Montrose in a landslide

[Comte Flaneur]

Big drama here because it is our general election today and even if you are 119 years old it is still closer than anything in living memory.

While waiting for the exit polls I am watching a BBC documentary on sharks - did you know that a mako shark can swim at 46 mph? For reference dolphins can swim at 20mph.

Did you know that the Greenland shark can live for over 200 years, is blind because parasites eat its eyeballs and it swims at 0.5 mph?

To finish remarkable footage of a female Great White hunting seals in False Bay. Great Whites don't have it all their own way.

I digress.

Montrose was the star of our 1996 tasting last night. We did the usual Comte Flaneur voting regime of three points for your favourite, two points for your second favourite and one point for your third. 

Montrose romped home with 16 votes...Leoville Barton was second with five and Lafon Rochet third with three. 

We tried the three Leovilles Bartons together and Leoville Barton came up trumps. The Langoa was more accessible but the Leoville Barton was finer and more complex, though more backward. The Poyferre we thought had more going on in the winery than in a Leoville a Barton. Poyferre had an Armani jacket on as Richard Zambuni noted.

We had GPL, and the bottle was sub-par. Duhart was on great form and unlike the Leovilles in a great place for immediate gratification. Pichon Baron was surprisingly unknit and accessible...I expected something with a bit more tension. 

Montrose was deemed to be a FG in quality, and I think that is fair. It was a stand out on the night. I do not think it is better necessarily than Leoville Barton but it is more accessible.

Calon Segur was my third favourite wine. It had a lovely green olive element to its personality which does not equate to under-ripeness. 

Lafon Rochet really stood out last night, a fine bottle. Likewise Sociando better than the bottle I had last week. 
We had a treat with a slightly quirky Philipponnat 1996 Clos De Goisses to kick off and a delicious Rieussec 1996 to finish. 

We had two other Cru Bourgeois...Potensac and Poujeaux both excellent

Confirmation of the vintage's fine credentials.

PS Tories looking good in an early exit poll

[Blanquito]

Go SNP!

[JimHow]

Ah for the days of Melbourne, Gladstone and Disraeli.

[JimHow]

We always predicted great things for that 96 Montrose back in the day.

[Blanquito]

Impressive showing for the Montrose. Is 1996 the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon vintage in Bordeaux since 1961?

[JimHow]

Ha I was just gonna ask the same question.

[Comte Flaneur]

You know we had Batailley and it was at the back of the pack...by coincidence I tried the 1996 vs the 2005 Batailley the night before and the 2005 is in a different league. I think 2005 will in a few decades be shown to be the better vintage, even in the left bank. And then the 2010s will raise the bar even more.

[AKR]

So of 1996, 2005, or 2010 -- which vintage would you select of the typical cru classe Medoc if money / provenance were not a concern?

[Blanquito]

One thing I really like about the 96 vintage-- it occurred in the days before spoof had really arrived and so there are really no left bankers whose style I dislike or find soulless. The quality of the material may been better in 2005 -- and I do think the 05s have better depth than just about any other year -- but many producers were tinkering with approaches that strip the wines of much of their Bordeaux character for my mileage.

[Nicklasss]

I liked all 1996 I had, and the Montrose I opened illegally at the non-Bordeaux dinner at last year convention, was surely excellent.

The Calon Segur I had In Ottawa with Dstgolf was also excellent.

Also GPL, Duhart-Milon, Cantemerle, Lafon Rochet, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Las Cases that Jim brought to the mini off line In Motréal, Sociando Mallet, Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron, Ducru Beaucaillou, Cos d'Estournel (my only 1996 left In the cellar), Rauzan Segla, Lynch Bages, ...

So no doubt, 1996 is a great vintage In the Médoc. I guess 2005 and 2010 are great too, but different, as both smell and taste just a little bit more modern. What is special with 1996, it is great, but very blackcurrant, slightly austere and structured, but also fragrant and classical. I hope you understand what I mean.

Nic

[Blanquito]

So no doubt, 1996 is a great vintage In the Médoc. I guess 2005 and 2010 are great too, but different, as both smell and taste just a little bit more modern. What is special with 1996, it is great, but very blackcurrant, slightly austere and structured, but also fragrant and classical. I hope you understand what I mean.

We are speaking the same language, mon ami, you just said it more eloquently.

[Jay Winton]

Unfortunately, my cousin did not retain his LD seat in the Tory victory. Perhaps I should suggest some Montrose.

[JimHow]

Montrose had an unusually high Merlot percentage on 1996 if I recall correctly.
In fact it usually has higher Merlot percentages does it not?

Is UK '15 a harbinger of things to come in US '16?

[AKR]

Montrose is ~20% merlot, at least according to this http://www.klwines.com/Products/i?s=14C ... 0&i=110470

Their own site is informative but doesn't have anything on that.

http://www.chateau-montrose.com/en/our- ... annee=1996

Some St Estephe's like Lilian Ladouys are way higher, up at 50+%.

But L-L doesn't offer the longevity that Montrose has.