Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe 2000

Just starting to open, it shows beautiful spices and dark fruit on the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with ultra-fine, integrated tannins and an extremely complex, refined finish. 

Drink or hold

Just beginning to soften and open after a stubborn few decades. Tobacco and crushed mint leaf sit against blackberry and bilberry fruits that continue to be held by a firm frame of tannins. A stately Montrose with a long future ahead is packed with the power and finesse that is so signature to this estate. Harvest September 22 to October 7. First year in the new stainless steel vat room. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Drink 2022 - 2035

Rated initially 96, this wine confirmed its early rating, although again, the backwardness and still pronounced tannins suggest another 7- to 8-year wait. Dense ruby/purple, with a bouquet of blueberry, crushed rock, and some floral notes, the wine is medium to full-bodied, rich, and powerful, but again very tannic and strikingly youthful. 

For a wine that is already ten years of age, it does not remain very mature. This blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot is a unique wine and should hit its prime in about 2020 and last at least 30 years.

Drink 2020 - 2050