Chateau Montrose 2009

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Hallelujah—what a glorious nose! The deep garnet colored 2009 Montrose features beautiful Black Forest cake, licorice, crème de cassis and warm blueberries scents with hints of charcoal, truffles, tapenade and menthol plus a waft of star anise. The palate is full-bodied, rich, super concentrated and yet superbly harmonious with a firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and mineral laced."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2009 Château Montrose is just pure perfection, and it doesn't get any better. This magical Saint- Estèphe is still youthful yet offers incredible pleasure in its assorted black and red fruits as well as notes of smoked tobacco, licorice, graphite, and scorched earth. A wine that has always been open and satisfying since release, it's still full-bodied and has a broad, expansive, velvety mouthfeel, gorgeous and still present tannins, and a great, great finish. It's a richer, more expansive wine compared to the more focused, classic 2010. Unquestionably one of the finest wines in the vintage, as well as one of the legendary wines from this address, it should evolve for another 40-50 years, although don't let that stop you from opening a bottle!"

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2009 Montrose prances out with showy notes of blackcurrant preserves, blackberry pie, dark chocolate, anise, and violets with touches of menthol and fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied is jam packed with impactful black fruit preserves, supported by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with epic length and wonderfully fragrant."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Everything here is on fire! This is what great wine is all about. Incredibly concentrated, powerful, rich, deep, long, and complex. From the sniff, you should be hooked. But the real star of the show is on the palate, which is completely coated with layer after layer of perfectly ripe, opulently textured layers of black, red, and blue fruits that linger well past the 60-second mark! The seamless finish must be tasted to be believed. This is already just great to taste. But it is in the future where it will achieve its future legendary status. Drink from 2025-2060."

JAMES SUCKLING: "For the very ripe vintage this has a herbal and wet earth nose that's very cool. Then on the palate there’s a ton of ripe cassis, polished fine tannins and a tremendous freshness powering the very long dry finish. One of the stars of the vintage that's just beginning to enter its best form. This is normally a perfect wine but perhaps not a perfect bottle? Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)"

WEINWISSER: "Ein Wein mit eindrucksvollem Bouquet, kühl, saftig-süsser Eindruck, Pflaumensaft, Blaubeerjoghurt, laktische Noten, konzentriert, etwas Minze. Modern, konzentriert, viel polierte Tannine, hohe Reife, trotzdem sehr kühler Eindruck, wiederum Blaubeeren und schwarze Johannisbeeren in Sahne; lila Wein, dichter Saft, im langen Abgang auch etwas Kokos. Viel hochreifes Tannin, wirkt unglaublich jung, kraftvoll und geschmeidig, ein Wein-Leopard in der frühen Pubertät. Irgendwie auch kalifornische Züge, in der Küche würde man von Bordeaux- Napa-Cross-over-Stilistik sprechen. In diesem Stadium schon ein Erlebnis, aber noch mit kindlichem Naturell und Teddy-Kulleraugen. Die Reifeprüfung liegt vor ihm, er wird beweisen müssen, ob er seine Anlagen in Typizität, Differenziertheit und Eleganz umzusetzen vermag."

DECANTER: "A brilliant Montrose, and a great window into what St Estèphe can deliver. This is fresh and concentrated, with ripe cassis fruits, sweet vanilla bean and black pepper spice notes alongside robust tannins, 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Jean-Bernard Delmas was estate director for this wine, and is making the most of the complex soils that are gravel-dominant towards the river, with pockets of sand over clay and limestone where the Merlots tend to be planted. Starting to feel ready to drink, but is going nowhere in a hurry."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, tiefer Farbkern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Frische schwarze Beerenfrucht, reife Herzkirschen, ein Hauch von Mandarinenzesten, mineralischer Touch, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, elegant, angenehme Extraktsüße, feste, reife Tannine, sehr gute Frische, bleibt lange haften, mineralischer Nachhall, dunkle Beeren im Nachhall, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial, Bitterschokofinale, schon sehr verführerisch, wird noch zulegen. Bereits antrinkbar, aber besser noch warten."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A bit of a brute, with a very chewy bittersweet ganache, tobacco and roasted fig core splayed open right now by a dagger of roasted apple wood, allspice and cedar. Long and dense through the finish, with a strong singed iron edge. The stuffing is certainly there, but this will take a while to come together as it's running unbridled right now. Proves you can still get classic old-school Bordeaux. Best from 2020 through 2040. 17,000 cases made."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Enormous tannins, dominant black fruit and a solid, dense structure. The wine, packed with dark fruits, dry tannins, very firm in character. With its huge tannins as well as fruit, this is a wine that really needs many years of aging."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Monstrously dark! Smells of sweet tea. Very, very concentrated with a bit of alcohol on the end. The most youthful wine of the flight. Drying finish."