2005 Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe

Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe

Colour: Red

Vintage: 2005

Region: Bordeaux, Saint-Estephe

Montrose is one of the greatest estates in Bordeaux. Its spectacular terroir in the prime sector of St Estephe has been brought to its pinnacle by owner Martin Bouygues and his team, leading to a run of sublime performances over a decade long; in a number of these vintages, it stands scrutiny as a potential ‘wine of the vintage’. Saint-Estephe is the Médoc’s most northerly commune, lying just beyond the confines of Pauillac, and stretches up the Gironde estuary, a mere 50 kilometre swim away from the Atlantic Ocean. The soil boasts a larger proportion of clay than the rest of the Médoc which, in the past, has lent the wines a traditional austerity requiring lengthier aging than their cousins further south. With climate change, however, where long periods of intense sunshine and near drought conditions have become the norm, vines planted in the commune’s moisture-retaining clay have thrived and few exemplify this better than the exceptional Chateau Montrose.

Tasting Notes and Scores

98 DR

Here we are fully crossing the threshold into younger, more primary aromatics, but they are also well integrated, beautifully softened and gorgeous. This is sappy with a chalky minerality and fully pliable tannins. It's powerful, with a smile-inducing purity of fruit expression and excellent persistency of exotic coffee notes. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3.5% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Petit Verdot. Drinking Window 2017 - 2042
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Decanter's Bordeaux Fine Wine Encounter, The Landmark Hotel, 30 Mar 2017)
Part of Producer profile: Château Montrose

Decanter

96 NM

The Château Montrose 2005 has a quite brilliant bouquet with intense blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents that unfold in compelling fashion – but don’t give too much away. The palate is full-bodied, a Montrose of “architecture” thanks to its vaulted tannin, perfect acidity and immense precision on the long finish. Everything here feel natural and effortless and yet it is clearly a 50+ year old wine. This is a fabulous Montrose, one built like a Bentley.

– eRobertParker.com, Feb 2015

Neal Martin

949 WL

Quality 911 | Brand 992 | Economics 960 | investment staple
Quality: Predicted life of 14 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 9 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 34 of the world's top wine lists, including Tru Economics: Above its peer group average price of £47 for the 2005 vintage Production:

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Wine Lister

94+ RP

The 2005 Montrose continues to show brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with notes of blackcurrant, red fruits, loamy soil, black truffles and cigar ash. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's still brooding and tannic, with lively acids and an imposing chassis of structuring—and artery-cleansing—extract. Still an adolescent, it's one of the last unrepentantly old-school vintages of Montrose, and Médoc purists couldn't own enough. While this remains a very youthful wine, it is now apparent that the 2005 will, at maturity, surpass the 1989 and 1990. WK 98 points
The 2005 Montrose has a saturated purple color. As backward as one would expect of a St.-Estèphe, it offers notes of sweet blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, earth, graphite and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, moderately tannic, and still a decade away from prime-time drinkability. This 30+ year wine is clearly outstanding, but not one of the vintage’s most prodigious efforts. Drink: 2025 - 2035.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #219, Jun 2015)

Wine Advocate

93+ MS

Dark, youthful, narrow rimmed red; fine, fragrant nose, crisp and complex; rich, vivid, concentrated, elegant wine in a firmly tannic, long term mould; deep, briskly sweet, long and vital in flavour, complex and fine and satisfying, with a lovely long, ripe fruited finish. Assuming the tannins mellow sufficiently, this is excellent long term Montrose. 2025-45+

Michael Schuster

Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe