Montrose 2021

St Estephe, Second Growth

Units	Size	Case size	GBP Price:	Quantities	Buy
18	75cl Bottle	Case 6	£500 per Case	Cases	[Add to shopping basket]

Tasting Notes
Extremely impressive, this lives up to En Primeur expectations. Cloves, sandalwood, liqourice, fennel, cracked black pepper, and a ton of juicy cassis and blueberry fruit. Delicious, with well-defined tannic architecture and plenty of potential to deliver for 15 to 20 years. 55% new oak. Pierre Grafeuille director, working alongside his predecessor Herbé Berland for most of this vintage. Score: 95 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2041 02 April 2024
The 2021 Montrose is an inward, brooding wine—classic Montrose, in other words, just attenuated in its intensity by the cool growing season. Spice, tobacco, cedar, menthol, scorched earth, gravel and a touch of new oak open over time, but the 2021 is really a wine that requires considerable cellaring to reach its potential. Then again, it is Montrose. Elegance meets power here. Score: 96 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2031-2051 27 February 2024
The 2021 Montrose is not dissimilar to the sample I tasted from barrel two years earlier. It eschews the more complex and, one might say, "ambitious" aromatic profiles seen in recent years (for example, the spectacular 2020) and delivers a more streamlined version. Blackberry, crushed iris flower, graphite and light autumn leaf aromas become prettier as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and impressive depth, very silky in texture with excellent purity of fruit. The Cabernet is a little more expressive than it was out of barrel, gently building in the mouth toward a very harmonious finish. This is a delightful Montrose, not the best in recent years, but it has gained complexity during its élevage. Score: 95 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2026-2050 22 February 2024
Dark and minerally through and through. Good fruit concentration. Hint of barrel but integrated. Velvety attack, the tannins dense but finely framed. Long, cool finish. Evident potential for ageing. Score: 17 James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2030-2050 06 May 2022
A very classy and refined Montrose with excellent length and a compact, medium-bodied palate, showing fine, silky tannins and a fresh, bright finish. Lots of currant, blackberry and tar at the end, as well as some graphite. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 31% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Score: 95 - 96 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 01 May 2022
A brilliant achievement, the 2021 Montrose is reminiscent of a purer, more precise, modern-day version of the estate's 1996. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, sweet loamy soil, black truffle and nicely integrated new oak, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and a seamless, harmonious profile. Exhibiting beautifully refined tannins and an impressive sense of completeness, it's a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot—standing out as one of the few top wines of the vintage that actually includes more Merlot and less Cabernet than in recent years. Score: 94 - 96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 29 April 2022
The Grand Vin 2021 Château Montrose comes from a miniscule selection of just 39% of the production and is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Medium to full-bodied, it has a seamless, elegant, incredibly pure mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and some richer plum, spice, and tobacco aromas and flavors. It's certainly in the style of the vintage with its pure, graceful, supple style, but the tannins are impeccably done, it's balanced, and has character. It should benefit from just a few years of bottle age and keep for 20-25 years. Score: 93 - 95 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 06 February 2022

Tasting Notes

Extremely impressive, this lives up to En Primeur expectations. Cloves, sandalwood, liqourice, fennel, cracked black pepper, and a ton of juicy cassis and blueberry fruit. Delicious, with well-defined tannic architecture and plenty of potential to deliver for 15 to 20 years. 55% new oak. Pierre Grafeuille director, working alongside his predecessor Herbé Berland for most of this vintage.

Score: 95

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2041 02 April 2024

The 2021 Montrose is an inward, brooding wine—classic Montrose, in other words, just attenuated in its intensity by the cool growing season. Spice, tobacco, cedar, menthol, scorched earth, gravel and a touch of new oak open over time, but the 2021 is really a wine that requires considerable cellaring to reach its potential. Then again, it is Montrose. Elegance meets power here.

Score: 96

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2031-2051 27 February 2024

The 2021 Montrose is not dissimilar to the sample I tasted from barrel two years earlier. It eschews the more complex and, one might say, "ambitious" aromatic profiles seen in recent years (for example, the spectacular 2020) and delivers a more streamlined version. Blackberry, crushed iris flower, graphite and light autumn leaf aromas become prettier as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and impressive depth, very silky in texture with excellent purity of fruit. The Cabernet is a little more expressive than it was out of barrel, gently building in the mouth toward a very harmonious finish. This is a delightful Montrose, not the best in recent years, but it has gained complexity during its élevage.

Score: 95

Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2026-2050 22 February 2024

Dark and minerally through and through. Good fruit concentration. Hint of barrel but integrated. Velvety attack, the tannins dense but finely framed. Long, cool finish. Evident potential for ageing.

Score: 17

James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2030-2050 06 May 2022

A very classy and refined Montrose with excellent length and a compact, medium-bodied palate, showing fine, silky tannins and a fresh, bright finish. Lots of currant, blackberry and tar at the end, as well as some graphite. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 31% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.

Score: 95 - 96

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 01 May 2022

A brilliant achievement, the 2021 Montrose is reminiscent of a purer, more precise, modern-day version of the estate's 1996. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, sweet loamy soil, black truffle and nicely integrated new oak, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and a seamless, harmonious profile. Exhibiting beautifully refined tannins and an impressive sense of completeness, it's a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot—standing out as one of the few top wines of the vintage that actually includes more Merlot and less Cabernet than in recent years.

Score: 94 - 96

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 29 April 2022

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Montrose comes from a miniscule selection of just 39% of the production and is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Medium to full-bodied, it has a seamless, elegant, incredibly pure mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and some richer plum, spice, and tobacco aromas and flavors. It's certainly in the style of the vintage with its pure, graceful, supple style, but the tannins are impeccably done, it's balanced, and has character. It should benefit from just a few years of bottle age and keep for 20-25 years.

Score: 93 - 95

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 06 February 2022

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