Drink Like the Owner of Château Montrose for $30
Posted on: 02/18/19 4:45 PM
Today brings a special on one of the most exciting annual releases from Bordeaux, Château Montrose’s ‘Saint Estèphe’. This is their magnificent value third wine, made in the same winery and produced from the same extraordinary terroir as the Grand Vin, the 2015 of which sells for a little under $200.
Made from the younger vines of the estate that don’t yet offer enough depth, complexity and ageability to make it into the top wine, before 2010 it was only made available to owners and employees of Montrose and would often be served at parties in the cellars. If it’s good enough for a party in the cellar of Château Montrose, it’ll do for me! This is of course not the same experience as drinking a Château Montrose, but that’s not the idea. What we have is a wonderfully enjoyable easy drinking glimpse at one of the greatest terroirs in the world, made by masters in a wonderful vintage.
The positive flip side of this coming from the younger vines is that this drinks so well young. Montrose is legendary for taking a tremendous amount of time to mature, and even this has enough structure that as noted in the Wine Spectator’s review it’ll go along quite nicely for a decade or so, but crucially, it is delicious straight off the bat. 2015 is of course an exceptional vintage, and a fruit forward one that is extremely charming for drinking on the earlier side- combine that with Montrose’s intense terroir and dark structure, and at this price we have an easy winner.
2015 Saint Estèphe de Montrose, Saint Estèphe
“This has some good juicy intensity for the vintage, with plum, red currant and iron notes in unison and a finish filled with bright lilac and wet pebble details. Shows the taut edge of the vintage. A success. Best from 2019 through 2028.” Wine Spectator
Back to Blog