Château Montrose 2016

The Wine Palate

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Andreas Larsson - Tasted

Pure and mineral nose offering stony notes, inky dark fruit such as cassis, cherry, violet and a fresh aromatic lift of ripe herbs and very discreet oak and cigar box notes. Ample and dense yet fresh palate with lovely layers, plentiful tannins with fine polish, crushed black currant, cherry, discreet oak, tobacco and sage notes and a supremely long and lingering finish with remarkable freshness and purity.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

A clear candidate for legendary status from Montrose, this wine has it all going on. Even though it is still an adolescent, it is impossible not to be enthralled by its multiple layers of perfectly ripe, fresh, sweet, black, and red fruits that paint your palate. Length, purity, persistence, and energy galore, this needs time, but it is going to be well worth the wait! Drink from 2030-2065.

James Suckling

Youthful, with dark fruit, dried flowers and a touch of tar on the nose. Really refined on the palate, medium- to full-bodied, with polished dark fruit that broadens and gains volume as it moves across the palate. It shows control and balance despite the concentration, giving the wine energy and finesse. Approachable now, yet clearly structured for further development. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

One of the greatest wines in this vertical tasting, the 2016 Montrose unwinds in the glass with a deep bouquet of cassis, wild berries, pencil shavings, violets and burning embers. Full-bodied, deep and complete, it's velvety and seamless, with a layered core of vibrant fruit, sweet tannins and a long, resonant finish. At 13.3% alcohol, this unerringly precise, incipiently complex Montrose is the purist's choice.

Jeb Dunnuck

Unquestionably one of the top 2-3 wines of the vintage, the 2016 Château Montrose is a monument in the making. Checking in as a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc raised in 60% new French oak (the balance was in once-used barrels) and representing a tiny 36% of the production, this deep purple-colored 2016 possesses powerful, incredibly classic Saint-Estephe notes of creme de cassis, graphite, damp earth, lead pencil shavings, and burning embers. With a powerful, full-bodied style on the palate, a huge mid-palate, lots of underlying structure and tannic grip, and perfect balance, this magical wine will need upwards of a decade or cellaring and keep for 40-50 years.