Chateau Montrose 2006

Chateau Montrose, 2eme Cru Classe, Saint Estephe, Bordeaux, France, 2006  

Grapes: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, 95ha vineyard on gravel/sand over clay subsoil, 41hl/ha yield, 18 months' ageing in oak barrels (60% new)

Chateau Montrose has new owners and they have the potential to make one of Bordeaux's greatest wines on a regular basis. Only 60% of the harvest has gone into the Grand Vin, Jean- Bernard Delrous, the winemaker formerly of Haut Brion has also reduced the yields. One of the densest, most backward wines of the vintage, high levels of extract & tannin will require lengthy ageing, but there is a sweetness on the finish that indicates that the wait will be worthwhile. Drink from 2016.

Producer Tasting Note:

Dense and profound colour. Nose still shut with scents of red berries and currants, morello. Long, full, potent on the palate, offering up aromas of morello, raspberry, strawberry,and liquorice. Nice mid-palate followed by a beautiful finish with neat and tight tannins. Great wine, very structured with a very good ageing potential.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Jean-Bernard Delmas has instituted a green harvest in the vineyards to get riper fruit and less rustic tannins. Yields were lower than average at 41 hl/ha. And in the winery, more gentle handling by using remontage (pumping over) and not délestage (rack and return). 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot. 60% new oak. Very dark crimson. Not that much nose but great sweetness on the palate. Then and only then the dryness of Saint-Estèphe. Not sure there is quite the focus of Montrose in its best vintages in the 21st century but presumably the team, under Jean-Bernard Delmas’ direction, will get there. A little moue and soft for Montrose. Slightly inky on the finish. Not quite the weight required for this amount of dryness. I feel. Surely an interim vintage. IPT 80. There is freshness and vivacity. Energy."

17.5/20 points, Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com, April 2007

"The first vintage under new owner Martin Bouygues,who convinced Jean-Bernard Delmas to come out of retirement to produce this wine, the 2006 Montrose is an undeniable success. A blend of approximately two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one-third Merlot, and a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, the most dramatic difference between the 2006, and wines made by the previous administration is that Jean Delmas produces wines with sweeter, silkier tannins, although analytically, they are as high as those found in the great Montrose vintages of the past. The 2006 is extraordinarily elegant and finesse-styled, but it exhibits stunningly concentrated, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit with hints of flowers and minerals. Full-bodied with a savory, expansive mid-palate as well as sweet, noble tannins, this beauty will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 20-25+ years." Drink 2012 - 2037

94+/100 points, Robert M. Parker Jr., WINE ADVOCATE, February 2009

This is part of a private customer’s collection. These wines are in excellent condition. We are acting as an agent in the sale and the price is exclusive of V.A.T. which is not due. Our multibuy discounts do not apply.