2021 Chateau Montrose - Grand Cru Classe St. Estephe AC

Decanter.com – 96 pts – GH: *Dark and milk chocolate, raspberries and red cherries on the nose, with a soft vanilla fragrance and some pink floral aspects. Great tension and direction, personality and verve, high acidity but balanced with the tangy red berry fruit – buzzy with energy and focus. Has precision and drive as well as power and concentration, but all with a lovely elegance and sense of style. Classy and classic, a brilliant wine in 2021.* - 11/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 95 pts – PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Ockerrandaufhellung. Zart nach Lakritze, schwarze Kirsche, etwas Cassis, feine Edelholznuancen, einladendes Bukett, mineralisch und facettenreich. Mittlere Komplexität, rotbeerig, frisch strukturiert, seidige, reife Tannine, salzige Mineralität, geschliffen und zugänglich, kann bereits angetrunken werden, sollte aber idealerweise noch einige Jahre reifen.* - 03/2024

The Wine Advocate – (94-96) pts – WK: *A brilliant achievement, the 2021 Montrose is reminiscent of a purer, more precise, modern-day version of the estate's 1996. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, sweet loamy soil, black truffle and nicely integrated new oak, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and a seamless, harmonious profile. Exhibiting beautifully refined tannins and an impressive sense of completeness, it's a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot—standing out as one of the few top wines of the vintage that actually includes more Merlot and less Cabernet than in recent years.* - 04/2022

Vinum Magazin – 96/100 pts: *Floral, verspielt, tiefgründig und komplex, Veilchen, steinige Noten, Süssholt, nobel. Druckvoll, dicht, dabei federleicht, sensationelle Tannine, fein verwoben mit der Frucht, ausgezeichnete Balance, rotfruchtig, sehr lang. Gehört zu den Besten des Jahrgangs.*

WeinWisser – 19+/20 pts - TB: *Der überragende Montrose 2021 übertrifft sich selbst! Seine Farbe ist dicht, viskos und leuchtend intensiv. Superintensiv und rassig erscheint er auch im Geruch, sehr konzentriert, extrem likörig und transparent in der differenzierten Aromatik. Satt, intensiv und würzig dann auch im Mund, sehr konzentriert und weitläufig arrangiert, mit noblen Gerbstoffen, ein unzweifelhafter 2e Cru, sehr feingliedrig und komplex. Extrem feine, geschliffene Erscheinung, nahtlos und differenziert, das hat echte Klasse und Größe. Kein kleiner Montrose, mit genussfreudigen 13.0 Vol.-%.* - 02/2024

JancisRobinson.com – 17,5/20pts – JH: *62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Deep crimson with smudgy rim. The most subtle of the Montrose in this line-up. The tannins are a little drier and paper-fine but layered. Doesn't have the intensity of the 2019 but it is darkly refined. A restrained beauty.* - 10/2023

James Suckling – (95-96) pts: *A very classy and refined Montrose with excellent length and a compact, medium-bodied palate, showing fine, silky tannins and a fresh, bright finish. Lots of currant, blackberry and tar at the end, as well as some graphite. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 31% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.* - 05/2022

Vinous.com – 96+ pts – AG: *The 2021 Montrose is an inward, brooding wine—classic Montrose, in other words, just attenuated in its intensity by the cool growing season. Spice, tobacco, cedar, menthol, scorched earth, gravel and a touch of new oak open over time, but the 2021 is really a wine that requires considerable cellaring to reach its potential. Then again, it is Montrose. Elegance meets power here.* - 12/2023

Vinous.com – 95 pts – NM: *The 2021 Montrose is not dissimilar to the sample I tasted from barrel two years earlier. It eschews the more complex and, one might say, "ambitious" aromatic profiles seen in recent years (for example, the spectacular 2020) and delivers a more streamlined version. Blackberry, crushed iris flower, graphite and light autumn leaf aromas become prettier as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and impressive depth, very silky in texture with excellent purity of fruit. The Cabernet is a little more expressive than it was out of barrel, gently building in the mouth toward a very harmonious finish. This is a delightful Montrose, not the best in recent years, but it has gained complexity during its élevage.* - 11/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 95 pts – JL: *Blackberries, espresso, chocolate, dried flowers, black cherries and spice create the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is even better with its salty-edged red fruits, crushed rocks, spice and espresso with dark chocolate accented profile. Medium/full-bodied, energetic, classic, and classy, this is a vintage of Montrose that will not take decades to develop. Give it 3-4 years and this will be good to go. The wine was made from blending 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055.* - 03/2024