Château Montrose - Le Saint-Estèphe de Montrose 2015

Château Montrose is perhaps the most venerable estate in Saint-Estèphe and among the most renowned in the entire region of Bordeaux. The château began as an almost forgotten property rediscovered by Etienne Théodore Dumoulin who planted the vineyards in 1815. Only 40 years later, Châterau Montrose received the ranking of Deuxième Cru, or 2nd Growth, in the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, a remarkably short time to receive such a prestigious honor. The estate has not changed much since then; vineyards are the same now as when he left them to his heirs in 1861.

These vineyards surround the Château in one contiguous, unbroken stretch covering 95 hectares planted on gravel and sand topsoil over a clay subsoil. The vines are planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. All grapes are hand-harvested, hand-sorted, and destemmed before an optical sorting and another hand-sorting. The wine is fermented in one of 70 stainless-steel tanks, spending 25 days in the vat. Château Montrose ages the Grand Vin for 18 months in 60% new French oak barrels, 12 months and 30% new oak for the second label (La Dame de Montrose), and 12 months ini 20% new barrels for the third label (Le Saint-Estèphe de Montrose). The result is one of the greatest wines of Saint-Estèphe and all of Bordeaux.

One of the marks of a truly great wine is how it evolves over time. Out of the bottle, this wine was fruity and easy, showing ripe, jammy fruits mixed with vanilla oak and velvety tannins that are usually associated with a more modern-style wine. Hours later, it reverted back into a more classic, Saint-Estèphe character. On the nose, the fruit quality is still present, ripe and dark (almost jammy), but there was a mineral freshness that appeared, adding extra layers of complexity to the wine, along with sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and cedar. There is a deep concentration of dark fruits up front that gives way to the earthy and mineral backbone, as well as a saline quality, on the mid-palate. It is a very full-bodied wine, black plum in color, with a phenomenal tannic structure and a good acidity that comes through on the long finish with flavors of cocoa nibs and light coffee. The evolution of this wine was marvelous. From when it was first opened, all the way to my second glass more than a day later, it was almost like tasting two different wines. This goes to show you that this gorgeous Saint-Estèphe will drink wonderfully now with some aeration and will definitely cellar gracefully over a long time. Pair with roasts or grilled steak.