1996 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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.”

Known as the Latour of St Estèphe for its power and longevity, this estate is an excellent source of top Claret. With 73% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, this exhibits beautifully-balanced tannins and precise, sweet fruit. It is a classic Montrose and a delicious example of Bordeaux at its best. Decant this wine at least an hour before drinking to unleash its glorious potential. Drink until 2025.

Colour Red

Sweetness Dry

Vintage 1996

Maturity Ready - at best

Grape List Cabernet Sauvignon (76%),Merlot (20%),Cabernet Franc (3%),Petit Verdot (1%)

Body Full Bodied

Producer Château Montrose

Critics reviews

Jancis Robinson MW 17/20

Mid quite youthful-looking ruby. Very developed bouquet that is super correct and pleasing to a classical claret lover. Lovely integrated fruit freshness, vitality. The tannins are dissipated but this is a really nice, fresh wine for now. Not super succulent but very successful. Sucky stony finish. jancis_robinson_mw - Bordeaux '96s Today - JancisRobinson.com - 21-Sept-2011

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (Sep 2011)

Neal Martin MW 96/100

Tasted at the vertical in London, I have instead used the tasting note from a bottle opened at the property when I visited just a couple of weeks later. The 1996 Montrose is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot picked between 23 September and 6 October. It was served alongside the 1986 Montrose, however, this is a far better wine and reconfirms robert_parker's remarks at his own vertical at the property in 2014. For me, it is that loamy character that defines the nosefreshly tilled, damp soil that tinctures the black fruit that takes you straight to this particular chteau. This is classic through and through and very well defined. The palate is wonderful with very fine delineation, pitch-perfect acidity, touches of graphite infusing the red and black fruit that dovetails into a very pretty, floral finish. This is clearly one of the great wines of the 1996 vintage and I would be stocking up as much as I could, because it will give 30-40 years of pleasure. Tasted July 2016.Neil Martin - 31/03/2017

Neal Martin MW, (Mar 2017)