Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe

12 Vintages of Montrose (1996-2016) : All wines were tasted blind and not decanted, though opened a few hours in advance. Montrose delivered very strong performances across all three decades, yet the stylistic shift from 2012 onward is striking. The wines gained markedly in purity, precision and aromatic complexity, which explains why they are now counted among the very best on the Left Bank. I particularly appreciate the heightened freshness, the brighter red fruit profile and the more restrained oak …

2004 vintage

Heady cab nose of leather, tobacco, pot-pouri, earth/clay-granite; soft and mellowed with smple but resolving tannins; slightly rugged with excellent character. Hardly showing any age, just mellowed and very well-integrated. Fantastic with Tri-tip. B&T with Diana and Branden. 92+

2004 vintage

Trop boisé Boîte à épices, réglisse

2004 vintage

Nose: 94 Palate: 90

2004 vintage

Delicious Superb Tasty, very complexity , smoky beautiful oak silky tannin very long finish

2004 vintage

Commanderie de Bordeaux: Winter Tasting- St. Estephe (Bucheron, Mpls) : Dark red color. Drank a glass over 2 hours. This had a good 4hr of slow-O time. Killer nose, surpassing the palate by a good bit, though that's no slouch either. Funk, damp soil, mint, pipe tobacco emerges later, leather and cherry on a perfumed nose. The palate is medium bodied, fairly resolved, cassis, cherry, pencil and dried earth. The fruit is a bit more scarce on the palate. Very …

1978 vintage

Tasted at the Château. The 2021 Montrose showed very well. Surprisingly open and expressive already now with a lovely nose of mint, green bell pepper, liquorice root, cherry, tobacco and bergamot. Good mid-palate weight, drying tannins, good balance, not super powerful, but very intense and long. This will age effortlessly.

2021 vintage

In its prime drinking window. Elegant, silky. Cassis, cedar, tobacco, coffee, mentholic background. Drink now and over the coming 3 years.

2004 vintage

Casual dinner with colleagues : Opened after dinner at my place. Surprisingly approachable for an ’05, I can understand why previous notes might perceive it as slightly dilute, but in my book it was a good thing that the tannins were unobtrusive to make this far more accessible than I expected for the vintage. A very classic claret.

2005 vintage

Leather, lead, red fruit. Nice acidity. Long. Very good with plenty of life left.

2005 vintage

Tasting event

2021 vintage

Farbe: trübes Rot. Nase: anfangs sehr „Altwein“: sauer, Pilze. Das unangenehme verfliegt mit etwas Luft. Mund: angenehme rote Frucht. Dezentes Tannin. Schöne Textur. Gut trinkbar, aber nichts besonderes.

1978 vintage

Bottiglia fallata

2004 vintage

Festive Wine; 12/28/2025-12/30/2025 (At home in leafy West London) : Opened as a treat for the chef while cooking christmas dinner. The first 2/3 of the bottle gently drunk over the following 4-5 hours, with a slight pause for napping and then finished with the cheese. I ended up having the whole bottle myself - not to be intentionally selfish, it was just that hardly anyone was on red, given the epic quantities of champagne served. Onto the wine. Yes …

2005 vintage

This still has quite a bit of life…. Probably another year or two, but still…. Drink up.

1978 vintage

4th bottle this year. Next to Pichon Lalande and Baron 2021. Performed much better than the other two. Contrary to my previous bottles, it's getting into muted state, still showed very similar notes after 3 hours of decanting. 96/100.

2021 vintage

Consistent with all prior tasting notes. This is drinking really great right now and in its sweet spot. One of the better left bank wines in the 2004 vintage. Excellent! Decanted for 90 minutes before tasting. It has some sediment so be careful as you get down to the bottom of the bottle.

2004 vintage

Did not decant. Opened bottle and left to breathe for 90 minutes. Bouquet arrived on pour, continued to open to the end. Drinking beautifully. Garnet color, fruit floating on the palate with long round balanced finish, offering depth and balance.

2004 vintage

Aromatic. Red and black currant, boysenberry, spice cake. Palate is still tight and a bit closed. This bottle comes across as diluted and thin. Dominated by coarse, bitter tannins. Sampled before and 90 minute decant, with similar impressions.

2005 vintage

was a standout at the CdB annual dinner. Back in open and drinking window again. Deep blue and black fruit, lots of depth and length. Excellent and worth seeking out.

2005 vintage

Drinking very well now but will improve with more age. A stand out at a recent BWE convention

2005 vintage

Dekantert. Noe nølende første glass. Deretter bedre og bedre nedover I flasken. Dag 2 er alt enda bedre. Herlig flaske.

2004 vintage

I enjoyed drinking this. Clearly good depth. It went back and forth between blackcurrant, coffee etc. But I think it’s just entering its drinking window and will be much better in 5-10Y. Hold.

2005 vintage

Dichtes Rubin, schwarz im Kern. Etwas verhaltene Nase, etwas Johannisbeere, Lakritze. Am Gaumen sehr frische Säurestruktur, guter Fruchtdruck, eine überraschend tolle Balance. Eher leichter Körper, nach wie vor forsche Tannine. Ein Foodwein durch und durch. Macht nach ca 2 Stunden so richtig auf. Die Nase ist nun intensiv schwarzbeerig, es kommen Aromen nach Zigarrenkiste und Zedernholz hinzu. Am Gaumen wird der Wein breitschultrig, samtiges Mundgefühl, dicht & adstringent. Tolles Potenzial für 10+ easy.

2004 vintage

Mörkt mörkröd med lila stick. Detta är det perfekta vinet för alla oss strukturfascister. Ploppades som ett monolitiskt vin, men öppnade upp sig allteftersom aftonen fortgick. Trippeldekanterades under 5 timmar innan middagen. Galet vacker uppbyggnad även om aromer fortfarandemest är primära. Dricker gärna massor av detta eleganta, högoktaniga vin!

2005 vintage

Popped and poured. Classical and mature bouquet with dark berries, earthy flavors, mushrooms, juicy acidity and tannin with still a pleasant bite. More elegant than concentrated.

2004 vintage

This Montrose is much lighter than usual, with one exception. The signature graphite/black currant nose is still very much there.

2021 vintage

Yum. Great rich purple fruit. Firm, a little stiff & angular. Great secondary notes but mostly this is about muscular fruit and bright acid. Lots of mineral. Young maturity. Excellent. Drink while its young now and for another 15+ years.

2004 vintage

Really liked this and wasn't as tannic as I had thought it would be.. Plums, red fruit, some leather... Think it can go on for ages.

2005 vintage

Immensely concentrated and dense; unctuous but unsweet rough nose, carbon, graphite; dark and Barolo-like.

2005 vintage

Commanderie at Cal Club - brought as a fun blind pour out of magnum following a flight of Cheval Blanc, Haut Brion, and Mouton Rothschild 95s which made me somewhat nervous, especially with the mixed reviews on CT. Luckily, this bottle which was a high neck fill was pristine and performed! Still with freshness in the large format with crushed red fruit, tobacco, forest floor and lovely complexity on the finish. Good stuff to share with the Commandeurs.

1978 vintage

Remainder from the day before, from Asparagus. Tasted blind. Drank in Conterno Sensory. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of deep earth, tobacco tar, hint of mushroom, leathery meat, dark red cherries, black cherries, blackberries, dark red plum, bit of cedar in the background. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), firm very grippy high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of tar and tobacco ash, …

2005 vintage

Decanted two hours. Not enough. Closed and dull. Clearly a big brooding wine. Time will tell.

2005 vintage

Blackberry, red currant, damp earth, pencil shavings, cigar box, menthol, smallest smidge of green capsicum. Opened up wonderfully after a couple of hours, at its strongest on final glass. Plenty of structure remaining, feathery tannin, ample length.

2004 vintage

Very tight and muted upon opening so give this a ton of air if you're going to drink it now. I gave it 5 hours in a decanter and it really blossomed but it remains a taut, brooding wine with a great future and doesn't succumb to some of the overripeness of the vintage. Still, it's a huge wine with lots of depth and tons of Montrose vineyard character with flavors of black death earth, dinosaur tarpit and cut diamond …

2005 vintage

Spice on the nose, baking spices and tobacco, fruit just showing a little stewed character. Firm tannin, ripe, lovely texture. Just opening up. Spicy very long. Great wine. Drinking well now.

2005 vintage

Shade paler then 2000; mid-weight, verging on elegant; easy going finish.

2004 vintage

Costo is clearing out 2021 Bordeaux since its been literally sitting on the shelves for months and months so picked up a Montrose and Cos for $99 each. I tried them next to each other and while neither were a re-buy (even at $99), the Montrose was the lesser of the two. Very dull/boring with muted fruit and light structure. Not a 'bad wine' by any means....Just not very good or exciting. I don’t think time will help much either. …

2021 vintage

The wine looks impossibly young, no bricking at all despite the cork completely crumbling away. Fairly simple nose of blackcurrant, a bit of vanilla and possible a bit of meatiness. Blackcurrant finish that is still surprisingly tannic. Maybe this just needs more time. I’ve got 3 left and I think I may try and forget about them for a long time.

2004 vintage

Super 2nd Growth (Qiao Lu Roast Duck) : Blind. Open at 5pm drunk at 830pm, graphite, pencil shaving, whiff of cassis, dark fruits. Good weight on the palate, dusty tannins, med acids, long finish. Wine took on lots of weight after slow ox in the bottle with lots of fruits and body

2004 vintage

Opened 3 bottles of this at our wedding in late July alongside many very, very nice wines from Bordeaux, Italy (2013 Solaia), and the New World. This was a crowd favorite. Dark fruits, dark chocolate palate. Mesquite, tobacco, cedar. Stunning. Lots of fruit for just 13% alcohol after 20 years. Luckily, I have 1 more bottle.

2005 vintage

Yea, great wine it was not a PnP but we barely decanted it for 30 minutes. I wonder how much better could it be if decanted for a few hours.

2005 vintage

blind montrose tasting. young, with some vegetality.

2021 vintage

Drinking well. Not sure if it will improve or just hold and then decline. Fruit is lovely and there are classic cigar box and pencil shavings. It’s not lean or tired but there is a bit of a gap on the mid palate which stops it from scoring higher.

2004 vintage

Powerful Saint-Estephe showing blackberry, earth, and cedar. Full-bodied with dense tannins.

2004 vintage

This was tasted blind against the 2005 Chateau La Gaffelière by six people. Double decanted 3 hours in advance. Interesting but not very strong bouquet. Dark. Strong on the palate, intense fruit, lots of structure. Tannins not yet completely resolved. Hint of oak. Long, lingering aftertaste. Five of the six preferred the smoother, more elegant La Gaffelière. The Montrose has major upside and could rate 97 or 98 when it is 30 or 40 years old, but I am 78 …

2005 vintage

Celebrating "monumental" birthdays this year w/ 3 of my buddies David, Diane & Brian at Meritage. Dian's Btl. Lovely and drinks quite well 23yrs out. That said, this Montrose likely has further upside in another 3-15yrs. Brian's Btl. This was decanted on arrival at Meritage so by the time we started drinking it in earnest it had been in the decanter pushing 2hrs. Served in a flt alongside Diane's '02. This may win out down the road, but Diane's was …

2004 vintage

Same bottle as EC below. I have consisent notes. Some 1929s are etherial fleeting blossoms next to thier 1928 counterparts which are buillt on tight frames of tannin. Not so much for the 29 Montrose which is beautifully structured, gravelly and full of bluberry, currant and cassis with just a bit of brine beneath the fruit. Terroir shines here and this held well in the decanter for over an hour. Exceptional showing for a near 100 year Monty!

1929 vintage

The 1929 Montrose shows a cool, dense nose, full of blackberry, black earth, gravel, squid ink, and eventually walnut. This is very Montrosian, not only in aromatic palette but in style, too, with its monolithic power. The 1929 vintage, which so often produced beguilingly winsome Médocs, usually has quite a strong vintage stamp - but not here. If tasted blind, I surely would have doubled down on 1928 for the seriousness of the wine and the slightly rugged character of …

1929 vintage

Fourth time with this wine, similar to my other experiences. I think the vintage here has really taken over, very nice nose of red fruits, cigar box and pencil shavings with a good amount of pyrazines. The mouthfeel does not match the intensity of the nose.

2004 vintage

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Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe

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