Château Montrose - Subskription -

97-100/100 Wine Advocate 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. - William Kelley 99-100/100 Jamessuckling.com 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. - James Suckling 97-100/100 Jeb Dunnuck Made from a strict selection of only the best terroirs (terrace 4) around the estate and the oldest vines, the 2023 Château Montrose is a more Cabernet Sauvignon-driven wine than normal and is based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc that will see 18 months in 60% new French oak. The result is a more plush, deep, opulent wine that has classic Montrose darker, almost blue fruits, violets, chocolate, and damp earth-like aromas and flavors. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and expansive on the palate, it has more richness, breadth, and concentration than just about every other wine in the vintage. The 2023 hit 13.5% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. It has some similarities to the 2010 (or 2016?) and might end up being the wine of the vintage. - Jeb Dunnuck 98-100/100 The Drink Business Montrose (St-Estèphe; 75% Cabernet Sauvignon; 21% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; for the first time at least in recent history the grand vin in 2023 is sourced exclusively from the 45 hectares of vines planted on Terrace 4, the historic core of the vineyard as classified in 1855; a wine from the 12 hectares planted on Terrace 3 will be released separately; with such a strict self-imposed selection just 35 per cent of the total production enters into the grand vin). Divine. Limpid, lithe and incredible in both its hue and radiant clarity in the glass. Cassis. Blueberry. Bramble and assorted dark berry fruits. Damson and damson skin. Walnut. Olive oil and black pepper. A wine of such incredible purity and elegance, a most intense and refined fruit, so picture perfectly pixilated in its precision. Not overly ample, with quite a tight and well-formed frame at first but with the more gorgeously glacial and crystalline texture and such intensity and layering. A miraculous mirror pool, charged with energy and a wondrous elegance. So pure. So fine. So audacious. So utterly breath-taking. The potential wine of the vintage. Poetry. - Colin Hay 99-100/100 Yvesbeck.wine Das Bouquet von Montrose hat eine sehr klare, gut lesbare Botschaft, mit einer Selbstverständlichkeit, die Glück, Authentizität und Komplexität vereint. So viel Frische, Frucht, Intensität und vor allem Harmonie. Selbst in einem Kontext der Intensität hat jede Komponente ihren Platz, keine ist dominant... außer dem außergewöhnlichen Niveau vielleicht! Eine subtile Symbiose aus Terroir, dunklen Beeren, Pfefferminze und u.v.a. Am Gaumen positioniert sich Montrose auf imposante Weise, nicht indem er seine Stimme erhebt, sondern indem er klar und gelassen vermittelt, wer er ist und wohin er zu gehen gedenkt. Die kräftigen Tannine stehen bestens im Einklang mit der Spannung, die die Säurestruktur verleiht. Sie bildet eine schöne Frische und fördert die aromatische Intensität des Abgangs, der zudem lang anhaltend ist. Ein Wein von seltener Finesse und stiller Kraft. Er ist ein sehr großer Wein und zählt zu den ganz großen 2023ern von Bordeaux! - Yves Beck 97-99/100 The Wine Independent Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Montrose gallops out of the glass with intense scents of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries, and raspberries along with nuances of licorice, crushed rocks, and mossy tree bark plus a hint of iron ore. The medium-bodied palate has impressive tension and tight-knit black and red berry flavors intertwined with mineral accents, framed by fine-grained tannins, finishing long and sparkly. The first wine accounted for only 35% of the estate's production this year. The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc, with pH 3.70. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown 97-99/100 The Wine Cellar Insider The complex perfume displays its flowers, crushed rock, black raspberry, and currants with just a swirl or two. There is freshness, with a sense of purity, lift, and elegance on the palate. The wine is long, complex, and refined. This is not a blockbuster styled vintage. Instead, it is focused, harmonious, balanced, and long, with sweetness, spice, and energy that lingers in the finish. The wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 13.6% ABV, pH 3.7. Harvesting took place September 5 - September 28. Drink from 2030-2065. 96-98 Pts. - Jeff Leve 96-98/100 Vinous The 2023 Montrose is focused on the original terroir of the estate, known as Terrace 4, located in front of the river. It comprises 45 hectares, around 12 to 15 hectares less than previous vintages so as to capture the expression of Montrose classified in 1855. Picked from September 5 to 28 and matured in 60% new oak, this has a very intense and focused bouquet: pure black fruit with just a touch of strawberry, hints of violet petals developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins—very pure, with pitch-perfect acidity. This gains depth toward the finish but maintains a sense of linearity that ensures it is one of the vintage’s finest contributions from the Left Bank. Magnificent. - Neal Martin 98/100 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Gorgeously dark and vibrant fruit, with gunsmoke and campfire, concentrated cassis and blackberry pastille, grilled almond, saffron and pomegrante, luscious but measured, showing the inky character that seems to be at the heart of the best Cabernets of this vintage, with their ripe but not overly exuberant classicism. Organic conversion, to be certified 2025. The first vintage this 1st wine of Montrose is coming only from the section of the vineyard located on Terrace 4 of the Médoc gravel banks that line the Garonne river along the peninsula. Following soil studies from Pierre Becheler, this comprises 35% of the overall production in 2023, or 45ha of vines, and is the historic heart of the property. Pierre Grafeuille director, Vincent Decup technical director. - Jane Anson 98/100 Decanter.com So floral and aromatic, really inviting and welcoming on the nose, more aromatic than some. Smooth and intense, clearly concentrated but supple and bouncy, there’s movement to this, it’s not strict. So precise, and finessed, you can feel the edges of the fine tannins - well executed with a mineral grip underneath. You can tell there’s power here, it has muscles but sinew also. Quite demonstrative really - it’s flexing but keeps such a clear line of focus and cool blue fruit with graphite and liquorice too. Round and penetrating with an excellent weight and balance of acidity in the mouth while keeping harmony alongside a hint of sweet and just-ripe strawberries mostly with crunchy cranberry too. A lot to like here. Great effort, classy and comfortable - multi-faceted while still being so juicy and approachable. 60% new oak, ageing in barrels only for 18 months. 3.7pH. 13.6% press wine (300 barrels of press split into seven qualities). 35% grand vin in total, mainly from the old vines which is 45% of the vineyard but 35% of the crop. 48hl/ha yield. - Georgina Hindle 95-97/100 Vinous The 2023 Montrose is a dark, brooding powerhouse but with the elegance that is such a signature today. Black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, mocha, spice, tobacco and dried flowers infuse the 2023 with tons of character. The Cabernet Sauvignon is so expressive here. Readers will have to be patient, as this is a wine built for the cellar. It's not especially showy today, but all the ingredients are there. The 2023 is quite the bruiser. In other words, it’s classic Montrose. In the end, that's not terribly surprising, as the winemaking team relied exclusively on the original holdings of about 45 hectares from what the estate calls the 'grand plateau' or 'Terrace 4', essentially the historic core of the property. Harvest ran from September 5 to 28. There was some rain on the 21st, but 15mm of precipitation after a heat spike was not meaningful. The 2023 is magnificent in every way. - Antonio Galloni