2021 Château Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Montrose comes from a minuscule selection of just 39% of the production and is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Medium to full-bodied, it has a seamless, elegant, incredibly pure mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and some richer plum, spice, and tobacco aromas and flavours. It's certainly in the style of the vintage with its pure, graceful, supple style, but the tannins are impeccably done, it's balanced and has character. It should benefit from just a few years of bottle age and keep for 20-25 years.Drink 2018 - 2038jeb_dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (June 2022)

The 2021 is a fine choice for Montrose fans who want to drink the Grand Vin without waiting for decades. I imagine the slightly high amount of Merlot also helps in giving the Grand Vin a measure of suppleness that is rarely found in Montrose. Gentle extractions bring out gorgeous purity in the fruit. Scorched earth, liquorice, rose petal and blood orange develop in the glass, followed by a kick of Montrose structure on the finish. The 2021 is not an especially typical Montrose, but it is an undeniably attractive wine. The 13.1% alcohol has not been seen here in years.Drink 2031 - 2051antonio_galloni, Vinous.com.com (May 2022)

Beautiful perfume on the nose, really fragrant and seductive, deep and heady but beguiling too. You get chunky, chewy fruit here - this is round, plump and filling as a consequence of the slightly more Merlot in the blend than usual - as opposed to more Cabernet seen elsewhere. It has a luscious appealing fruitiness then the austerity kicks in, with a vein of salinity and minerality, such a linear, quite strict middle where you get severity in the texture giving it some rigidity but you also have such great depth on the mid palate, the layers of fruit and spice that linger giving such a core of flavour. A sense of power, intensity and concentration but also with acidity keeping everything lifted. A stately wine with lots of potential. Pierre Graffeuille replaces Hervé Berland here, having arrived in March and taking over fully in October. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 39% grand vin.Drink 2026 - 2058Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2022)

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.Drink 2030 - 2046julia_harding MW, JancisRobinson.com (October 2023)

The 2021 Montrose is very clean and precise on the nose. You could almost describe it has clinical, crushed stone infusing the black fruit and briar. It is not as intense as the previous two vintages, which is to be expected, though the Cabernet Sauvignon is expressive. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and fine acidity; a Monrose that is very tensile and focused. Moderate grip and volume, this is a more slimline version of recent vintages, a reflection of the growing season. Maybe it just misses the bravura finish that one has almost come to expect from this estate, yet it has the potential to become an aristocratic, classic Montrose.Drink 2025 - 2050Neil Martin, Vinous.com.com (May 2022)

62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.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. james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (May 2022)

This young classic, reminiscent of the estate's 1996 but far better, is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.The remarkable 2021 Montrose gets my nomination for the title of "wine of the vintage" in the Médoc. Wafting from the glass with a deep bouquet of cassis and dark berries mingled with subtle hints of mint, orange, pencil shavings and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered and multidimensional core of fruit underpinned by beautifully ripe, refined tannins. Concluding with a long, resonant finish, it entirely transcends the limitations of the year.Drink 2031 - 2065William Kelley, Wine Advocate (February 2024)

This has depth on the palate, inky purple with grilled almond, fennel, cassis, blackberry, bilblerry, waves of fruit set against strong, austere tannins that give excellent structure but not a lot of generosity. This is a serious, signature Montrose that is not an early drinker. Juicy on the finish, one to recommend. 55% new oak. Pierre Grafeuille has come on board as director since March 1, and will be taking over fully from Hervé Berland as of October 1.Drink 2028 - 2044jane_anson_mw, janeanson_com (May 2022)