Château MONTROSE 2023

Description

Yves Beck 99-100 points www.yvesbeck.wine

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc

Le bouquet de Montrose a un message très clair, très lisible, avec une évidence qui allie bonheur, authenticité et complexité. Que de fraîcheur, de fruits, d’intensité et, surtout, que d’harmonie. Même dans un contexte d’intensité, chaque élément a sa place, aucun n’est dominant… sauf le niveau exceptionnel peut-être ! Une subtile symbiose de terroirs, de baies noires, de menthe poivrée et bien d’autres encore. En bouche, Montrose se positionne de manière imposante, non en élevant la voix, mais en communiquant clairement et sereinement qui il est et où il a pour ambition d’aller. Les tannins, puissants, sont parfaitement en phase avec la tension conférée par la structure acide. Elle assure une belle fraîcheur et plébiscite l’intensité aromatique de la finale, persistante de surcroît. Un vin d’une rare finesse, d’une puissance sereine, respectivement une imposante force tranquille. C’est un très grand vin et il compte parmi les très grandes réussites de Bordeaux !  2030-2060  

Georgina Hindle 98 points  www.decanter.com (at Bordeaux, 08 Apr 2024)
So floral and aromatic, really inviting and welcoming on the nose, more aromatic than some. Smooth and intense, clearly concentrated but supple and bouncy, there’s movement to this, it’s not strict. So precise, and finessed, you can feel the edges of the fine tannins – well executed with a mineral grip underneath. You can tell there’s power here, it has muscles but sinew also. Quite demonstrative really – it’s flexing but keeps such a clear line of focus and cool blue fruit with graphite and liquorice too. Round and penetrating with an excellent weight and balance of acidity in the mouth while keeping harmony alongside a hint of sweet and just-ripe strawberries mostly with crunchy cranberry too. A lot to like here. Great effort, classy and comfortable – multi-faceted while still being so juicy and approachable. 60% new oak, ageing in barrels only for 18 months. 3.7pH. 13.6% press wine (300 barrels of press split into seven qualities). 35% grand vin in total, mainly from the old vines which is 45% of the vineyard but 35% of the crop. 48hl/ha yield.

William Kelley 97-100 points www.erobertparker.com
The 2023 Montrose is another brilliant wine from an estate that’s now routinely among Bordeaux’s very best, year in, year out. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, derived exclusively from the estate’s historic core on the fourth terrace situated just in front of the château itself, it unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis and wild berries mingled with notions of lilac, violet and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, deep and layered, with a textural attack that segues into a dense, multidimensional mid-palate framed by beautifully ripe tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. It will be worth a special effort to seek out.

In 2023, Montrose was largely spared by mildew, receiving less rain than many other estates in June, and harvest rolled out between September 5 and 28. As in 2022, the grand vin this year derives exclusively from the Terrace 4 gravels in front of the estate itself, Montrose’s historic core terroir. Readers looking for more information about this de-facto first growth are directed to my feature published in the December 2023 Week 3 issue of The Wine Advocate.

Jean-Marc Quarin 97 points www.quarin.com
Couleur noire. Nez intense, fin, pur, fruité, subtil et complexe. Moelleux à l’attaque, complexe en milieu de bouche, avec un corps fondant et énormément d’arômes, le vin évolue lentement en prenant du relief dans la seconde partie du palais. Il s’achève long et noble, avec une qualité de pulpe haut de gamme, du goût et des tannins fins. Assemblage : 75 % cabernet sauvignon, 21 % merlot, 4 % cabernet franc. Degré d’alcool : 13°6 – pH : 3,7. 13,6 % de vin de presse. Rendement : 48 hl/ha. Sélection : 35 % de la production recentrée sur le terroir historique de 1855.

Neal Martin 96-98 www.vinous.com
The 2023 Montrose is focused on the original terroir of the estate, known as Terrace 4, located in front of the river. It comprises 45 hectares, around 12 to 15 hectares less than previous vintages so as to capture the expression of Montrose classified in 1855. Picked from September 5 to 28 and matured in 60% new oak, this has a very intense and focused bouquet: pure black fruit with just a touch of strawberry, hints of violet petals developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins—very pure, with pitch-perfect acidity. This gains depth toward the finish but maintains a sense of linearity that ensures it is one of the vintage’s finest contributions from the Left Bank. Magnificent.

Antonio Galloni 95-97 www.vinous.com
The 2023 Montrose is a dark, brooding powerhouse but with the elegance that is such a signature today. Black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, mocha, spice, tobacco and dried flowers infuse the 2023 with tons of character. The Cabernet Sauvignon is so expressive here. Readers will have to be patient, as this is a wine built for the cellar. It’s not especially showy today, but all the ingredients are there. The 2023 is quite the bruiser. In other words, it’s classic Montrose. In the end, that’s not terribly surprising, as the winemaking team relied exclusively on the original holdings of about 45 hectares from what the estate calls the ‘grand plateau’ or ‘Terrace 4’, essentially the historic core of the property. Harvest ran from September 5 to 28. There was some rain on the 21st, but 15mm of precipitation after a heat spike was not meaningful. The 2023 is magnificent in every way.