Just as it was from barrel, the 2023 Montrose is one of the most compelling wines of the vintage. Unwinding in the glass with a brooding bouquet of cassis, violets and burning embers, it's full-bodied, with prodigious mid-palate density and dimension, its concentrated core of fruit underpinned by abundant but ultra-refined tannins and lively acids. Broad, penetrating and persistent, it's a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. This is a very serious wine, carrying plenty of structure; but while it will certainly require some patience, today's more precise extraction and élevage choices mean that it will not mandate the 20-30 years of deferred gratification that were once the norm at this address, even if I'm convinced the 2023 will be just as long-lived as the classics of the past.

Wow. This is the essence of Montrose, with blackberry, blackcurrant, crushed stone and earth. I have not tasted a Montrose like this in 42 years of my career. It has a much more vertical nature to it, with layered tannins that go very deep and long, The muscular structure and intensity is something else. This is a new era for Montrose. It is now made from only 45 hectares of vineyards right in front of the chateau, instead of about 60 before. 75% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot and 4% cabernet franc.

So floral and aromatic, really inviting and welcoming on the nose, more aromatic than some. Smooth and intense, clearly concentrated but supple and bouncy, there’s movement to this, it’s not strict. So precise, and finessed, you can feel the edges of the fine tannins - well executed with a mineral grip underneath. You can tell there’s power here, it has muscles but sinew also. Quite demonstrative really - it’s flexing but keeps such a clear line of focus and cool blue fruit with graphite and liquorice too. Round and penetrating with an excellent weight and balance of acidity in the mouth while keeping harmony alongside a hint of sweet and just-ripe strawberries mostly with crunchy cranberry too. A lot to like here. Great effort, classy and comfortable - multi-faceted while still being so juicy and approachable. 60% new oak, ageing in barrels only for 18 months. 3.7pH. 13.6% press wine (300 barrels of press split into seven qualities). 35% grand vin in total, mainly from the old vines which is 45% of the vineyard but 35% of the crop. 48hl/ha yield.

Gorgeously dark and vibrant fruit, with gunsmoke and campfire, concentrated cassis and blackberry pastille, grilled almond, saffron and pomegrante, luscious but measured, showing the inky character that seems to be at the heart of the best Cabernets of this vintage, with their ripe but not overly exuberant classicism. Organic conversion, to be certified 2025. The first vintage this 1st wine of Montrose is coming only from the section of the vineyard located on Terrace 4 of the Médoc gravel banks that line the Garonne river along the peninsula. Following soil studies from Pierre Becheler, this comprises 35% of the overall production in 2023, or 45ha of vines, and is the historic heart of the property. Pierre Grafeuille director, Vincent Decup technical director.

The 2023 Montrose is another brilliant wine from an estate that's now routinely among Bordeaux's very best year in year out. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon derived exclusively from the estate's historic core on the fourth terrace situated just in front of the château itself it unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis and wild berries mingled with notions of lilac violet and pencil shavings. Full-bodied deep and layered with a textural attack that segues into a dense multidimensional mid-palate framed by beautifully ripe tannins and lively acids it concludes with a long resonant finish. It will be worth a special effort to seek out.

The 2023 Montrose is focused on the original terroir of the estate known as Terrace 4 located in front of the river. It comprises 45 hectares around 12 to 15 hectares less than previous vintages so as to capture the expression of Montrose classified in 1855. Picked from September 5 to 28 and matured in 60% new oak this has a very intense and focused bouquet: pure black fruit with just a touch of strawberry hints of violet petals developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins—very pure with pitch-perfect acidity. This gains depth toward the finish but maintains a sense of linearity that ensures it is one of the vintage’s finest contributions from the Left Bank. Magnificent.

The 2023 Montrose is a dark brooding powerhouse but with the elegance that is such a signature today. Black cherry plum leather licorice mocha spice tobacco and dried flowers infuse the 2023 with tons of character. The Cabernet Sauvignon is so expressive here. Readers will have to be patient as this is a wine built for the cellar. It's not especially showy today but all the ingredients are there. The 2023 is quite the bruiser. In other words it’s classic Montrose. In the end that's not terribly surprising as the winemaking team relied exclusively on the original holdings of about 45 hectares from what the estate calls the 'grand plateau' or 'Terrace 4' essentially the historic core of the property. Harvest ran from September 5 to 28. There was some rain on the 21st but 15mm of precipitation after a heat spike was not meaningful. The 2023 is magnificent in every way. 2032-2063

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. 35% of the production, all from the historical parcels on terrasse 4. Cask sample. More Cabernet this year. Deep colour. Purity, freshness and density on the nose. Sensual texture. Suave tannins then plenty of drive through to a long finish. Structured but just so pure and refined. Very accomplished. (JL)

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2023 Château Montrose sports a vivid purple hue as well as awesome aromatics of crème de cassis, fresh blackcurrants, graphite, crushed stone, tobacco, and violets. It's medium to full-bodied and has a concentrated, layered, seamless mouthfeel, flawless balance, fine polished tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc and aged 18 months in 60% new French oak, it stays in the more aristocratic style of the vintage and is an utterly sensational, deep, multi-dimensional Montrose. It's one for the ages, yet I suspect it will be approachable within a reasonable time frame as well. Drink 2030-2078.

Simply off the hook in every sense of the word, this is what great wine is all about. For those that crave more details, in the aromatics, with little effort you find smoke, mint, licorice, exotic spices, flowers, crushed rocks, black raspberry, blackberries and currants On the show-stopping palate, there is a gorgeous sense of purity, as well as power, balanced with lift, and elegance. The wine is long, complex, and refined. The wine is intense and refined, with a lingering, expansive finish that hits the 60 second mark and keeps on going as it builds and escalates. The wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2030-2065.