Château Montrose, 2ème Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2018
There have been so many exceptional wines produced at Montrose over the last decade. Even after Nicolas Glumineau left the team, they have continued on an upward trajectory. For us the reference point is the sublime 2016. This is a wine that had it all: power, depth and something quite ethereal, a detail and fine boned structure that we hadn't detected before. The attention to detail and meticulous approach to every aspect of production is clearly paying dividends. The team has successfully harnessed the power of this terroir and expressed it in a more refined and elegant fashion. The grand vin is exactly that. Produced from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, this is one of the most profound and concentrated wines of the vintage. When we met with Hervé Berland earlier in the year he was clearly delighted with the quality but explained that yields were a paltry 21 hl/ha, which in part explains the concentration. Berries were 20% smaller than average with thick skins and little juice inside. 'Concentrated juices of exceptional richness'. The bouquet is a seductive mix of black fruit, Asian spices, black tea, nori, griotte liqueur, cut flowers and deep graphite. Sumptuous, but taut fruit flows over the palate; this has huge concentration and length, possibly the most profound wine we tasted all week. There is real gravitas and sophistication here. A multidimensional, layered palate of creamy dark fruit, decadent raspberry and complex minerals leads to a hugely impressive, starry finish that goes on and on. These tannins are epic. They grip the mouth with authority painting a nuanced and lingering image. This captures the detail and precision of the 2016 Montrose with a more massive and concentrated style of 2018. An astonishing Montrose.
critic reviews
A hulking monster of power and extraction, the 2018 Montrose offers up rich aromas of mulberries, cherries, dark chocolate and violets. Full-bodied, broad and ample, with a textural attack that segues into a sweet core of fruit framed by ripe but chewy tannins, it's a muscular, dense Montrose with structure to burn, concluding with a lingering, floral finish. While its over 14.5% alcohol is impressively well integrated, Medoc purists will want to gravitate toward the 2016 rather than the 2018.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Montrose comes bounding out with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, chocolate-covered cherries, blueberry compote, and red roses, followed by scents of Indian spices, graphite, and dusty soil. The medium to full-bodied palate is full-on concentrated and decadent, yet has a beautifully crafted structure of firm, fine-grained tannins and balancing freshness, finishing long and spicy.
Silky, young, clear spice notes, more so than in any other vintage in the lineup except for the 2003. Plenty of stuffing through the palate, with blueberry, cassis, hawthorn, tumeric, saffron but also caramel and black chocolate flavours. It's beautiful, well balanced, with intent and poise, and very clearly a wine that will go the distance. Having said that, it's the only wine in the lineup when I even think about the alcohol, suggesting there is a trace of heat, and certainly you feel the sunshine of the year in a way that you rarely do in Montrose - this takes it down for me from my initial En Primeur score. Harvest September 17 to October 5.
The 2018 Montrose delivers on the promise that it showed from barrel. I gave this a three-hour decant before broaching, since Montrose is always backward, albeit far less ferociously than even just a decade ago. It offers copious blackberry and blueberry scents on the nose, plus pressed violets and a light estuarine scent that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky-smooth texture. Finely chiseled tannins frame multilayered black fruit infused with crushed stone, and it has retained that subtle graphite element that lends it a Pauillac-like personality, though less so than out of barrel. This is a beautifully defined Montrose with entrancing symmetry, and it should drink earlier than other recent vintages thanks to a little more pliancy.