2005 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

2005 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Product: 20058009942
Wine Advocate97/100
Jancis Robinson MW18.5/20
Robert Parker94+/100
Prices start from £1,850.00 per case Buying options
2005 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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Description

Ch. Montrose is at the leading edge of low-impact winemaking in Bordeaux. For more than 15 years, the property has been improving biodiversity, vineyard health energy use – plus all the CO2 from fermentation is captured and turned into bicarbonate of soda. “Ch. Montrose is in the middle of nature,” says spokesperson Lorraine Watrin. “Our vision here is to reveal the beautiful riches of the terroir.”

As big as ever, Montrose has made a real tour de force in 2005, although it is very much an iron fist in a velvet glove. It is a dense wine with enormous tannins, but the latter are cloaked by sweet, concentrated, ripe cassis and plum fruits. It is only on the incredibly long finish (a real feature of the 2005s) that they really reveal themselves, but even then they are very fine. This is not just a brute though, it has great charm and grace. The 65% Cabernet Sauvignon really comes through and helps give the wine that wonderful earthy St Estèphe personality.
Simon Staples, Asia Wine Director

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Critics reviews
Wine Advocate97/100
Tasted at the vertical in London, the 2005 Montrose came and delivered the goods. This was the best example of the 2005 that I have tasted, perhaps a wine that is going to prove that, the longer wine lovers can resist temptation. It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3.5% Cabernet Franc and .5% Petit Verdot picked between 23 September and 9 October. The bouquet is extremely detailed, displaying more red berry fruit compared to the 2010 Montrose that leans towards black. Graphite and cedar emerge with time, even an unusual floral scent that is uncommon with respect to this property, whilst all the time retaining fantastic focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with a ferrous tincture on the entry. There are the first signs of secondary notes (dried leaves and bay leaf), but it is the tannic backbone and the precision that really defines this Montrose at the moment. For certain, it is masculine and structured, yet it has enormous potential, perhaps more than was suggested when it was first released? This is for the long term, but you know that already. Tasted June 2016.
Neal Martin - 31/03/2017 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW18.5/20
Dark and chewy and much sweeter and less rigorous than usual. Perhaps because the tannins are so exceptionally ripe. Deep and dense with very fine depth – more lift than the samples of Cos tasted, though perhaps not the sheer density and solidity. Very fine dry mouthful. Fine tannins. Quite sinewy. Very nice neat refreshing though far from obtrusive acidity. Very fine and the power is relatively well hidden. The infamous IPT (tannin index) was apparently even higher here than a Cos – though perhaps we don’t want to get into a competition in this respect.
Jancis Robinson - 13-Apr-2006 Read more
Robert Parker94+/100
The 2005 Montrose has a saturated purple color. As backward as one would expect of a St.-Estèphe, it offers notes of sweet blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, earth, graphite and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, moderately tannic, and still a decade away from prime-time drinkability. This 30+ year wine is clearly outstanding, but not one of the vintage’s most prodigious efforts.
Robert M. Parker,  eRobertParker.com #219 Jun 2015 

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About this WINE
Chateau Montrose

Chateau 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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St Estephe

St Estephe

St 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.

St 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. 

St 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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Cab.Sauvignon Blend

Cab.Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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