Montrose 2017

The 2017 Montrose is one of the most compelling wines of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, rose petals and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, with an enveloping core of vibrant fruit, supple tannins and a perfumed finish. This is an unusually suave, youthfully approachable vintage of Montrose that will offer a broad drinking window.

The 2017 Montrose was so impressive from barrel and now, bottled since July, it continues to put in a strong case for being one of the best Left Bank wines. It has a very pure and intoxicating bouquet with intense blackberry, light cassis, juniper and violet aromas, almost Margaux-like in terms of personality. Although there is a patina of new oak after bottling, it is in sync with the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip on the entry. Tightly wound at the moment but supremely well focused, this is a classic Montrose, "cool" and reserved, demonstrating impressive tension and precision towards the finish. It will require less time in bottle than the 2016 for example, so broach this superb Saint-Estèphe after five or six years and then it will give 25 to 30 years of drinking pleasure, and knowing Montrose, probably longer. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drink 2024-2050.

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Good fleshy red fruit and some cassis on the nose with vanilla bean. Fruit and tannin together in a smoky, rich structure. Increasingly muscular but matched by an impressive core of brambly fruit and hints of sweet spice. Long and fine on the finish. Will need a little time.
Drink 2026 – 2039

Extremely aromatic with currant, wild-herb and fresh-violet aromas. This is regal cabernet sauvignon at its finest. The palate has unwaveringly long and defined tannins that carry such fresh, piercingly pure, redcurrant and cassis flavors. A twin to the superb 2015? A blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.

The 2017 Montrose is composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet in color, it skips out of the glass with bright, vibrant, and wonderfully pure notes of kirsch, redcurrant jelly, fresh blackcurrants, and black raspberries, leading to a fragrant undercurrent of lilacs, licorice, underbrush, and allspice. The medium-bodied palate is so bright and elegant, with jaw-dropping intensity and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing with impressive length and energy. 2026-2056

This has more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend this year, the highest level since 2006, because the Merlot didn't quite make it through the September rains unscathed. The wine is correspondingly powerful with a robust accompanying acidity that promises a long life. The fruit character is savoury, succulent and extremely persistent, with fleshy blackberry alongside touches of redcurrant and a pulsating freshness that keeps on coming. Harvested 12-29 September with twelve days spent actually picking, compared to sixteen days over the last few years, with more hands on deck. They have never been affected by frost, as far as they can remember, and 2017 was no exception. The wind is always such a benefit here. A normal yield of 45hl/ha, 37% of which was for the grand vin. 60% new oak.
Drinking Window 2025 - 2040

Good, deep crimson. High-toned nose with lots of life but not aiming for concentration. Still pretty inky without a real middle of flesh. Does a good job of the framework but it needs to take on quite a bit of flesh to be a really alluring prospect. Competent rather than thrilling. Though I appreciate the transparency. Bone-dry, stony St-Estèphe finish.
Drink 2027-2040

Deep crimson. Sober but intense black fruit. On the palate, elegant and attractive dusty character, incredibly fine tannins, so supple, refined, juicy and long. Not opulent but not at all dry. Should have a long drinking window.
Drink 2025-2045

There was no frost here next to the estuary. They feel that it's a strong vintage for their Cabernet and the wine is made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Much of the Merlot was put in the second label - Dame de Montrose. Deep ruby-purple in colour with an inky, graphite and blackcurrant fruit nose, layeres with notes of espresso and star anise. The palate is intense and brooding, with elegant ripeness from fresh acidity that restrains the riper cassis and bramble notes on the palate. The tannins are plentiful, chalky and chewy. This structure, typical of Montrose, will provide great ageability, and the lingering black fruits on the finish assure this potential. Complexity comes from creamy vanilla and exotic nutmeg and clove on the finish from powerful, but well-managed oak.

Concentrated flavours rich black fruits the nose has depth the palate brooding black fruited power. There is balance the rich mix underpinned by bilberry but it fills out at the back with generosity dark chocolate richness. 2026-41

Very commanding and linear on the nose, this is a focussed and direct wine with masses of intent and it takes no prisoners on the nose and palate. There is a chiselled feel to Montrose with enormous length and determination and no trace of fat or glycerol to be found on its lean, taut frame. It is interesting to see here what happens when there is no disease pressure, no particular hydric stress and also a dry and temperate summer. The organic viticulture at this Château allows the soils to express themselves fully through the vines and so this is perhaps one of the most ‘naked’ and unadorned Montrose vintages in a long time. It will mature slowly and always retain a degree of drama and minerality, reflecting its elevated position in Saint-Estèphe.