Montrose tasting in Copenhagen - 16/6/2016
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 5:18 pm
Last Thursday, one of my favorite Bordeaux wines visited Copenhagen. Originally, Montrose's present technical director, Herve Berland, was supposed to conduct the tasting, but had to cancel his arrival at the last moment. Montrose's sales manager, Lorraine Watrin, came instead and was worthy replacement. I helped to arrange this tasting in cooperation with Commanderie de Bordeaux รก Copenhague.
Wines for tasting and dinner were: 2010-9-5 La Dame de Montrose, 2012-2011-2010-2009-2005-2003-2000-1995 (magnum), 1970 and 1964 (latter - Barriere bottling). Chateau donated 2010 and 2005 La Dame + 2012 Grand Vin. 2009 La Dame, 2011-2005-2000 Grand Vin also came from Montrose's cellar and at reasonable prices. 2010, 2009, 2003, 1995, 1970 and 1964 were purchased from wine-merchant/private collector in Copenhagen.
Montrose changed hands in 2004 and the last vintage for "old" regisseur/cellar master was 2005. New people arrived in 2006. Jean-Bernard Delmas, father of Jean-Philippe Delmas (Haut Brion/La Mission) kept his position as technical director until 2011. Herve Berland, who managed Mouton Rothschild from 2006 to 2011, became technical director of Montrose in April 2012.
2010 La Dame de Montrose - great second wine and a clear indication how stunning Grand Vin really is because of selection! Perfect ripeness, fatness, dense and long. Silky texture and silky fruit/tannin. 92p.
2009 La Dame de Montrose - not as fat and sweet as 2010, spicy flavors, still splendid second wine. 89p.
2005 La Dame de Montrose - not far from 2010 version, sweet fruit, silky fruit and tannin, immensely seductive. Another winemaker. Simply splendid! 91p.
2012 Montrose - this wine is improving every time I taste it. Very seductive, classy and distinguished juice, graphite and toasted bacon again, fine sweetness and acidity, impressive structure and length. More woman kiss on the cheek than friendly punch on the face. Excellent for the vintage. 94p.
2011 Montrose - denser and tighter than 2012, but lacking the level of sweetness 2012 has, however still very Montrose with splendid complexity, structure and length. 93p.
2010 Montrose - tasted in pair with 2009. It was like meeting twins - this wine was exact copy of 2009! The only difference - more sweetness and fatter texture. Velvety hammer worth 100p! One thing to remember - in 2010 ripeness inside and outside grapes happened at the same time, in 2009 there was 10 days difference because of rain in September.
2009 Montrose - thick, fat and dense, incredibly intense nose of blueberries, black cherries and blackcurrants, stunning intensity on the palate, extremely powerful, stunning balance and length. Force of the winemaking. This wine is fully on the level with 1. Growths. 100p.
2005 Montrose - tasted in pair with 2003 and despite how I love 2005 vintage, I felt it couldn't compete with 2003. More elegance and finesse here, very seductive with lot of sweetness, great balance and persistent finish. Still exceptional vintage for the property. 97p.
2003 Montrose - distinguished nose of leather, graphite and roasted bacon. Very intense nose of blackcurrants, rich and sophisticated on palate, very strong backbone, exquisite balance, complexity and staggering richness. No sign at all of cooked and heated flavors, fresh and with incredibly long finish. This is fantastic tribute to the vintage! Kudos to the winemaker! 99-100p.
2000 Montrose - great piece of winemaking, this wine was like well-made cake, aromatic, beautifully constructed, polished, multi-layered and incredibly complex. Maybe not as concentrated on the day compared to how I tasted it last time (app. 5 years ago). 96+p.
1995 Montrose (magnum) - graphite and pencil, strong backbone, polished, fine structure and complexity, well-balanced and with persistent finish. Splendid for the vintage. 93p.
1970 Montrose - significant flavor of graphite, earthy and polished, well-structured with splendid complexity, velvety texture and long finish. Much better than reviews on this vintage from other wine-critics indicate. 94p.
1964 Montrose - fishy, extracted coffee beans, light, nice fruit. Rather boring. 84p.
Wines for tasting and dinner were: 2010-9-5 La Dame de Montrose, 2012-2011-2010-2009-2005-2003-2000-1995 (magnum), 1970 and 1964 (latter - Barriere bottling). Chateau donated 2010 and 2005 La Dame + 2012 Grand Vin. 2009 La Dame, 2011-2005-2000 Grand Vin also came from Montrose's cellar and at reasonable prices. 2010, 2009, 2003, 1995, 1970 and 1964 were purchased from wine-merchant/private collector in Copenhagen.
Montrose changed hands in 2004 and the last vintage for "old" regisseur/cellar master was 2005. New people arrived in 2006. Jean-Bernard Delmas, father of Jean-Philippe Delmas (Haut Brion/La Mission) kept his position as technical director until 2011. Herve Berland, who managed Mouton Rothschild from 2006 to 2011, became technical director of Montrose in April 2012.
2010 La Dame de Montrose - great second wine and a clear indication how stunning Grand Vin really is because of selection! Perfect ripeness, fatness, dense and long. Silky texture and silky fruit/tannin. 92p.
2009 La Dame de Montrose - not as fat and sweet as 2010, spicy flavors, still splendid second wine. 89p.
2005 La Dame de Montrose - not far from 2010 version, sweet fruit, silky fruit and tannin, immensely seductive. Another winemaker. Simply splendid! 91p.
2012 Montrose - this wine is improving every time I taste it. Very seductive, classy and distinguished juice, graphite and toasted bacon again, fine sweetness and acidity, impressive structure and length. More woman kiss on the cheek than friendly punch on the face. Excellent for the vintage. 94p.
2011 Montrose - denser and tighter than 2012, but lacking the level of sweetness 2012 has, however still very Montrose with splendid complexity, structure and length. 93p.
2010 Montrose - tasted in pair with 2009. It was like meeting twins - this wine was exact copy of 2009! The only difference - more sweetness and fatter texture. Velvety hammer worth 100p! One thing to remember - in 2010 ripeness inside and outside grapes happened at the same time, in 2009 there was 10 days difference because of rain in September.
2009 Montrose - thick, fat and dense, incredibly intense nose of blueberries, black cherries and blackcurrants, stunning intensity on the palate, extremely powerful, stunning balance and length. Force of the winemaking. This wine is fully on the level with 1. Growths. 100p.
2005 Montrose - tasted in pair with 2003 and despite how I love 2005 vintage, I felt it couldn't compete with 2003. More elegance and finesse here, very seductive with lot of sweetness, great balance and persistent finish. Still exceptional vintage for the property. 97p.
2003 Montrose - distinguished nose of leather, graphite and roasted bacon. Very intense nose of blackcurrants, rich and sophisticated on palate, very strong backbone, exquisite balance, complexity and staggering richness. No sign at all of cooked and heated flavors, fresh and with incredibly long finish. This is fantastic tribute to the vintage! Kudos to the winemaker! 99-100p.
2000 Montrose - great piece of winemaking, this wine was like well-made cake, aromatic, beautifully constructed, polished, multi-layered and incredibly complex. Maybe not as concentrated on the day compared to how I tasted it last time (app. 5 years ago). 96+p.
1995 Montrose (magnum) - graphite and pencil, strong backbone, polished, fine structure and complexity, well-balanced and with persistent finish. Splendid for the vintage. 93p.
1970 Montrose - significant flavor of graphite, earthy and polished, well-structured with splendid complexity, velvety texture and long finish. Much better than reviews on this vintage from other wine-critics indicate. 94p.
1964 Montrose - fishy, extracted coffee beans, light, nice fruit. Rather boring. 84p.