Chateau Montlandrie, Cotes de Castillon, 2016
This is the first vintage since the untimely death of Denis Durantou. His daughters, Noémie and Constance have taken the reins, ably assisted by Denis’ long standing collaborator Olivier Gautrat. Noémie sums up the vintage as “Green buds in February, constant rain in spring, the aridity of summer and a mid-September harvest: wines of freshness and brightness, like a dense and colorful garden, vivacity, fruits and flowers in the rain.” Her first full vintage in charge has been a huge success. Montlandrie was very much a labour of love for Denis. He planted the vineyards high up above Castillon himself. We remember being impressed by early vintages, but it wasn’t until the 2015 that this started to get recognition from critics. The “Ferrari” Cabernet clones that Denis planted lend this an extra aromatic quality as well as lift and energy on the palate. Lots of beautiful, sweet, Cabernet fruit: crème de cassis, flowers and graphite. Pure and long, yet fresh and bright, bursting with crunchy berries wrapped up in fruit laced tannins. A really charming and refreshing Montlandrie, full of lift and energy.
critic reviews
Although it has the same qualitative style as Les Cruzelles or La Chenade, the 2016 Montlandrie, offers aromas of flowers, plum, graphite and menthol, as well as a more chalky texture. Its pure, clean, long and fleshy with powdery tannins and a long, saline finish. Theres no reason to wait.
Montlandrie 2016 is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and has a deep garnet color. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with ready-to-go scents of baked black plums, blueberry preserves, and cassis, plus touches of garrigue, pencil shavings, and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock full of expressive black and blue fruits with a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing with a minty kick.
The 2016 Montlandrie is laced with the essence of inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and licorice. Pliant and fruity, with striking depth, the 2016 is another gorgeous wine in this set of new releases from Denis Durantou. The 2016 is irresistibly beautiful, exotic and beguiling. It's as simple as that.