1988 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

1988 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Product: 19888009942
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1988 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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Description

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in London, the 1988 Montrose is in the unfortunate position of forming the prequel to the 1989 and 1990, and frankly, it lags a long way behind. It is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from 26 September until 9 October. The nose is youthful, rustic and a little flat with touches of oxtail and dried blood infusing the black fruit. The palate is masculine and dry, lacking the substance showing in the stylistically similar 1986 Montrose, but here with some attenuation towards the finish. Drink now if you have any bottles. Tasted June 2016.
Neal Martin - 31/03/2017

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Wine Advocate85/100
Tasted at the Montrose vertical in London, the 1988 Montrose is in the unfortunate position of forming the prequel to the 1989 and 1990, and frankly, it lags a long way behind. It is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from 26 September until 9 October. The nose is youthful, rustic and a little flat with touches of oxtail and dried blood infusing the black fruit. The palate is masculine and dry, lacking the substance showing in the stylistically similar 1986 Montrose, but here with some attenuation towards the finish. Drink now if you have any bottles. Tasted June 2016.
Neal Martin - 31/03/2017 Read more

About this WINE

Château Montrose

Château Montrose

Château Montrose is part of our Spotlight on sustainability series. You can view the full range here.

Château Montrose is one of the leading wine properties of St.Estéphe, and produces some of the longest-lived wines in the Médoc. Montrose had been owned by Jean-Louis Charmolue from 1962 until 2006, when it was sold  to Martin and Olivier Bouygues, owner of the eponymously named construction firm Bouygues, is located in the east of the appellation, just north of the hamlet of Marbuzet, on a gravel knoll only 800 metres from the Gironde estuary. The proximity of the estuary ensures a microclimate that protects against frost, and the vines, which lie on deep clay-gravel soils, benefit from a south-easterly aspect.

Montrose's wine is typically a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot  and 10% Cabernet Franc and is matured in oak barriques (30% new) for 18 months.

Montrose wines are traditionally deeply coloured, austere and powerful when young, yet possess superb ageing potential, and when mature are quintessential St.Estèphe clarets. Montrose is classified as a 2ème Cru Classé.

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Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Estèphe is the northernmost of the most important communes of the Médoc and borders Pauillac on its southernmost border, with only a gully and stream separates it from Ch. Lafite. To the north lies the Bas-Médoc.

Saint-Estèphe is defined by the depth of its gravel, which is ubiquitous but of varying depths and occasionally very shallow, when clay predominates. This keeps the soil cooler and wetter than its counterparts so that the wines can appear fresh in lighter vintages, but superbly successful in hot, dry years. 

The best châteaux in the south of the commune have the deepest soil and the thickest gravel. Cos d'Estournel has an exceptional terroir with its vineyards being located on a south-facing ridge of gravel with excellent drainage. 

Saint-Estèphe is the least gravelly of main Médoc communes and in the north of the commune the vineyards are heavier and more clay-based leading to a rustic style of wine being produced.

The wines can appear austere in youth with a discernable ferric note at some châteaux, but the best typically display good depth of colour, pronounced acidity an tannins in youth and are exceptionally long-lived. At their best, they are the equal of almost any Bordeaux. The well-regarded St Estèphe co-operative controls the production of about half the appellation.

Recommended Châteaux
Cos (Ch. Cos d'Estournel), Ch. Montrose, Ch. Calon-Ségur, Ch. Lafon-Rochet, Ch. Les Ormes de Pez, Ch. Beau-Site, Ch. Cos Labory, Ch. Phélan-Ségur

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Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.

It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.

The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.

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