Montrose Vertical Tasting 1989 - 2005 (Work in Progress)
Switzerland
Tasted September 1, 2011 by Wine_lvr with 1,152 views
Introduction
Follow-up to the extensive 2003 Bordeaux tasting where the Montrose did not perform too well, a bunch of Montrose fans decided to set up a small vertical tasting. Key goal was to reconfirm the mixed experience with the 2003, as this wine is considered by many critics as a possible follower of the legendary 1990 Montrose.
In order to get a new perspective of the 2003 Montrose we opened two bottles, one was decanted for more than 3 hours, while on the other 2003 the cork was just pulled before tasting the wine...
Flight 1 - Montrose 2002/2004/2005 (3 notes)
Red
2002 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Intensive deep red. Nose of leather and sweet dark berries. Hard tannins supported by nice sweetness. At the moment quite a bit of tartiness. I expect this to be nicer in a few years of time. Overall a nice Montrose and a great effort for the vintage. Drink now - 2025.
Red
2004 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Intensive deep red. Nose of pepper, herbs and flower with hints of green peppers. Tannins and tartiness are presenta at the same time wonderful flavors of dark berries and currants. This wine is still quite youthful. Not a blockbust but a nice claret. Give it a few more years to develop. Drink 2015-2030.
Red
2005 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted blind: Very dark in color. Nose of leather, berries and dark fruits (plums). The wine still shows quite hard tannins as one would expect from a 2005 of this quality. The wine is concentrated and long, showing wonderful flavors of dark chocolate, dark berries and tar/smoke. At the moment quite backward. I am quite certain that this will be a blockbuster Montrose once it finds its blance/harmony. Still very youthful. Drink 2020 - 2040
Flight 2 - Montrose 1999/2000/2001 (3 notes)
Red
2000 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted blind: Deep garnet in color. Leathery and fruity nose. As one would expect the tannins are still quite present, at the same time the wine has a lot of power and is very long. The taste reminds of black currant and chocolate. Overall it a wonderful wine at the moment still on the young side. Wait or decant, whereas waiting is likely the safer bet.
Flight 3 - Montrose 1994/1995/1996 (3 notes)
Flight 4 - Montrose 1989/1990 (2 notes)
Red
1990 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted blind: Dark intensive garnet in color. Nose of sweet mixed berry jam, chocolate and leather. The wine shows an nice lenght, paired with complexity, balance and power, yet at the same time quite elegant. The taste reminds me of red brries and Amarena cherries with hints of pepper. This wine still shows no signs of ageing and reminds me of a blockbuster old-style California cab. A true outstanding wine. Drink now - 2040.
Red
1989 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted blind: Clear garnet in color, one would not expect this wine is over 20 years old. Nose shows flavors of strawberries, tobacco and sweet berries. The wine is very complex and long, yet in comparison to the 1990 in the glass next to it is more elegant. The taste reminds me of cooked cherries, white pepper and stone. All is very balanced. A true beauty. Drink now - 2030.
Flight 5 - Montrose 2003 (Decanted and pop-and-pour) (2 notes)
Why two times Montrose 2003? As part of the big 2003 Bordeaux tasting this wine led to a lot of discussion. So we decided to open two bottles, one decanted for three hours and one just opened before drinking. Both times (unfortunately) not the blockbuster one would expect ....
Red
2003 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
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.
Red
2003 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
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.
Closing
Montrose is a great wine, with its own distinct style. It is a "masculine" wine with lots of power and hard tannins in its youth, but lots of elegance when once it is fully mature. This wine is not a crowd pleaser, especially when opened too young. The wine hardly ever shows its beauty in its youth, it only develops with age. And this can take lots of time...it appears that in certain vintages it could require 15-20 years of cellaring to find its balance. Montrose is a very ageworthy wine and in great years a Bordeaux that can not be underestimated.
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