We only live once, live a little, I say.... The 2019 Chateau Montrose has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

...Well not quite yet, just got home, but it's about to be uncorked....

[marcs]

The suspense is building!

[JimHow]

Mmmmm.
Image 1855 from my iPhone....

[JimHow]

The color so deep it leaves a dark purple film on the glass when swirled....

[JimHow]

Oh man, baby doll, first sip, this is going to be a beauty. Can't wait to match it up with the sirloin. Somebody on cellartracker called this a lighter Montrose, they must be high on drugs. One sip in but this seems richly fruited.... A long way to go.

[JimHow]

14.5%.

[JoelD]

Interesting. Does that Montrose minerality show through all the fruit?

And does it taste like 14.5%, Jim? I wonder if some of the Chateau might have still been playing with these percentages for tariff purposes when bottling.

[JimHow]

Serious minerality, Joel, a little early to assess the alcohol but I'm not getting it in my first two sips. But serious Montrose minerality, love it.

[Blanquito]

Bordeaux Cupcakes, apparently it’s a thing!
http://paperdolltiffany.blogspot.com/20 ... s.html?m=1

Move over, BWE, it’s BCE time!

[JimHow]

I guess my tolerance for young wines is just an aberration, because I would not consider this wine "tight" or "closed" at all. I've popped and poured without decanting. Don't get me wrong, it's very young, but I've got the sirloin grilling and I think this is going to be stunning with the lightly seasoned steak. Blueberries and violets, to me it's forthcoming on the nose, but that's just one man's opinion. Still have only had about four small sips, I'll let it sit a bit and revisit with the sirloin.

[JimHow]

Lol on the Bordeaux Cupcakes, Patrick, I could use one of those puppies with this Montrose!

[PghMike]

Fantastic. I only got three 750s and a Mag. Making me wish I'd have sprung for another three already.

[JimHow]

Oh man, Mike, trust me, this wine is a stunner. I'm about 15% of the way into the bottle and I'm declaring a first round knockout. But hey... This is Montrose we are talking about here, there should be NO surprises. I got this on futures from Zachy's at $135 and they produced, I think that is a VERY fair price. More notes to come.

To me, the argument can be made that, in the 23 year history of BWE, no estate has excelled more consistently than Montrose. I have others in the mix, like Pichon Baron, Ducru, Calon Segur, Leoville Barton, and others, but if I had to pick one for a CONSISTENCY OF EXCELLENCE, I'm hard pressed to vote against Chateau Montrose.

[Blanquito]

Lol on the Bordeaux Cupcakes, Patrick, I could use one of those puppies with this Montrose!

Second only to a Whoopee Pie, mayhap.

[Blanquito]

The 19 Montrose sounds awesome. I might have to open a 2019 d’Issan when I take delivery next week.

[marcs]

I want to correct some insinuations here about opening wines "too early". Folks, the Bordeaux "shut down" period runs from about 5-6 years past vintage to something like 12-20 years past vintage depending on the vintage and the wine. Opening a bottle three years past vintage and luxuriating in pure primary fruit is actually totally legit. It was doing this with several 2000s, notably the 2000 Pichon Baron, that helped hook me on wine and led me down the road I am on today (of wasting vast amounts of money).

[JimHow]

Ha, indeed, Patrick. So I was really going to try to match this Montrose with a whoopee pie, but when I went to the bakery section of the supermarket, there were only peanut butter filled whoopee pies left, none of the "cream" <rolls eyes> filled from a bakery that is NOT Labadies. When I'm in a pinch, I'll go with these supermarket whoopee pies, even though they are not Labadies, because they are actually quite good.. though, no Labadies, mind you. But I just can't eat a peanut butter flavored whoopee pie, I would have to surrender my (mother's side) Franco heritage.

Labadies Bakery (https://labadiesbakery.com) in Lewiston, Maine, all biases aside, was undoubtedly the first location in the United States to produce La Pie de la Whoopee, back in 1925. There are MANY reasons why I make this statement, notwithstanding anything you may hear otherwise from those sadistic pig "Amish" <rolls eyes> from Pennsylvania. (Have you heard that the Amish abuse their youth? You can read about it here on the internet: https://www.amishheritage.org/give/?gcl ... gkQAvD_BwE.) Would you rather eat a whoopee pie produced by a child molesting Amish elder, or a hard working French Canadian textile mill worker from "Little Canada" Lewiston, Maine?

In any event, back to my point, I would have had to drive across town to get the world renowned Labadies whoopee pie, I was too tired and broken after a day of defending the poor and neglected in poverty-ridden central Maine, so.... I will drink my 2019 Montrose with some mild cheddar cheese and gluten free crackers....

[JimHow]

I want to correct some insinuations here about opening wines "too early". Folks, the Bordeaux "shut down" period runs from about 5-6 years past vintage to something like 12-20 years past vintage depending on the vintage and the wine. Opening a bottle three years past vintage and luxuriating in pure primary fruit is actually totally legit. It was doing this with several 2000s, notably the 2000 Pichon Baron, that helped hook me on wine and led me down the road I am on today (of wasting vast amounts of money).

Marcus, Amen my brother. I couldn't have stated it better, that may be the best justification for drinking young Bordeaux that I have seen on this site. I make ZERO apologies for drinking young Bordeaux. And, yes, then I hold off for several years, sometimes longer depending on the vintage, because there is undoubtedly an "awkward" stage. But this notion that Bordeaux can't be consumed "young," hell, He who Shall Remain Nameless, Jeff Leve, many of the British writers, and MANY others would dispute that. Including me. I like 'em young, baby, and I make NO apologies.

[Blanquito]

I’m going to be drinking about 150 young Bordeaux on 1/27!

[JimHow]

I’m going to be drinking about 150 young Bordeaux on 1/27!

Looking forward to the report. Sipping this '19 Montrose, I am ruling out nothing in my drinking window.

[Chateau Vin]

Montrose is my top 3 Chateaux, and wondering how does it compare with 2016, Jim. I thought you had 16 Montrose, right??

So 2019 Montrose, 2023 BWE WOTY? It’s about time for Montrose to be on that esteemed list...

[JimHow]

Stand by, I'm writing my review of the 2019 Montrose. I have decided on my score. It may not be available til the morning.

[StBlGT]

This sounds like a wine I need to track down. Boy, at $135...that's a steal!! I saw it at B-21 for $179...do you think that is a good price?

I just drank the 2016 La Dame recently, and that was fantastic. For a second wine, it blew me away!

I can't wait for your final take on this wine once you have another glass or two.

[Nicklasss]

Oups, he did it again!

No problem with young Bordeaux. And i repeat it all the time, the producers we met during the 2015 week in Bordeaux told us that great balance well made Bordeaux never shut down, and are offering their best side all their life.

Possibly the 2019 Montrose is one of them. I have the feeling that many 2016 will be great all their life too.

I had confirmation that i will receive my 2019 in March. Some nice Châteaux will make their return in my cellar, after many years...

[JimHow]

The 2019 Chateau Montrose is magnificent. It is a 100 point effort, in the heritage of those legendary 1989-1990 Montrose vintages, when it was battling with the likes of Haut Brion, La Mission, Lynch Bages, and numerous others as the greatest wine on the planet. Thirty-plus years later, Chateau Montrose may be the "greatest" wine on the planet. And I'm not just talking about the 2019 vintage. I'm willing to listen to anyone who can come up with a more stellar record of excellence in the past 23 years than Chateau Montrose, and I won't disagree with you, because this is all, in the end, completely subjective. There have been numerous superstars since 2000: Pichon Baron, Ducru Beaucaillou, Giscours, Leoville Barton, Calon Segur, and numerous others. Honestly, I can't think of an estate that has excelled more consistently than Chateau Montrose. Along with Pichon Baron, I ranked it at the top of my second growth classification of the 2022 Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts / Ian Amstad Reclassification of the Wines of Bordeaux. This 2019 Montrose is stunning. It smoothed out, as you would expect a great Bordeaux to do, over the course of a three hour dinner. The alcohol is 14.5%, but there is zero intrusion. When I drank the first sip or two or three I worried about the heat, but very quickly it was irrelevant. For the rest of the bottle the alcohol smoothed out, and was non-existent. It is defined by its balance: Stunning fresh Maine blueberries on the palate, velvety New England summer flowers on the nose. Not sure about the oak percentages, etc., but whatever the percentages are, they nailed it perfectly. The beauty of this wine is how it matches all the positives and negatives of modern winemaking with all of the greatness of the past. In the end, this is a "classically styled" St. Estephe. It is Bordeaux, circa 2023, at its best: The greatness of 1980s Bordeaux matched with modern winemaking excellence, a nod to past and present. Nice acidity, this wine will path along the obligatory "drink now and for the next 50 years." There will undoubtedly be a five year "awkward period," (3-5 years?, 5-7 years? I dunno, who cares), but drink this wine now (with a VERY hearty meal), or over the next 30-50 years. This wine is immense. It is a stunner. It rivals the greatest Montrose vintages ever, 1989-1990. This is a 100 point wine.

JimHow
www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com

[marcs]

I want to correct some insinuations here about opening wines "too early". Folks, the Bordeaux "shut down" period runs from about 5-6 years past vintage to something like 12-20 years past vintage depending on the vintage and the wine. Opening a bottle three years past vintage and luxuriating in pure primary fruit is actually totally legit. It was doing this with several 2000s, notably the 2000 Pichon Baron, that helped hook me on wine and led me down the road I am on today (of wasting vast amounts of money).

Marcus, Amen my brother. I couldn't have stated it better, that may be the best justification for drinking young Bordeaux that I have seen on this site. I make ZERO apologies for drinking young Bordeaux. And, yes, then I hold off for several years, sometimes longer depending on the vintage, because there is undoubtedly an "awkward" stage. But this notion that Bordeaux can't be consumed "young," hell, He who Shall Remain Nameless, Jeff Leve, many of the British writers, and MANY others would dispute that. Including me. I like 'em young, baby, and I make NO apologies.

I would add to this that not only can a Bordeaux be drunk on the primary fruit in the first few years after bottling, there are experiences available in this phase that will never be repeated again in the life of the wine. That 2000 Pichon Baron drunk early on had a spectacular and beautiful sweetness and tanginess, not cloying at all, that I compared at the time to a divinely elevated barbecue sauce. It lost that quality once it shut down / entered its gawky adolescence, and now that it has emerged on the other side as a middle aged wine that youthful sweetness is gone forever.

Another wine that was memorable young was the 2009 Malescot Exupery, which was very “napa” but had a fantastic acidic lift to its fruit early on that it seems to have lost in its recent incarnation, it’s like a stodgy middle aged dowager now (although maybe still a bit shut down).

So not only can you drink them young, the experiment is sometimes very worthwhile

[Musigny 151]

The question of whether a wine closes down seems to be a vintage by vintage phenomenon. And from my experience, it tends to occur across the vintage as a whole. The worst offender was 2005 that closed down a year after bottling, and only now is emerging. Can’t think of another vintage recently that closed as tight. 2010 perhaps, but it opened more quickly.

Glad to see the Montrose is showing well. At that price it was a no brainer.

[JoelD]

The question of whether a wine closes down seems to be a vintage by vintage phenomenon. And from my experience, it tends to occur across the vintage as a whole. The worst offender was 2005 that closed down a year after bottling, and only now is emerging. Can’t think of another vintage recently that closed as tight. 2010 perhaps, but it opened more quickly.

Glad to see the Montrose is showing well. At that price it was a no brainer.

Doesn't this also somewhat depend on the level of the wine? Lower end bottlings, younger vines etc seem to open up much earlier than the big boys. I like Marcus's 5-15 rule in general but I don't apply that to my more value Bordeaux usually.

[Comte Flaneur]

The 2016 is one of the greatest young wines I have ever tried and also a ~100 point wine. In a Montrose vertical a few years ago it destroyed the other vintages even including the very highly regarded 2010. It would be interesting to try the 16 and the 19 side by side.

I didn’t have any 2016 at the time and watched agonisingly as the price rose inexorably and I eventually relented and pulled the trigger buying two six packs for £805 in bond each. I think that was a year ago iirc.

That is exactly what I would have to pay for the 2019 now, which I don’t have either. Oh the agony. But I can take solace in owning Palmer, LLC, PLL and of course Lynch-Bages in 2019.

But there is no doubt that Montrose has gone from strength to strength and there has been huge investment in state of the art accoutrements with no expense spared - as a measure of this estate’s ambition - sometimes dubbed Latour of St-Estephe.

[JimHow]

This wine was absolutely thrilling. Especially when I matched it with the food. Kudos to Zachys for coming through, great service at a great price. Wonderful balance, with a backbone that will easily allow it to age for 50 years. I’ll now double and triple blanquito my remaining bottles, but I have no regrets about uncorking this one. Indeed, CV, it is going to be tough to unseat this presumptive favorite for 2023 wine of the year, but we’ve got a long way to go. And yes, St.B, that 2016 La Dame is a prime example of the heights of excellence this estate has reached. Absolutely magnificent Bordeaux, it actually gives me hope that the region is NOT spoiled forever by modern techniques and global warming and internationalization, etc. This is Bordeaux at its very best, why we obsess over this region. This may end up closing down hard but I found this bottle very friendly, on both the nose and palate. Man, I wish I won the $1 billion megabucks, which was sold here in Maine last week (apparently nobody has claimed it yet).

[JoelD]

How did the evolution end up going over the course of the evening? Did it open up more? Clench up?

Would be quite interesting if this ends up as the BWE wine of the year, having had it this early. Happened for my personal WOTY in 2022 when I had the 1983 VCC on January 9th. Especially considering recency bias, that is saying something if it does.

[JimHow]

It may have opened up more somewhat as the night went along, Joel, but I thought it was forthcoming right from the beginning. Not what I would call "open," of course, but it was certainly one of those wines where the bouquet is evident immediately upon uncorking. I'm just struck how JC and others found it closed, it may just be my palate, I didn't find it "closed" at all. "Young," certainly. As expected.

[JimHow]

Somebody just asked me on CT what the alcohol levels were for the 89/90 Montrose, good question, does anybody know?

[AKR]

That is a great picture, JimHow. It's pretty cool to taste these big wines as they evolve over the decades.

[jckba]

I don’t think I was clear in my prior post that I was referring to the 2000 vintage that I had in 2004 or 2005 and then again in 2014 and both times it was shut down and unyielding which formed my don’t touch your Montrose young opinion. Have not tasted the 2019 and do not own any (at present), but glad your bottle thoroughly exceeded expectations!

[JimHow]

2019 Montrose is a jckba kind of wine. I suggest you buy some soon.
In posturing that Montrose eclipse of my BWE lap top scene, AKR, I was attempting an AKR-like photographic capture of the true hue of this St. Estephe behemoth. There's a lot going on in that picture. There is the midnight black core, leading almost suddenly to the dawn of purple/ruby at the rim. If it were a Crayolla color, how would we describe it? "Montrose Purple?" Surely a color of nature that exists nowhere else In the solar system (I can't speak for the rest of the galaxy, let alone the universe), other than that plot of land in the northern Medoc, France, in this small sliver of time. How lucky we are! A picture says a thousand words. Stunning. Beautiful, magnificent. Like the planet Earth dawning into another day. In vino veritas.

[marcs]

Somebody just asked me on CT what the alcohol levels were for the 89/90 Montrose, good question, does anybody know?

Per Parker, the 2009 had 13.7% alcohol and this was an "all time high" for Montrose. So we know the 89-90 had lower than 13.7%. The 2003 I know had 13.2%.

Jim will call me a non-enthusiast for this, but I am not really interested in drinking any left bank wine with 14.5% alcohol. I should set the line at 13.5% but I have a case of the 2009 Montrose waiting for me, so I'm gonna set the line at 13.7% LOL.

[AKR]

That picture does capture the purple primacy so well.

[Chateau Vin]

Somebody just asked me on CT what the alcohol levels were for the 89/90 Montrose, good question, does anybody know?

Off of internet,
89 Montrose - 13%
90 Montrose- 13%

I just checked 2016 Montrose, and the abv for it is 13.5%. I also have 2010, 2012 Montrose, and single bottles of 2002, 2004 and 2008 Montrose. But can’t check the abvs as they are in storage...

[JoelD]

Somebody just asked me on CT what the alcohol levels were for the 89/90 Montrose, good question, does anybody know?

I'll try to remember to check my bottles when I am in my other cellar next. I have some of each. But they are both definitely 13% or below. CellarTracker pics show 13% on each one.