, old school with currant, tobacco, pepper, soil, cedar. On the palate it still has plenty of life and round fruit, and it holds up well over the course of the night. More about the nose than the palate, I suppose, but it gives a lot of pleasure and was actually one of the best wines of the night. Holds its ground.
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Stood two days, decanted off the sediment for an hour. Slight bricking. The nose was powerful even before pouring from the bottle. Cedar, tobacco, and earth. Delicious and layered flavors, more cedar, earth, and some dark fruits. Nice tannin for its age and supposed drinking window. Probably has life yet. Finish was medium length. Very enjoyable wine.
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A supposedly diluted vintage in Bordeaux, but boy did the oenologist overcome the odds w great winemaking. Light orange brick colour indicative of age. Silky entry that builds up into a surprisingly powerful mid-palate. Substantial, assertive and weighty, but all in a classy sort of way. Traditional style w touch of austerity. Still v tannic w lots of life left in it. V fine tannins, almost powdery sendiments. Even after more than a decade of bottle age, still v forceful and impressive. Indeed the 'Latour of St Estephe' (9.0/10). http://sgbordeaux.blogspot.com/2011/08/montrose-1997.html
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Canadian Tbone meets montrose; 10/13/2009-10/15/2009: Immediately , the nose showed nice aged claret aromas . Barnyardish, slighlty peppery, some capsicums and lots of leather with hot minerality and hot stones topped up with good exotic fruits. Lovely ready palate with rainy day berries and hints of cigarette ash. Very consistent wine that has quite a lasting finish .
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Nose: Wet hay that blew off, cassis, licorice, smoky, yeasty, pencil shaving Mouth: bit subdued after the nose, blackcurrant, wonderful rich coffee mid, long mouth filling finish. Nicely balanced. Had this with roast rib of beef and it went just fine. Not the best Bordeaux I've had but okay none the less.
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nose that has concentrated fruit but also some tobacco leaves and sweaty socks. Concentrated palate with still strong but fine tannins - we all liked it.
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White pepper and smoky bouquet with toasted oak. So far so good. But this was about it. The wine is juicy alright and certainly interesting, but there is too much acidity and a drying finish. This will never be great. The bouquet saved the score.
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This wine was better than I was expecting it to be. It's definitely ready to drink now; I can't say how much longer it'll last but I think the drinking window given here on CT is probably pretty good. Loads of cassis on the nose, with blackberries and spice, a little wood (actual wood smells) and grape-flavoured sweets. The palate is significantly lighter than the nose and is a little disappointing in comparison, but is still decent, with fruit and spice, particularly sour cherry and cinnamon. Fruit comes through more on the front, spice on the back giving a nice warm medium-length finish. Tannins are very muted now, definitely ready to drink. The mid-palate is pretty empty and overall the wine is a little thin / lacks density but it smells and tastes great so you've gotta give it credit for that! . For the price, however, this has got to be a pass.
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Crystal French Wine Sale (Bordeaux) (Crystal Wines): The most green capsicums I have smelt among the wines of the tasting. Also has cat's pee and smoky cherries. Lightish palate that is with decent fruit and length but not all that impressionable.
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Deep red. Lots of cassis and mint with some smoked meat notes. Really tasy. I lost my focus while tasting this one but must have loved it because it disapeared real fast.
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Reddish/Purple color. The fruit was on the bitter side. Notes of cassis and licorice and not as deep as many of the other wines. Medium bodied. 88-89 points.
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12/26/2022 - The Wine Monkeys Does not like this wine:
Light, watery, lacking in all areas. I knew it was an iffy vintage but I was surprised at how flabby and watered down this wine was.
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11/23/2021 - Rezy13 wrote:
Tuesday Night Double Blind $50+ (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Cloudy, aged, brick rim; spicy, brick dust, clay, spicy, leather, mushroom, green pepper, black tea, truffle, drying out a bit, horse, mature, red currant, off year, tastes old.
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8/6/2021 - Matt 56 wrote: 86 Points
Small bottle … green ,bitter … no flavor apart from bitter tobacco …. Normally Montrose is excellent ,but this was nothing !
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6/17/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
CB Wine Night #17 (turned out to be the last CB Wine Night) - WT Last Day!: Classic Montrose - in a very good place now. WOTN! Notes to come
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11/19/2019 - rloy wrote: 92 Points
Cork in good condition. No bricking. Full bodied. Tannins fully resolved. Aromas of graphite and cedar. Flavors of dark fruit, tobacco, and gunpowder. Long finish. Fully mature, drink now. A characteristic Bordeaux from a less than stellar vintage.
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5/12/2019 - Nels+ Likes this wine: 92 Points
1997 Bordeaux wine was another in the series (1957, 1967, 1977, 1987) of rather poor vintages ending with the scary number 7. But this well aged bottle of Montrose is another example that great châteaus often bring something very juicy, classic and elegant into the bottle even in those years! Ripe blackberries, cassis, cigar, graphite and gunpowder in the nose and on the (medium intense and long) palate.
BoW 18/20
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2/3/2017 - Lype Likes this wine: 90 Points
A very pleasant surprise, a mere -97 turned out be very good, coffee flavors, nice fruit and acidity, would buy more.
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7/15/2016 - Indybond Does not like this wine: 84 Points
PnP. Nice nose initially, but fell apart completely after 90 minutes. IMO, Montrose is one of the most overrated Bordeaux along with Pontet Canet and Leoville Poyferre. Those wines are for investors who blindly follow Parker (which makes perfect sense actually), not for drinkers like me.
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11/11/2015 - chefdilletante wrote:
Mess of a year, hell of a wine. This is as good as it's going to get. Bouquet meets you as soon as the cork is pulled, and maintains after decanting. Fully resolved tannins. It's elegant, svelte and lithe; and a complete delight.
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7/5/2015 - phil the agony wrote: 93 Points
Une petite bouteille à déguster tranquillement avec les gnocchis maison à la roquette/ricotta et zeste de citron avec mozz di buffala,tomate cerise et huile de basilic.
Un nez superbe qui annonce un Bordeaux avec une belle fraicheur.
J'aime de plus en plus les vieux Bordeaux avec une teneur en alcool moindre que maintenant.
Plus accessible à mon avis..
Beaucoup de fruits compotés rouge, tabac blond, un petit boisé à peine goûté.
Côté 89.9 sur CT ?? Nann...beaucoup mieux que ça à mon avis.
93 et il est sur son plateau...pente à peine descendante..
Ne pas se priver de le boire maintenant plus frais que chaud !!!
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12/21/2014 - Benj wrote: 89 Points
Last tasted 6 years ago. Looking back on my note it looks pretty consistent with my new note. Major changes: (1) the nose now has much more lacquered wood, some noticeable graphite and also - sadly - some alcohol coming through; (2) my comment back then about muted tannins seems strange because there's plenty of tannin to keep this going. Unfortunately I'm not sure the depth of fruit will keep going for much longer. Still very pleasurable, but I have to agree with other reviewers that the palate is on the light and short side (and on the decline). Despite still having a delightful nose, this wine's best years are behind it. 13%, $55 back in the day at Trader Joe's.
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11/7/2014 - yofog wrote:
A great maturing Bdx nose on this, old school with currant, tobacco, pepper, soil, cedar. On the palate it still has plenty of life and round fruit, and it holds up well over the course of the night. More about the nose than the palate, I suppose, but it gives a lot of pleasure and was actually one of the best wines of the night. Holds its ground.
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12/30/2012 - andrewdl wrote:
Fairly flat. Good start but tough finish.
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12/16/2011 - monahanchris wrote: 91 Points
Stood two days, decanted off the sediment for an hour. Slight bricking. The nose was powerful even before pouring from the bottle. Cedar, tobacco, and earth. Delicious and layered flavors, more cedar, earth, and some dark fruits. Nice tannin for its age and supposed drinking window. Probably has life yet. Finish was medium length. Very enjoyable wine.
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10/9/2011 - Andice wrote: 90 Points
A supposedly diluted vintage in Bordeaux, but boy did the oenologist overcome the odds w great winemaking. Light orange brick colour indicative of age. Silky entry that builds up into a surprisingly powerful mid-palate. Substantial, assertive and weighty, but all in a classy sort of way. Traditional style w touch of austerity. Still v tannic w lots of life left in it. V fine tannins, almost powdery sendiments. Even after more than a decade of bottle age, still v forceful and impressive. Indeed the 'Latour of St Estephe' (9.0/10). http://sgbordeaux.blogspot.com/2011/08/montrose-1997.html
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8/25/2011 - Svinvan wrote: 93 Points
Gedronken met Papa en Mama thuis. Super lekker!
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10/14/2009 - Alex H wrote: 85 Points
Canadian Tbone meets montrose; 10/13/2009-10/15/2009: Immediately , the nose showed nice aged claret aromas . Barnyardish, slighlty peppery, some capsicums and lots of leather with hot minerality and hot stones topped up with good exotic fruits. Lovely ready palate with rainy day berries and hints of cigarette ash. Very consistent wine that has quite a lasting finish .
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4/19/2009 - chatters wrote: 89 Points
Nose: Wet hay that blew off, cassis, licorice, smoky, yeasty, pencil shaving
Mouth: bit subdued after the nose, blackcurrant, wonderful rich coffee mid, long mouth filling finish. Nicely balanced.
Had this with roast rib of beef and it went just fine. Not the best Bordeaux I've had but okay none the less.
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2/22/2009 - ThMeyer wrote: 90 Points
nose that has concentrated fruit but also some tobacco leaves and sweaty socks. Concentrated palate with still strong but fine tannins - we all liked it.
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1/8/2009 - Zweder wrote: 87 Points
White pepper and smoky bouquet with toasted oak. So far so good. But this was about it. The wine is juicy alright and certainly interesting, but there is too much acidity and a drying finish. This will never be great. The bouquet saved the score.
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12/23/2008 - Benj wrote: 90 Points
This wine was better than I was expecting it to be. It's definitely ready to drink now; I can't say how much longer it'll last but I think the drinking window given here on CT is probably pretty good. Loads of cassis on the nose, with blackberries and spice, a little wood (actual wood smells) and grape-flavoured sweets. The palate is significantly lighter than the nose and is a little disappointing in comparison, but is still decent, with fruit and spice, particularly sour cherry and cinnamon. Fruit comes through more on the front, spice on the back giving a nice warm medium-length finish. Tannins are very muted now, definitely ready to drink. The mid-palate is pretty empty and overall the wine is a little thin / lacks density but it smells and tastes great so you've gotta give it credit for that! . For the price, however, this has got to be a pass.
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11/2/2008 - Alex H wrote: 83 Points
Crystal French Wine Sale (Bordeaux) (Crystal Wines): The most green capsicums I have smelt among the wines of the tasting. Also has cat's pee and smoky cherries. Lightish palate that is with decent fruit and length but not all that impressionable.
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6/22/2008 - the godfather wrote: 90 Points
big complex nose but short finish, filled out a bit with air, good but not great
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3/26/2008 - David J Cooper wrote:
Deep red. Lots of cassis and mint with some smoked meat notes. Really tasy. I lost my focus while tasting this one but must have loved it because it disapeared real fast.
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11/27/2002 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
Reddish/Purple color. The fruit was on the bitter side. Notes of cassis and licorice and not as deep as many of the other wines. Medium bodied. 88-89 points.
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11/17/2002 - R2-D2 wrote: 87 Points
Ruby red in color with a nice nose of candied cherry licorice, cassis, and leather. Good fruit, however, the finish is thin and short-lived.
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