June 7, 2023 - Sensational bouquet, one sniff and it’s all smiles. It’s hard to describe — lilies? ginger? blood orange? wintergreen? worn leather? perfectly ripe peaches? — but it’s clearly the bouquet of a great Bordeaux, reminiscent of a more exotic, sexy chateau like Pichon Lalande. The palate is very good, with a terrific attack but less refinement than expected and it turns a touch bitter on the finish. Fully mature but with good energy. Overall, wonderful.
December 15, 2022 - Opened at the Commanderie de Bordeaux Gala in HK. P&P but enjoyed over many hours.
Still fresh, fruity and exhibiting many primary notes - a product of 1990 being an incredible vintage for Montrose. Perhaps the acidity was showing a tad strong, but otherwise a very enjoyable wine.
January 29, 2022 - tasted blind alongside the '90 montrose. cut from the same cloth, less richness here but very fresh with a minty even eucalyptus nose
January 23, 2021 - served an hour after opening, undecanted. Minty, smoky, earthy, cedar, and still a little bit of fruit left.
October 10, 2019 - Last bottle in my cellar. Another phenomenal showing. It drank beautifully right out of the first pour from the bottle.
August 31, 2019 - Decanted to serve. Cassis, leather, herbs and tobacco note. Palate was robust and powerful with good length. I would argue this is better than all the Chateau Montrose with the exception of 89 and 90. I would say it is 60-70% of what the monumental 90 Chateau Montrose offers. Drinking very well now but it can certainly age for much longer.
July 19, 2019 - Pnp. Leather, black fruit and iron. Resolved and integrated with lots of power. Impressive secobd wine in a monstrous vintage for Montrose.
February 27, 2019 - Cellar stored since release. Cork in tight, but beginning to decompose. Very light bricking at the edges of this. No decant, because this was really perfect right out of the bottle. I dont have much to add to the very accurate notes of 1/17 by Forceberry, except that the qualities described there after a long decant were apparent in my glass immediately. And I see it's appeal differently: its ready to drink and appreciate right now. If you can find this with proper provenance under $125, buy it; you wont be disappointed. Its a great lamb chop wine. I had it with a beefy tripe and okra soup, and it was perfect, because the earthy iron funk of the tripe helped the wine taste sweeter than it is. Yummy! At least 10 years of great drinking ahead, but at peak now.
January 13, 2017 - The second wine the prestigious estate. Needs at least one hour in the decanter to open but after that this one is enjoyable and not too young as the first wine of the estate for the same vintage would be. Dark berries, attractiveness and drinkability all in the same lovely package, a beautiful classic claret with ageing potential. Good QPR at 100 euros albeit that's a lot money.
January 6, 2017 - Decanted for some hours beforehand.
Somewhat developed ruby red color with moderate bricking towards the rim. Ripe, dark-toned and somewhat developed nose with aromas of blackcurrant-driven, dark-toned fruit notes, some dusty graphite tones, a little bit of red cherry, light blackcurrant marmalade character, a hint of wizened dark fruits and a touch of leather. A subtly funky note of stable floor seems to get foothold as the wine breathes. The wine is full-bodied, dry and savory on the palate with surprisingly tough and cool overall impression for such a warm-vintage wine. There are flavors of ripe yet crunchy blackcurrant, peppery spice, some dried dark berries, a little bit of leathery character, light pipe tobacco notes and a hint of tart dark plums. The wine doesn't show any herbaceous Cab characteristics of mint of bell pepper, nor does it show much ripeness or sweet-toned fruit. The wine comes across as quite muscular and youthful with its structured, high acidity and still quite assertive and grippy tannins. The finish is long, moderately grippy and dry with savory flavors of blackcurrant-driven dark fruits, peppery spice, some earthy tones, a little bit of savory oak spice and a hint of wizened plummy fruit.
A wonderfully tough, classically styled and still remarkably youthful St. Estèphe red that definitely overperforms as a second wine - very few Grand Vins of prestigious Chateaux offer this impressive an experience at this age! Even though the wine is more than half a century old, it is still a mere baby and in dire need of further cellaring. There certainly are some sings of age in the fruit, but overall the wine feels still extremely youthful for its age - almost backward - and the tough, grippy structure could really need some additional cellaring. No need to open any bottles within the next 10 to 15 years. An excellent example of proper, classical claret. Pricey for a 2nd wine at 103€, but delivers for the price. Expect the score to go up with age.