Château Montrose

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc Le bouquet de Montrose a un message très clair, très lisible, avec une évidence qui allie bonheur, authenticité et complexité. Que de fraîcheur, de fruits, d’intensité et, surtout, que d’harmonie. Même dans un contexte d’intensité, chaque élément a sa place, aucun n’est dominant… sauf le niveau exceptionnel peut-être ! Une subtile symbiose de terroirs, de baies noires, de menthe poivrée et bien d’autres encore. En bouche, Montrose se positionne de manière imposante, non en élevant la voix, mais en communiquant clairement et sereinement qui il est et où il a pour ambition d’aller. Les tannins, puissants, sont parfaitement en phase avec la tension conférée par la structure acide. Elle assure une belle fraîcheur et plébiscite l’intensité aromatique de la finale, persistante de surcroît. Un vin d’une rare finesse, d’une puissance sereine, respectivement une imposante force tranquille. C’est un très grand vin et il compte parmi les très grandes réussites de Bordeaux ! 2030-2060

Wow. This is the essence of Montrose, with blackberry, blackcurrant, crushed stone and earth. I have not tasted a Montrose like this in 42 years of my career. It has a much more vertical nature to it, with layered tannins that go very deep and long, The muscular structure and intensity is something else. This is a new era for Montrose. It is now made from only 45 hectares of vineyards right in front of the chateau, instead of about 60 before. 75% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot and 4% cabernet franc.

The 2023 Montrose is another brilliant wine from an estate that's now routinely among Bordeaux's very best, year in, year out. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, derived exclusively from the estate's historic core on the fourth terrace situated just in front of the château itself, it unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis and wild berries mingled with notions of lilac, violet and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, deep and layered, with a textural attack that segues into a dense, multidimensional mid-palate framed by beautifully ripe tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. It will be worth a special effort to seek out. This large estate overlooking the Gironde in Saint-Estèphe produces some of Bordeaux's greatest and longest-lived wines, and the last 15 or so years have seen it benefit from sustained and intelligently directed investment. There's a brand-new winery and cellars, of course, but there's a lot of work going on in the vineyards too. When Olivier and Martin Bouygues acquired Château Montrose from the Charmolüe family in 2006, the estate included fully 17 hectares of pre-clonal vines dating back to the early 20th century, and a massal selection program has since identified 80 viable individuals, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, for use when replanting (the same efforts are currently being lavished on Merlot, drawing on a block behind the château acquired from Phélan-Ségur). Now, cover crops are being trialed, and the soils are being cultivated more superficially to avoid disrupting the microbiome. Winemaking is rather classical, with maturation in some 60% new oak. In 2023, Montrose was largely spared by mildew, receiving less rain than many other estates in June, and harvest rolled out between September 5 and 28. As in 2022, the grand vin this year derives exclusively from the Terrace 4 gravels in front of the estate itself, Montrose's historic core terroir. Readers looking for more information about this de-facto first growth are directed to my feature published in the December 2023 Week 3 issue of The Wine Advocate.

The 2023 vintage of Château Montrose brings to mind Wang Feng’s song ‘Courageous Life,’ with its powerful energy that feels like it could move the world with just a drop. This wine is full-bodied, with rich and poised tannins, yet it feels precise, smooth, and charming on the palate. In other words, it exudes a youthful vigor. Château Montrose had a relatively dry growing season in 2023, nurturing a gentle character in the mild summer temperatures, and then developing a resilient personality in the heat of August and September. It’s a top-notch vintage that perfectly reflects the weather conditions of Saint-Estèphe in 2023, combining generosity with strength.