1/14/2024 - brewnello wrote:

Big bold and beautiful. In Bordeaux I never drink the second label but the QPR of the CVR is so good compared to the high end QC that I prefer it. This is also better than any CA can in the $50 price range. Great with steak!

4/18/2023 - Beeck10 wrote:

I had the wine at lunch , we did not decant it , but it did no harm to the nose , color of the wine was very dark and also in the nose you had this concentration of red fruit , berry , but also coffee and wood ! I was nicely surprised by it , when it came on the pallet it was first atractive and the first seconds I thought the wine was well balanced ! But then the finish was really not good , some greenish , like it was picked to soon, no evolution , high tannins not well balanced , and for a finish it is not good , you only remember that…Montrose is probably one of the stars of Bordeaux with 2016,18,19,20 and seems like also 22 making incredible wines , but the 2013 is not at the same level !

11/24/2022 - brewnello wrote:

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.

9/14/2022 - brewnello wrote:

Decent but not memorable. Dark fruit with some cherry on nose. A bit sour on finish - a little cedar bark? White Pepper on finish

8/30/2022 - Plabella Likes this wine:

Montrose doesn't get any better. Beautiful dark fruit, balanced with integrated tannins, beautiful nose and dark red color.

7/23/2022 - misterstarre Likes this wine:

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.

12/20/2020 - Brett H Likes this wine:

You bloody Beauty! A great bottle. One of the best wine experiences I’ve had in many a year. Bought this for £95 (half what you’d pay now retail) at a furniture auction as the levels looked decent. I reckon it must be one of the best wine purchases I’ve ever made. Grants of St James’s label. Phenomenal balance and length of flavour with a finish that goes on and on for eternity. An intoxicating nose that fills the house (my wife came through the front door and it hit her like a bloody sledgehammer) and whilst definitely that of an old VP it also riminds me a bit of a good ol’ Aussie Liqueur Muscat. The palate is all spicy raisins, overripe fig, Agen prunes and some caramel (think PX sherry) with no heat at all from the spirit which I so often find in pre-2011 VPs. There is also a lovely refreshing acidity and surprisingly a reasonable amount of tannic grip - given its balance the wine could last another decade at least. Note to self: buy and drink more port!

8/15/2021 - CPSchoeff Likes this wine:

Never been this far from the consensus on CT…so it is not a super concentrated over the top Napa cab. On the nose it reminds me of a solid young left bank wine. Black fruits and gravel there. On the palate, the fruit is quite bright and juicy… red and black fruit with a small amount of tobacco.

This in no way strikes me as lean or herbaceous in any way. In fact, this is what would lead me away from bdx if tasting this blind. The bottle I had this evening has been standing for months and I decanted it gently before drinking.

2/25/2021 - Smksmk Likes this wine:

Dark fruit flavors of black currant, blackberry/boysenberry, black cherry. Bright notes of chocolate and coffee mingle with oaky damp earth and cigar box, subtle graphite, spice and tobacco. Firmly tannined and medium structured, finishes with succulent flavor.

1/30/2021 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

6 hour decant and I think this needed every minute of that. Beautiful nose, violets, red fruit, bramble, some pencil. The palate was still tight and tannice at first, but after some coaxing this young beauty started to open up and strut its stuff. Classic Montrose, with cedar, black and blue fruit, forest floor, iron, even a little bloody. This wine will be better in 5 years if your bottle was well kept like mine, but I didn't kick myself for opening it today.

2/24/2021 - skifree wrote:

Very dark in the glass, almost no meniscus. Red fruits, sea breeze, and hints of briny olive on the nose. Cassis and tart berry in the mouth, and then a long saline and mineral finish to close things out. Yummy.

3/23/2020 - Iamwine Likes this wine:

Very balanced and elegant Brunello of the southern slopes of Montalcino. He doesn't break down the door like a macho, but knocks with determination on the wood. Nose: prune, cherry, sloe, nice tobacco ... a beautiful set of the typical brunello virtues. Taste: prune, currant-jelly with rose pedals, soft tobacco, fine grained tannins ... we loved him. Don't wait too long. Unless you like these madeira/underwood flavors.

5/14/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Blind Tasting via Zoom (Over Zoom): Tasted blind. I love the aromatics here, which show a mix of rose petal, face powder and tar, Juicy and concentrated, lively in the glass with concentrated cherry, a jammy quality that doesn't become heavy or tiring. Really just pure and drinking very well now, too. Delicious.

11/30/2019 - brewnello wrote:

Much better than 6 mos ago. Dried cherries with touch of layers - iodine, bark, balanced and integrated with long finish. Cucumber?