Critic tasting notes: (2018 vintage)
"Inky in color, the wine is opaque. On the nose, spice box, smoke, espresso, roasted black and red fruits, flowers, and 5 spice come through. On the palate, the wine is intense, full-bodied, rich, dense, opulent, sweet, fresh, long, and concentrated. The depth of flavor is impressive. Black and red fruits build and expand. The tannins are ripe, round, and refined. With a depth of flavor, a flamboyant character, and a nonstop finish, this is a rockstar in the making. The wine was made by blending 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, 14.5% ABV. The wine is a bit more reserved today than in previous tastings, but it is a clear candidate for a triple-digit score when it begins to reach maturity. Drink from 2028-2060." - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (98/100)
"This wine confirms the place of Montrose among the top Bordeaux estates. With its rich tannins and powerful structure, it exudes concentration and density. But the wine also shows a sense of style. Fruit purity will make it impressive and allow it to age for many years. Drink this wine from 2028." - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast (97/100)
"A hulking monster of power and extraction, the 2018 Montrose offers up rich aromas of mulberries, cherries, dark chocolate and violets. Full-bodied, broad and ample, with a textural attack that segues into a sweet core of fruit framed by ripe but chewy tannins, it's a muscular, dense Montrose with structure to burn, concluding with a lingering, floral finish. While its over 14.5% alcohol is impressively well integrated, Médoc purists will want to gravitate toward the 2016 rather than the 2018." - Robert Parker The Wine Advocate, Reviewed by: William Kelley (95/100)
"Purity and beauty on the nose with blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, crushed-stone and violet character. A full-bodied red with masses of polished tannins and intense flavors of currants and blackberries. Juicy finish. Super depth to this. Goes on for minutes. Try after 2027." - James Suckling
Producer tasting notes: (2018 vintage)
"The colour is dark, a deep and intense ruby colour with incredible density. The nose is delicate and very complexe. With aeration, the nose reveals aromas of black fruit and white flowers accompanied by subtle smoky notes. On the palate, the attack is full with exceptional aromatic richness. Powerful and silky, it offers incredible lenght and finesse. A classy, elegant and very precise wine that perfectly reflects the signature of our terroir." - Chateau Montrose
Classification
2eme Grand Cru Classé
Drinking Window
2025-2062
Total Production Notes
This wine accounts for 35 to 40% of the total production of Château Montrose.
Maturation
Oaked
Vineyard Notes
Blessed with undisputed natural assets combined with advantages nurtured over the centuries, Château Montrose has one of the region’s most privileged winegrowing terroirs. The 95-hectare (234-acres) vineyard surrounds the château, the winery and the outbuildings in a single continuous sweep, an exceptional and historically very rare feature. As well as making the vineyard easier to work, this unity means that it can be treated as a single entity, providing ideal conditions for efficient organisation and for monitoring the condition of each parcel. The Montrose terroir corresponds to what geologists call “elite cores”. Over millions of years, a complex process of geological layering resulted in the creation of outcrops, ideal for making fine wines and ensuring natural drainage towards the estuary. The soil on these terraces consists of gravel mixed with sand on the surface over a clay-rich subsoil in which natural reserves form at depth, providing the vines with the water they need.
Vintage Notes
2018 marks an important step in the conversion of our vineyard to sustainable viticulture. The weather conditions resulted in strong pressure from parasites, requiring extreme vigilance. Vineyard management was complex, therefore, but the direction of our environmental approach was firmly maintained. The fine weather and the heat at the end of summer, comparable to 2009, made the vintage, which expressed incredible potential in the cellar. The year started with a very rainy winter. Spring was wet and warm and bud burst came late. Early flowering came just before some rainstorms in early June, leading to slight problems with poor fruit set. The very strong pressure from mildew did not distract us from our move towards sustainable viticulture and we accepted the prospect of a significant drop in yields. The hot and dry summer was marked by strong water stress as from the end of July. These weather conditions tended to limit berry growth but strongly increased their concentration.
Ageing
18 month
Producer Notes
The result of rigorous selection at each stage of production, in both the vineyard and the winery, this great, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon wine is typical of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. Structured and tannic but with all the elegance and refinement of a Grand Cru Classé, with time it develops a delicate and complex bouquet. The wines have considerable ageing potential and are exceptionally long-lived. Certain vintages (1921, 1929, 1982, 1990, 2009) are considered legendary.
