Area under vines: 95 hectares
Soils: deep, large size gravel with sand and a small amount of clay
Average age of the vines: 40 years
Production: 400 000 bottles a year
Planting density: 9000 vines/ha
Ageing:in 60% new oak barrels for 16 to 18 months
Grape varieties:
Second wine: Dame de Montrose
Learn more about Château Montrose here
The 1995 Montrose is beginning to drink brilliantly, and the most recent bottle I pulled from my cellar is the finest I’ve encountered to date. Wafting from the glass with a classic bouquet of red and black currant fruit, rich loamy soil, cigar box and black truffles, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with terrific concentration, ripe tannins and lively acids. Seamless and complete, readers cellaring this wine should consider opening a few bottles.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040
Thick dense crimson. Hint of mint – very deep and dense and attention-grabbing. Then it become a bit muted and low key. Very stolid. A heck of a lot of matiere in here. Not much fun – over oaked?
Anticipated maturity: 2006-2016
Excellent red-ruby color. Plum, currant, animal fur, smoked game, roasted nuts and graphite on the nose, plus a note of toffee. Lush and smooth in the mouth, with notes of minerals, leather and game. Still rather tightly wrapped following the mise, but very nicely balanced from the outset. Firm acidity gives the wine superb delineation and grip. Tannins are dusty and firm-and more obvious today than in the ’97, despite the fact that the later year featured higher polyphenol levels.
