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89 By Robert Parker
14 By Rene Gabriel
Tasted at the Montrose vertical in London, the 1978 Montrose is a vintage that I had not tasted for a number of years. I was in for a pleasant surprise. It was a late picking, passim in Bordeaux, here picked between 3 and 17 October. Clear and graphite on the nose that tips you towards Pauillac in style, not intense but bridled with fine tension. There is a pleasing brightness on the palate, something uncommon with 1978s that can be a bit staid, fresh acidity with tertiary bay leaf notes, leading to a short and structured finish. Well-preserved bottles such as this will continue to give pleasure. Tasted June 2016.<br/>
Producer
Château Montrose
Producing outstanding Bordeaux year after year, this 95-hectare property, Château Montrose is a classified Second Growth in the Saint-Estèphe hierarchy. Just north of Pauillac, Montrose is ideally-situated on a gravelly, well-drained plot that runs along the Gironde estuary for over a kilometer. The local microclimate, unique to Montrose works to mitigate temperatures, protecting the vines from devastating frosts as well as equally destructive heatwaves. The patchwork of a vineyard, planted on the world’s most privileged winegrowing terroirs, has been owned by Martin and Olivier Bouygues since 2006. In 2012 they brought in Hervé Berland, the former managing director of Mouton Rothschild to act as estate manager. This spectacular Saint-Estèphe château crafts three wines, they are immense, powerful, dense and long-lived. The leading wine, Montrose is a monumental fleshy, and persuasive red.