Blueberries, cracked white and black pepper with dried flowers. Some crushed stone and slate, too. Full-bodied with tannins that grow on the palate and continue on. It’s polished and very fine with lovely length.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: The 2019 Montrose has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with a dramatic, perfumed bouquet of wild berries and cassis mingled with notions of lilac, violets, pencil shavings and warm spices, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it’s deep and multidimensional, with lively acids, beautifully refined tannins and a long, resonant finish.
- Decanter: Oh this is good, it steals up on you with real depth of flavour, stately and concentrated in a way that reminds me of a 1996 or a 2016. Extremely measured, very clear that this is going to age effortlessly, it is extremely discreet and yet packed with persistent flavours. A masterclass in the flavours and aromatics that you expect in a great Médoc wine – slate, crushed stones, savoury blackcurrant, liquorice, hints of smoke and cold ash. After five minutes in the glass the sweeter berry fruit comes out, and the whole thing is sappy and mouthwatering, and makes you smile.
Producer Information
Château Montrose is a well-regarded and critically much-lauded wine estate based in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of Bordeaux’s northern Médoc region. The estate was ranked as a second growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, and is regarded as one of the very best properties at that level. The epitome of the Saint-Estèphe appellation, Montrose’s top wine is known for its structure (even austerity) in youth, but beguiling many as it ages. The grand vin, composed largely of Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot, is typically deeply colored, powerful and firm when young, but has superb aging potential. The second wine is La Dame de Montrose; the third is Saint-Estèphe de Château Montrose. The 95-hectare (235-acre) vineyard exists, unusually for modern Bordeaux, as one single entity. It is sited on an exposed site of deep, coarse gravels with sand and a little clay, overlooking the Gironde. The immediate proximity of the water has a moderating effect on both frost and summer heat, and the pebbles in the soil retain daytime warmth into the evening, aiding ripening. The château is situated around three kilometers (1.8 miles) northeast of Château Cos d’Estournel (another so-called “super-second” – i.e. a highly regarded second growth estate) on the border with the Pauillac appellation.
