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Montrose 2010

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Montrose

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Tasting Notes

This is considered to be among the greatest vintages ever made in Montrose, right up with the 1929, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990 and 2009. Harvest was October 15 to 17. The wine has really come on since I last tasted it, and it needs at least another 10 years of cellaring. The blend was 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine is opaque black/blue, with an incredible nose of blueberry and blackberry liqueur, with hints of incense, licorice, and acacia flowers. Tannins are incredibly sweet and very present. The wine is full-bodied, even massive, with great purity, depth and a finish that goes on close to a minute. This is a 50- to 75-year-old wine that will repay handsomely those with good aging genes. (Note: The Chateau Montrose website gives an aging potential of 2020-2100.)

100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (214), August 2014

The 2010 Montrose is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, warm cassis, and licorice, followed by hints of mocha, tapenade, crushed rocks, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate has a formidable structure of very firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the voluptuous black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long, long, long. 2025-2065

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, September 2023

One of the most youthful and powerful wines in this tasting is the 2010 Montrose, a year when only 52% of the estate's production went into the grand vin. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of crème de cassis, cigar wrapper, black truffle and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with a rich core of concentrated fruit that's framed by a muscular tannic chassis. Some 2010s are beginning to show their cards, but this Montrose will still require patience.

97+
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, December 2023

A perfumed and pure Montrose, with lots of currants, berries and spices that evolve to chocolate and light coffee. Full body, with super racy tannins and bright and clean finish. Very fine and structured. A balance and freshness to it all as well as beautiful form and tension. Try in 2018.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2013

Deep inky crimson colour. Fine, not that concentrated but very much of the commune. A pure expression. Stony and inky on the end but with good honest fruit too. Dramatic and admirable. 14%
Drink 2020 – 2045

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2020
97
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2011

Elegant, quite reserved fruit, quite discreet now, will gain in length, but less exciting than 2009. Drink 2020-35.

18
Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com, April 2011
Read more tasting notes...

The 2010 Montrose is a fabulous wine, and I was leaning toward giving it a three-digit score, which it may ultimately merit after it resolves some of its very sweet tannin. It is not as soft or flamboyant as the 2009, but it is a great classic, coming in at 13.9% natural alcohol. Representing 64% of the total production, the final blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot (which is one percent different than the barrel sample blends that were presented). Inky bluish/purple in color, with classic blueberry, black currant, crushed rock and floral notes, hints of graphite, and lots of wild mountain berry fruit, this wine is extravagantly rich, has very sweet but noticeable tannin, laser-like precision, a massive, full-bodied mouthfeel and a finish of close to 50+ seconds. This remarkable wine will probably tighten up somewhat in the bottle, and need most of a decade to shed some tannin and its rather grapy, primary personality. The finish blew me away, and the overall power, richness and balance of this wine are virtually perfect. Look for it to drink well for half a century or more.

99
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (205), March 2013

Jean Delmas believes this is one of the all-time great wines of Montrose, comparable to the 2009, 1990, 1989, 1959, 1947, 1945 and 1929. The 2010 harvest took place between September 27 and October 15, and the final blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot that achieved 13.75% natural alcohol, a fraction above the 2009's 13.7%. Somewhat reminiscent of the 1989, only even inkier and richer, the 2010 boasts a dense purple color along with glorious aromatics of blueberries, boysenberries, black currants and a crushed chalk-like minerality. The tannins are less intrusive than I would have suspected for such a young Montrose, but they are unquestionably ripe and well-integrated. Deep, full-bodied and massive, this beauty should be at its finest between 2018-2050

96/99+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in London, the 2010 Montrose was the youngest vintage by some 115 years, but it is undeniably one of the best. It is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot picked from 27 September until 15 October. Deep, almost opaque in color, it has a tightly wound, arresting nose of blackberry, bilberry, crushed violets and graphite all with quite brilliant delineation. The palate is medium rather than full-bodied, laden with plenty of fruit, grippy like many 2010s with a structured, masculine and tannic finish that wards you away for another 10-15 years. However, it is still possible to admire the purity and delineation of this long-term Montrose, a wine that comes with a compulsory cellaring. Patience will be handsomely rewarded. How long can you wait? Tasted June 2016. 2030 - 2080

99
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (Interim Ma), March 2017

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. Château Montrose can be so curmudgeonly in its youth that in blind tastings, it can seem like appraising an ogre in a beauty contest. That's what happened here, when it really threw me with its introspective pencil-box inspired nose that simply tells you to bugger off and not come back for at least a decade. The palate here is a mixture of red and black fruit with saturated tannins. This is a classic Montrose with a persistent tarry aftertaste. Re-tasting the wine after a few minutes it begins to unwind and merits a more lenient score. Tasted January 2014.

95+
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2014

The Chateau Montrose has a dense, broody bouquet with tarry black fruit, cedar and a touch of pencil shavings. It speaks of Saint Estèphe but with a Pauillac accent. The palate is medium-bodied with bold, firm, almost obdurate tannins. This is a very classic Montrose, strict and focused, broody with dry tannins and plenty of tertiary black fruit that linger long in the mouth. Think. Long. Term. Tasted November 2012.

96+
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2013

Tasted at the Château, Montrose is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot picked between from 27th September through to 15th October, cropped at 45hl/ha. It has 13.8% alcohol with a pH 3.65. The bouquet is tightly wound at first, pure blackberry, dark cherries, just a touch of coca with very good vigour. Very juicy, quite saturated with a very dense, impenetrable finish. Sinewy, structured and masculine, with a slight saline touch on the aftertaste. This is a great Montrose that will one day be fascinating to compare against the 2009. Drink 2020-2050. Tasted March 2011.

96/98
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2011

This is really integrated and polished, with a full body and super layers of cashmere-like tannins. Goes on and on. 53 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 37 percent Merlot, 9 percent Cabernet Franc and 1 percent Petit Verdot

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2011

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Montrose opens with classic notions of warm blackcurrants, plum preserves, cedar chest and pencil shavings plus touches of menthol and underbrush. Full-bodied, concentrated and built like a brick house in the mouth, the densely packed, muscular black fruit is superbly supported by firm, ripe, grainy tannins, finishing with great length and depth. 2024 - 2060

99
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

53% Cabernet Sauvignon (75% last year! And expected to increase), 37% Merlot, 9% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot. 64% of total production and remarkable for the unusually high proportion of Merlot in the grand vin blend - because of the purchase of vineyard from Phelan Ségur last year (did this help the Phelan purchase of restaurant Taillevent in Paris?) Very deep crimson. Quite different from most of these northern Médoc wines - much rounder and less fresh (presumably because of the Merlot). Very different from classical austere Montroses but soft and charming. As a wine, it is extremely well made with just a little furriness on the finish. As a Montrose it's a bit disconcerting but my mark ignores this. Rather unusual lack of freshness. Just a bit plodding, astringent and sweet on the end. 13.8%

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2001
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.