Château Montrose 2005

Still young and tightly knit, dense and fresh, this great wine needs more time. Overall, it should become a very fine classic within a decade.

This is still a bit dark and brooding, with a charcoal frame around well-steeped fig and black currant fruit. The long finish lets a deep river of smoldering tobacco and warm stone notes course through. Austere and seemingly taciturn, yet thoroughly beautiful. May not be your style, but this is undeniable. -- Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2022 through 2042. 25,555 cases made.

Deep florality and wonderful black fruit. Surprisingly smooth and silky at first then the classic firmness becomes plain towards the finish. It has more natural richness than most in 2015 – a superbly made wine from a great terroir.

This continues to be very tight yet I loved drinking it the other night at dinner. Loads of spices, berries, meat, cloves and chocolate on the nose. Full body with soft, silky tannins and lots of rich fruit. Still chewy. This is just starting to open up now. Drink or hold.

Mid shaded garnet. Mellow, sweet palate entry and then a little char on the end. Tannins there still but mellowing. Just a little short. (JR)

Powerful, concentrated, deep, long, intense, youthful, and tannic, there is a strong backbone here that will allow this to age gracefully for 2-3 decades with ease. But it is not ready to go at this point. So, either give it 2 hours of air, or wait 5-10 more years.

Deep, dark ruby-garnet colour with purple reflections and a broad brightening on the rim. The nose is delicate, with earthy savoury notes, dark berries and fine mineral undertones. On the palate, a firm texture with dark chocolate and fresh, sweet berries; it already shows great length, with a very typical terroir note and a sweet core. It has enormous ageing potential and continues its grandiose series of successes.

A big, rich, gorgeous Montrose, the 2005 reveals a deep ruby/plum hue as well as classic Saint-Estephe notes of darker currants and cassis interwoven with graphite, leather, and violet nuances. It’s a big, rich, concentrated, medium to full-bodied effort that has a terrific sense of freshness, flawless balance, and remarkable purity and precision. It’s just now starting to show a kiss of maturity and it looks to be in the early phases of its prime drinking window. It’s also the finest bottles I’ve had, pointing to this starting to round the corner and show its full potential. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot, it’s not far off the style of the 2010, although maybe with a touch more accessibility. It should cruise for another 30 years in cold cellars.

06: Deep garnet with purple highlights, profound at the core. Reserved bouquet showing lots of stewed prunes, with inky touches and truffle; it struggles to reveal itself and the nose is almost blocked by its massive tannins. Firm palate, blue- to black-berry contours, a solid bite with a gently cushioned core, an almost brutal astringency from tannins that come across more angular—almost arrogant—and will require a great, great deal of patience. The final chapter has not yet been written. But before we can round it up here, a counterweight to the dominant tannins will first have to emerge through continued barrel ageing and later bottle ageing. (18/20). 09: Deep garnet, saturated at the core. Warm bouquet of dried fruits, tar and truffle notes, quite full on the attack, even though it is still closed. Firm on the palate, with flesh and bite, but ripe tannins—so as a food wine it makes a good sparring partner. (18/20). 11: Deep, saturated garnet. Dense and deep, red-berry tendencies, wonderful cherry tones, magnificent terroir perfume, stone dust and white pepper, documenting the typical, feminine 2005 sweetness. Elegant palate; the tannins are already beautifully integrated, the acidity is still somewhat forward; it needs plenty of time, but must also shed a faintly ‘capsule-like’ note. (18/20). 11: Noble bouquet, dark chocolate notes, fine woods, a touch of tobacco and delicate hints of leather; the fruit feels ripe and shows plummy contours. Balanced astringency, velvety extract, subtly inky notes in the extract; the bottle calls for quite a lot of ageing. In any case, it signals a great terroir. (19/20). 15: Still very young and demanding. A serious wine, with a certain introversion—at least for the next 5 years. (19/20). 19: Extremely dark, almost black at the core. The bouquet shows the desire—after many years of being closed—to please for the first time. It shows more spice than fruit. First you find Alpine blueberries, then the nose quickly shifts to black pepper, Karbonileum, dark leather and walnut. On the palate, it displays its dramatic length from the outset; the tannins form a noble, yet still demanding astringency. Decant! (19/20). 21: Deep ruby with the last violet highlights. Although still restrained, the tightly woven bouquet is precise and straight as an arrow. The nose radiates as many floral as fruity notes. The latter are minimally red-berry and above all blue- and black-berry, complemented by liquorice, dark chocolate, mint and thyme. On the palate it starts very pleasantly, almost suggesting a first phase of maturity, then the tannins tighten their grip and increase the astringency, delivering the message of a very long life. Perfectly vinified and one of the first great wines from Château Montrose after the long era of the Charmolüe family. (19/20). 22: Magnum. Purple–violet–black. What a colour! For a young Montrose, it comes across as relatively approachable. Inky opening. Stewed prunes, truffle, black peppercorns, pipe tobacco. Despite its presumed power, the nose is decidedly noble—elevated, regal. After a few minutes it scents of blueberries and blackcurrants. Then fresh herbs follow and the aromatic parade becomes ever more layered and expansive. On the palate it impresses with its streamlined character, straight and precisely aligned. The massive yet rounded tannins know how to integrate. The finish intoxicates and impresses at the same time. A perfect Montrose on the way to the maximum score—likely in about 10 years. Those who wait will get even more; those who don’t will already get a great deal. (19/20).

A deep, dark, velvety, complex bouquet: black berries, blackcurrant, mahogany, truffle, currants, and delicate toasted notes. The palate is dense, multi-layered, elegant and finely powerful, with plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated structure, and a dark, concentrated, highly varied aromatic profile. Very long, dense, dark finish with dark return aromas. 20/20 drink – 2050

The last vintage for Montrose under the Charmolüe family, before the Bouygues bought it in 2006. Inky plum in colour, moreish from the very first sip. So juicy, with such well-controlled extraction—balanced yet intense and concentrated—with layers of still-vibrant cassis, bilberry, eucalyptus and cocoa bean. You can now clearly see where it’s heading, but it will keep building over the next few years, then sit on a plateau for decades. Proof that whatever the Bouygues paid for it the following year, they were getting one of the greatest estates in the Médoc. 60% new oak.

This was the last vintage for the Charmolue family - Jean-Bernard Delmas oversaw the elevage of this wine. Deep garnet in color with a touch of brick at the rim, the 2005 Montrose is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. After a little shaking, the nose erupts with a fantastic perfume of blackcurrant pastilles, kirsch, raisin cake, and forest floor, leading to hints of aniseed, cracked black pepper, and unsmoked cigars. The medium-bodied palate has a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing very long and minerally.

A lovely, well-balanced wine, quite approachable for this growth, with supple, charming tannins, but it lacks the monumentality of its peers or the vinosity of great vintages like 2000 or 2003.

Garnet-red with ruby hues at the rim. A powerful, complex bouquet, marked by notes of graphite, blackcurrant and blueberries. On the palate, it perfectly combines power with finesse, and even a juicy touch. A full-bodied, deep, long and elegant wine, still so youthful. You can already start enjoying it… just remember to decant it for at least two hours.

Logo on the cork: an A inside a circle (Amorim) Faulty bottle Dark, intense, and evolved color. Discreet nose, with fresh, licorice-tinged fruit. A caressing palate, very fruity and flavorful, but with a slightly harsh edge on the finish. Medium length. This is my lowest score out of 8 tastings! Noticeable variation from one bottle to another!