Tasting Notes
Antonio Galloni 99
The 2020 Montrose is epic. Dark, rich and brooding, the 2020 possesses remarkable intensity, and, yet it is somehow not excessively heavy. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s more elegant sophisticated side. All the elements are so well-balanced. Red/purplish fruit, lavender rose petal, gravel and spice are all accented by veins of intense minerality that lend shape and energy. The 2020 is a modern-day classic for Montrose and one of the great wines of the Left Bank.
Anticipated maturity: 2030-2070
Neal Martin 99
The 2020 Montrose was bottled in July 2022. The alcohol is 13.4%, a whole degree less than the previous year but with the same concentration (IPT is 80). It has a fabulous bouquet that delivers on all that promise from when I finally tasted the wine around a year earlier from barrel, a cornucopia of blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, Indian ink and loamy/undergrowth scents. Very mercurial in the glass, it seems to shapeshift with every minute. The palate is medium-bodied with such a precise entry. This is far more detailed than either the 2019 or 2018, a symmetrical Montrose with unerring detail and mineralité, its silky texture belying the power underneath. This is unequivocally a brilliant wine and a benchmark in recent years. Contender for wine of the vintage.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2065
Wine Advocate 100
Surpassing the 2019 and rivaling the 2016 as this estate’s finest vintage of the last few decades, the 2020 Montrose is a monument in the making. Wafting from the glass with aromas of violets, dark berries, licorice, loamy soil, black truffle and subtle spices, it’s full-bodied, deep and layered, with a seamless, elegantly muscular profile, terrific purity and energy, beautifully powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. It checks in at 13.7% alcohol, the same as the superb 2009, but it is even deeper, more vibrant and more complex than the 2009.
Anticipated maturity: 2030-2100
JancisRobinson.com 18
Blackish purple. Complex floral nose. Freshness on palate entry and much fleeter of foot than most 2020s with the tannins kept in the background. A very serious wine with real refreshment and not over-extracted. You could almost drink it now, which is a real surprise! Jancis Robinson
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2048
Jane Anson 99
This is up there with the best wines that I have tasted in the vintage. Beautifully balanced, classically refined but profound, delivering nuanced waves of cassis, blackberry puree, peony, pomegrante, mandarin peel, graphite, smoked sandalwood, incense. There is exceptional softness yet density to the tannins, such a confident structure overall and the build up on the tannins through the palate is so slow and careful that it is only at the end of play that you become aware of just how big a vintage it is. Clear ageing potential, easy to love, very easy to recommend. 12% press wine. Vincent Decup technical director. 40% of production in the 1st wine.
Anticipated maturity: 2029-2050
Jeb Dunnuck 99
This is just about off the charts, and could hit triple digits in a few years if it keeps developing. Inky black in color, the wine explodes aromatically with its blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, and tobacco, and that’s before you get to its deeper nuances of Indian spice, chocolate, and cigar box scents. But the real fireworks are when the wine coats your palate with its multiple layers of dark red fruits, blackberries, and cocoa. Even with all of its richness, there is ample lift, making it easy to get lost here with all the depth, and concentration. The wine is just about seamless on the palate, lingering, building, and expanding for close to 60 seconds. One of the great vintages of Montrose is the swansong of Herve Berland at the helm of the estate.
Anticipated maturity: 2029-2065
Jeff Leve 99
This is just about off the charts, and could hit triple digits in a few years if it keeps developing. Inky black in color, the wine explodes aromatically with its blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, and tobacco, and that’s before you get to its deeper nuances of Indian spice, chocolate, and cigar box scents. But the real fireworks are when the wine coats your palate with its multiple layers of dark red fruits, blackberries, and cocoa. Even with all of its richness, there is ample lift, making it easy to get lost here with all the depth, and concentration. The wine is just about seamless on the palate, lingering, building, and expanding for close to 60 seconds. One of the great vintages of Montrose is the swansong of Herve Berland at the helm of the estate.
Anticipated maturity: 2029-2065
James Suckling 99
The nose is really fantastic with lead pencil shavings, iron shavings, blackcurrants and lavender. Full- to medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Wonderful persistence and personality. Juicy and savory finish. Always classy and sophisticated at the end. Organically grown grapes. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Best after 2028.
The Wine Independent 99
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Montrose strides confidently out of the glass with classic scents of cassis, pencil shavings, and plum preserves followed by wafts of violets, tilled soil, and tapenade with a touch of wood smoke. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound with loads of black fruit and savory layers and a firm, grainy texture, finishing with epic length and a refreshing lift.
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2065
