2012 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

2012 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Product: 20128124618
 
2012 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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Description

Only 23% of the harvest made it to La Dame de Montrose as 18% of the harvest was declassified. With 75% Merlot (the balance is Cabernet Sauvignon), this is a very juicy wine, although still marked with the expected St Estèphe spice. Yields are low at 38 hl/ha. The exotically-named cellarmaster, Laurent Savovitch-Vuk, is clearly happy with the result but there is a sense of work in progress, in part following the acquisition and incorporation of important vineyards from the neighbouring Ch. Phélan-Ségur. Nonetheless, this is an authentic, positive wine, enhanced by the success of Merlot in 2012.
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate88-90/100
The second wine has been a strong effort for a number of years. The 2012 Dame de Montrose represents 29% of the total production. Its domination by Merlot is noticeable in the chocolate, mocha and black cherry characteristics. Deep ruby/purple-tinged, fleshy and succulent with low acidity and ripe tannin, it is the ideal second wine to drink over the next decade.

Only 52% of the production made it into the 2012 Montrose, a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon (harvested between October 13 and 20), 37% Merlot (picked during the third week of September) and a tiny amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The pH was 3.7 and I suspect the alcohol level pushes 14%. It is one of the top successes of the vintage. As new administrator Herve Berland indicated, the severe six-week drought caused the Cabernet skins to become very thick, thus resisting the huge rainfall that fell between October 7 and 9. The late harvest dates suggest very ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, which appears to be exactly what has occurred.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2013 Read more
Robert Parker88-90/100
The second wine has been a strong effort for a number of years. The 2012 Dame de Montrose represents 29% of the total production. Its domination by Merlot is noticeable in the chocolate, mocha and black cherry characteristics. Deep ruby/purple-tinged, fleshy and succulent with low acidity and ripe tannin, it is the ideal second wine to drink over the next decade.

Only 52% of the production made it into the 2012 Montrose, a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon (harvested between October 13 and 20), 37% Merlot (picked during the third week of September) and a tiny amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The pH was 3.7 and I suspect the alcohol level pushes 14%. It is one of the top successes of the vintage. As new administrator Herve Berland indicated, the severe six-week drought caused the Cabernet skins to become very thick, thus resisting the huge rainfall that fell between October 7 and 9. The late harvest dates suggest very ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, which appears to be exactly what has occurred.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2013 Read more
Decanter16.75/20
Fine fragrance of pure Medoc fruit, quite inky extraction yet supple overall, a really good second wine. 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 Blend

Cabernet 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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