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Chateau Montrose Saint-Estèphe
Classification: Second-growth in 1855
Vineyards (red): Surface area: 168 acres Average age of vines: 33 years Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot 10% Cabernet FrancDensity of plantation: 9,000 vines per hectare Average yields (over the last 5 years): 45 hectoliters per hectareTotal average annual production: 340,000 bottle |
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Grand Vin (red): Brand name: Chateau Montrose Appellation: St.-Estèphe Mean annual production: 230,000 bottles Upbringing: Grapes are hand-picked. Vinification is traditional. Fermentations last 21-25 days in wooden and stainless-steel vats, with temperatures going up to 30-32 degrees centigrade and frequent remontages that ensure the best possible extraction of color tannins. Wines then spend 19 months in oak barrels, of which 35% are new. They are fined with egg whites and racked 6 times but not filtered.
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Second Wine: Brand name: la Dame de Montrose Average annual productions: 110,000 bottles
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Evaluation of present classifications: Should be maintained Plateau of maturity: 3-25 years following the vintage for top vintages after 1970; prior to 1971, 15-35 years following the vintage
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"One of the Médoc's best-situated vineyards and one of the commune's most impeccably clean and well-kept cellars, Montrose was for years associated with huge, dense, powerful wines that needed several decades of cellaring to be soothing enough to drink."
"Anyone who has had the pleasure of drinking some of Montrose's greatest vintages - 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, and 1970 - can no doubt attest to the fact that Montrose produced a bevy of massive wines that deserve to be called the Latour of St.-Estèphe. The wines of Montrose were especially strong in the period 1953-1971, and 1989 - present, when they were usually among the finest wines produced in the northern Médoc." |
| Rated "Outstanding" | Robert M. Parker Jr. |