1970 Montrose

[manton]

Had this last night out of magnum. Never had it before but I have had several 1970s, including Lafite and Haut-Brion. This, honestly, was better than both of those.

Last year I had several bottles of the 1975. That wine, IMO, was and is perfectly mature. The 1970 on the other hand was amazingly young. Still somewhat tannic too. I could not say if it simply needs more time or if the tannins will never fully integrate. But it was interesting, the '75s are by reputation the super tannic vintage--so tannic that their value on the secondary market has always been depressed--but I found this '70 way tougher.

Not that it was in any way a bad wine. It had an incredible nose. On the palate it was slightly astringent but still expressive though "rustic". It's a "big food" wine, games and hearty stuff. I think my plate was actually a little too mild for the wine but oh well. Also, while the wine was decanted and we took the first sip after about 90 minutes, it could have used more exposure to the air. The last glasses were definitely better than the first.

This will live forever probably. Get better? Tough call.

[jmccready]

Good job on describing old style Bordeaux, where one must have patience with tannins from that era. I wonder how many
new world palates would give this wine a chance to open, appreciating the great terroir flavors after the palate adjusts itself to
the harshness. It takes a while over the course of the evening, at least to me. Many of my friends would dismiss this wine
quickly and move to a more familiar California Cab if one was available-more modern and easier to understand. More for me
at our dinners when classic Bordeaux shows up, and that is not very often. JM

[JimHow]

Mmm great notes. It's been a while since I've had the 1970 Montrose. Gotta love those stern, leathery, tannic, aged clarets!

[manton]

Good point re: the leather, there was definitely leather in there. BTW, re: color. Ink dark. No bricking at the rim at all. Apperance was a like a 10 y/o wine, 15 at most.

Very, very old school wine. Would probably go great with Saddle of Venison or Haunches of Bear (not that I have ever had the latter) and a Sauce Grand Venuer. It needs "manly" food.

I have some notes from a recent Rioja tasting that I could post but this is Bord board so I don't want to go OT.

[JimHow]

Sure, let's see your Rioja notes, we post on everything.

[Nicklasss]

Please, post those notes on your Rioja tasting. At least, they're related to wine, not like that Obama/Romney thread....

And like would say Jim : any TN on Lynch Bages or other wines are welcome.

Nic

[manton]

I have some '89 Lynch, last one I drank was Christman 2009, sure was good!

[sdr]

Old Montrose such as the '70 is a treat if you're in the mood for the style.

8/26/2012 rated 93 points: Wonderful old-fashioned Montrose which matches perfectly with bison. Amazingly dark. Big flavors of tar, woodsmoke, truffle, black soil. That 1970 acidity keeps it fresh and mouth watering. Not for the faint of heart.
5/6/2012 rated 93 points: Outstanding showing for this well-preserved 42 year old. Very Montrose in its slightly coarse, dense, rustic and powerful palate presence. Not too acidic as some of these '70s can be. Interesting comparison with the '70 Palmer, its antithesis.
10/20/2011 rated 93 points: Outstanding. Sometimes Montrose can be a big, beefy, rugged, rustic wine with a coarse texture. I like that style too, but this bottle showed a smoother, softer side but still packed with dark dried fruit and bright acidity. Still fresh and frisky at age 41. I preferred it to the excellent '70 Mouton we had along side it.
4/9/2011 rated 93 points: A fabulous example of a perfectly preserved 40 year old Bordeaux (sourced from Acker). Amazingly elegant, not a description I usually use for this normally brawny St. Estephe. Perfect deep ruby color. Not a whole lot of fragrance, but hints of black cherry and blackcurrent. Medium weight, mouthfillingly pure expression of dark berries. The finish is clean and persistent with the perfect amount of acidity and integrated smmooth tannins. Blind, I would have guessed this was a wine from 1982 - 1990 era.

Stuart

[manton]

I had a second magnum of this last night (different people though).

Since it was at home I had time to give it a long decant, about four hours. Made all the difference. The wine was fully open when we drank it. A bit less of that characteristic St. Estephe "rusticity" but a perfectly mature wine, totall smooth and ready, lovely.