critic reviews
The 1995 Montrose has a backward bouquet with mainly red berry fruit, stewed black tea and brown spices, terracotta scents emerging with time. There is fine delineation; initially quite backward, as Montrose often can be, though it opens with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine weight, beautifully balanced, somehow quite "soothing" in style with no hard edges. It sashays along wonderfully, a Montrose reaching the peak of its powers. Tasted at the 1995 Bordeaux off-line at Piccolino in London.
Medium garnet-brick in color, the 1995 Montrose swans out of the glass with maturing notes of cigar box, prunes, dried cherries, and boysenberry preserves, followed by hints of new leather, Sichuan pepper, and graphite. The elegantly styled, light-bodied palate is soft-textured and refreshing, with nuanced black and red berry preserves layers and a soft-spoken, savory finish.
As I wrote last year, the 1995 Montrose is beginning to drink brilliantly, and this most recent example only confirms that. Wafting from the glass with a classic bouquet of red and black currant fruit, rich loamy soil, cigar box and black truffles, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with terrific concentration, ripe tannins and lively acids. The 1995 took its time, but this rather structured, powerful vintage of Montrose is now beginning to soften.