"The 2019 Montrose has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with a dramatic, perfumed bouquet of wild berries and cassis mingled with notions of lilac, violets, pencil shavings and warm spices, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's deep and multidimensional, with lively acids, beautifully refined tannins and a long, resonant finish. Checking in at 14.4% alcohol (rather higher than, for example, the brilliant 2009's 13.7% or the 2016's 13.3%), this is an undeniably powerful, ripe Montrose, but for now everything appears to be kept in check."
This large estate overlooking the Gironde in Saint-Estèphe produces some of Bordeaux's greatest and longest-lived wines, and the last 15 or so years have seen it benefit from sustained investment. There's a brand-new winery and cellars, of course, but there's a lot of work going on in the vineyards too. When Olivier and Martin Bouygues acquired Château Montrose from the Charmolüe family in 2006, the estate included fully 17 hectares of pre-clonal vines dating back to the early 20th century, and a massale selection program has since identified 80 viable individuals, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, for use when replanting (the same efforts are currently being lavished on Merlot, drawing on a block behind the château acquired from Phélan-Ségur). Now cover crops are being trialed, and the soils are being cultivated more superficially to avoid disrupting the microbiome. Winemaking is rather classical, with three-week macerations and maturation in some 60% new oak.
William Kelley 97 Punkte (Apr. 2022)
Quelle: www.robertparker.com