Buying options
Tasting Notes
This is a big and muscular wine with great structure and depth of fruit. Blackberry and blueberry character. Hints of fresh leaves. Cool earth. Incredible depth, yet so polished. Concentrated.
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The top wine of the estate as well as one of the wines of the vintage, the 2018 Château Montrose is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak. Crème de cassis, smoky oak, graphite, and violet notes all emerge from this magical Montrose that has thrilling purity, building, layered tannins, integrated acidity, and a blockbuster finish. Deep, concentrated, and built for the long-haul, yet with the sexiness of the vintage, it’s in the same league as the 2016 and will be drinkable in just 4-5 years and keep for 40+.
The 2018 Montrose balances finesse and power to a degree I don't think I have seen in a recent young Montrose. The 2018 has plenty of depth, intensity and thrust - all signatures of Montrose - but it also has a striking sense of elegance. Crème de cassis, lavender, spice, menthol and licorice meld together in the glass. Although it is naturally very young, the 2018 Montrose appears to have a tremendous future. The blend is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, which is to say more Cabernet and less Merlot than is the norm. Readers will have to be patient with the 2018, but it is a stellar wine in the making. Montrose presents an en primeur sample aged 100% in new oak (while the final wine is aging in 60% new barrels) to show a wine that is more ready to taste young.
About the producer
Ch. Montrose is one of two Second Growths from Saint-Estèphe and one of the most consistent producers in Bordeaux. The wines from this property are both elegant and powerful, and some of the Médoc's most age-worthy .