© 2003-2011 I.Litwar

 

 

                               Looking down to Gironde river from Montroses vineyard                                            A place in Montrose's vineyard aimed for lunch/break?

 

 

One of my favorite Bordeaux wines since long time. While being particulary strong in 1950's and 1960's, Montrose got nickname "Latour of Saint-Éstephe" due to its power, strength, massive concentration, depth and long finish. It's always been classy, stylish Bordeaux with long life. When mature, it's a wonderful wine to enjoy. Vintages like f.i. 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961 and 1964 (latter was harvested before huge rainfall) are legendary. Not to mention huge blast vintages like 1989 and 1990.

After long reign of Charmolüe family, Montrose changed hands in 2006, when Bouygues family bought this property. The new owners hired famous Jean-Bernard Delmas, who was responsible for many stunning vintages at Haut Brion/La Mission Haut Brion, as a consultant. In my opinion, the style of Montrose changed a bit after change of ownership. It become more modern with slightly more extraction and more use of oak. Still, Montrose is a true Bordeaux wine, reflecting the terroir.

 

MONTROSE 2010 (barrel sample) 96-97p

Tasted twice - last time in April 2011. Consistent notes. This wine acted like a monster or rightly said “wolf in sheep’s clothes”. Very tannic and oaky, huge quantities of black cherries and mocha, structure as strong as iron rock and awesome length. Here we have excellent potential!

MONTROSE 2009 (barrel sample) 95-96p

 

Tasted twice - last time in April 2011. Consistent notes. It was extremely intense, strong, robust, with sweet tannin, plenty of chocolate, great depth, length and silky finish. Maybe even better showing than last year. Outstanding wine.

 

MONTROSE 2008 94p

 

Tasted twice - last time in April 2011. Consistent notes. This wine displayed very intense and spicy flavors of cedar tree, leather and mocha, strong backbone, powerful structure and long finish. You could feel the character of soil here. This wine was made under new management and by new cellar master who arrived in 2007.

 

MONTROSE 2007 90p

 

Tasted in April 2011. Pleasant surprise indeed, even if this wine didn't have ripeness, depth and concentration of 2008. Well balanced, nice tasty fruit, round and with nice length.

 

MONTROSE 2006 92p

 

Tasted twice - last time in April 2011. Not consistent notes. Made by completely new technical staff, after change of owner. From the barrel (April 2005) it was strong and distinct with stupendous structure, big depth and with beautiful balance between dark berries and fat tannin. In April 2011, it tasted closed and not willing to reveal anything. Certain dryness was noticeable, but I don't think it was because of unripe fruit, rather because of oak flavors being not fully integrated yet. It'll take time for this wine to come out from its shell.

 

MONTROSE 2005 97p

 

Tasted twice - last time in April 2011. Consistent notes. This wine had incredibly seductive nose of truffles and cocoa powder, strong backbone, powerful attitude, iron strong structure, wonderful balance and mega long finish. A fantastic example of how exceptional this vintage really is!

 

MONTROSE 2000 98p

 

Tasted twice - last time in September 2010. Extremely complex on the nose with overwhelming aromas of blueberries, extremely tight, deep, long and wonderfully structured on the palate. A fantastic tribute to the vintage - a piece of art here!

 

MONTROSE 1952 99p

 

Tasted in December 2007. Here I became speechless. From the glass came a phenomenal aroma of truffles, tobacco, you name it. It was stunningly composed with exemplary, incredibly sophisticated and rarely seen complexity. Immensely rich aftertaste completed this perfect wine. Everything I love about Bordeaux was here! Montrose was particulary strong in '50s with magnifique '53, 55 and 59, but this 55 years old beauty ranks among the best wines of this vintage!

 

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