2018 February-2 Bordeaux Wine Magazine: Ronald’s tasting notes and ratings of 15 Vintages of Montrose

Montrose 2015, 18,5 points

67% Cabernet Sauvignon
29% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc
Deep purple color, almost black. On the nose there is great fresh, juicy red and black fruit. In the mouth we feel Montrose’s signature strong tannic structure. The oak rather dominated the fruit in this stage but I am sure that time will solve this.

Montrose 2014, 19+ points

61% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
8% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot
A deep intense color but more leaning towards red than the 2015. There is a huge difference between the first and the second nose. On swirling there is a strong expression of fruit. This is a wine with a lot of aging potential. As you probably know, I am a big fan of the slightly underrated 2014 vintage in Bordeaux and Montrose is no exception. Strong tannic structure but beautiful and ripe. Great precision in the tannins.

Montrose 2013, 17,5 points

68% Cabernet Sauvignon
29% Merlot
3% Petit Verdot

The color is much lighter than the previous two, but still intense deep red. Rather closed on the nose. A reasonable amount of fruit. The tannins are a bit sharp. Decent length, longer than I expected in this difficult, wet and cool vintage. Lighter than the other vintages but surprisingly pleasant.

Montrose 2012, 17 points, 17 points

57% Cabernet Sauvignon
37% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot
Deep inky color, almost black. At first rather shy on the nose but opens up beautifully with swirling. Lovely mocha tones. Powerful but slightly aggressive (unripe?) tannins. Some vegetal notes. Not my favorite in the line-up.

Montrose 2011, 19- points

63% Cabernet Sauvignon
22% Merlot
12% Cabernet Franc
3% Petit Verdot

Surprisingly there is almost no evolution in the color. Shows extremely young. The nose is simply lovely with a real Cabernet Sauvignon expression. A bit of the “gout du Medoc” that is sometimes considered a flaw nowadays but that I like very much. This wine starts to open up. Beautiful expression of the fruit without being dominated by the great expression of the tannins. A wine a bit in the style of the 2014 I tasted earlier.

Montrose 2010, 19+ points

53% Cabernet Sauvignon
37% Merlot
9% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

Deep intense dark color without any sign of evolution. At first rather closed on the nose and needs time to show itself. On the palate there is an explosion of flavors and aromas. This is really a great Montrose. Well-defined red and black fruit interwoven with exemplary powerful but perfectly ripe tannins. A wine with an incredible future. I am happy to have this wine in my cellar.

Hervé told me later that he uses the quality of the 2010 as his benchmark wine. This is the level of precision and ripeness he is aiming for in the vintages to come.

Montrose 2009, 20- points

65% Cabernet Sauvignon
29% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

The color is slightly more evolved than the 2010 but still deep dark intense red color. A lovely expressive and flattering nose, more open than the 2010. Beautiful ripe fruit. Sipping this wine I could only think: WOW! This is the first wine I forgot to spit out. No, I wanted to drink this beautiful wine already. Superb ripe fruit and exemplary tannins. The famous debate between preferences between 2010 and 2009 is yet won again by the 2009 in my book (and in this stage). What a great wine. The winner by far until now. This is a wine with a great future but already lovely to drink now. One of the best Montroses that I have ever tasted.

I have written about this before. We wine writers will be comparing the vintages 2010 and 2009 for decades to come. In my opinion there is not so much a difference in quality but a difference in style and preference of the tasters. It is no secret that I have a weak spot for the 2009 vintage. Montrose 2009 is no exception. With all due respect for the outstanding Montrose 2010, I must be honest and I do prefer the Montrose 2009. Going back and forth between the two wines I must admit that both of them are outstanding but I continue to prefer the exuberance of the 2009, even here in Saint Estèphe.

Montrose 2008, 18,5 points

65% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

The color being extremely deep and intense shows the first signs of some evolution. There is a slight color change in the rim, but just a bit. A discreet nose dominated by red fruit notes. This is a nice crisp Saint Estèphe that starts to show a bit of its potential for a great future. Strong ripe tannins. Succeeded well within the vintage. Well done.

Montrose 2007, 17,5 points

64% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

Showing significantly more sign of evolution in the color. The first nose has strong hints of coffee. The wine then opens up with surprisingly complex aromas of ripe, almost cooked fruit. Not at all what I had expected from a cool and wet vintage. Those who know me are aware that 2007 is not my favorite vintage at all and having said that, I was surprised by the quality of this elegant wine. And to be quite honest it was drinking very well now.

Montrose 2006, 17- points

72% Cabernet Sauvignon
28% Merlot

Surprisingly the color of this wine was much more evolved than the 2007. The vintage 2006 seems to me a year that appears not to exist in Bordeaux. You may remember that this year started out as a carbon copy of 2005 but towards the harvest the weather deteriorated and as a result the wines from this vintage simply never lived up to its older brother 2005. Having said that, I have always felt that if we wouldn’t have had such an extraordinary vintage 05 everybody would have been raving about the 06. I never hear much about this vintage and it seems to have disappeared from the market.
The nose of the Montrose 2006 is less exuberant and shows less fruit than the 2007. On the palate this wine is nowhere on the level of the 2007. At first I thought that they had mistakenly swapped the bottles but I checked, and all was well. The 2006 had stronger and a lot less pleasant tannins than the 2007. The least of the wines so far.

Montrose 2005, 20 points

65% Cabernet Sauvignon
31% Merlot
3,5% Cabernet Franc
0,5% Petit Verdot

Hervé Berland prefers the 2010 but my favorite vintage starting with a 2 is definitely the 2005. I am a huge fan of this vintage and Montrose is no exception.
After more than a decade the color has hardly budged. On a blind tasting you would easily mistake this color for a much younger wine. On the nose there is an avalanche of expressive beautiful ripe fruit. Elegant, complex and very intense.
On the palate this remarkable wine shows exemplary ripe fruit and a superb tannic backbone with a finale that keeps lingering in your mouth for minutes. This is a wine that will outlive us all.
For me this wine has everything I look for in an almost perfect Saint Estèphe. (I love the 2009 as well but it was more flattering than the understated class of the Montrose 2005. The 05 simply doesn’t need any flattering; it’s simply brilliant).
My recommendation is: buy two cases and drink one bottle each year over the next 25 years. You won’t be disappointed.

Montrose 2004, 18- points

64% Cabernet Sauvignon
32% Merlot
3% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

The color has stood the test of time. Slightly more evolved than the 2005 but not that much. Opens up with a lovely expressive nose with a good complexity. The vintage 2004 never managed to find its spot in the market. It is well know among my friends that I have a different opinion. I tend to love the wines from this vintage. And this Montrose 2004 proves this again. Is this a wine to cellar for another 30 years? No of course not, this is a wine to enjoy over the next five to ten years. And it is wine that will give you much pleasure without having to take out a second mortgage. Not a wine to impress wine snobs but a beautiful classic Montrose. Not a show horse but a wine for real wine lovers.

Montrose 2003, 19,5 points

62% Cabernet Sauvignon
34% Merlot
3% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

Showing some slight orange tinges in the color as sign of evolution. A discrete elegant nose with ripe, almost cooked fruit but nothing like I often find in lesser wines from this heat wave-vintage. Superb succulent ripe fruit. An exemplary balance and acidity, one of the elements often missing in this a hot vintage. Not here, this borders on perfection. Superb ripe tannins and an incredible length. The privilege of tasting another great Montrose.

Montrose 2002, 17- points

62% Cabernet Sauvignon
32% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

Fairly deep color and this color is the most evolved so far. Nice expressive and approachable nose. On the palate this wines shows a bit rugged. Strong harsh tannins that won’t let much room for the fruit. Reasonable length.

Montrose 2001, 18,5points

62% Cabernet Sauvignon
34% Merlot
3% Petit Verdot
1% Cabernet Franc

A lovely evolved color tending towards brick but still showing some red as well. An incredibly expressive nose. Complex and ripe and ready to be enjoyed. The vintage 2001 is my favorite in the so called “off vintages” and I have found these wines often to be on the level of the heralded 2000 vintage and sometimes even better than that. I have always been a big fan of this vintage and today is no exception. The Montrose 2001 has an almost perfect balance with an excellent and pure freshness combined with elegance and a great length. Simply lovely.

Montrose 2000, 18- points

63% Cabernet Sauvignon
31% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc
2% Petit Verdot

Color much less evolved than the 2001. Elegant but rather discreet nose with some vanilla hints and some smokiness (tobacco).
The Montrose 2000 is a big and tannic wine. Personally I feel that the tannins are dominating this wine a bit today. There is a bit of dryness towards the end. Some black cassis fruit and raspberry. Maybe the Montrose 2000 probably is closed up in this stage of its development because I tasted this wine before and enjoyed it very much then. Today I largely prefer the 2001.